Nectarine leaf curl - treatment?

[Nurseygreen]

Hi all.
I purchased a nectarine tree last October, which has now sprouted leaves and blossoms. I've noticed some of the leaves have come through distorted and curled, (see pic) which I assume is leaf curl?
Is there anything I can do to it to stop it? Will it affect the fruit? Also do you think it's worth reporting it to the nursery I bought it from?
Thanks.

[Greenleaves]

I have suffered this on a peach tree, copper based products are said to work but I dont know whats on the market theses days. Pruning has not real advantage and the affected parts normally fall off in a couple of weeks....burn what drops! New growth normally comes through healthy unless we have a particularly wet / damp spell. If the attack is really bad the tree will become stunted and often will not friut

[Nurseygreen]

Thanks Greenleaves,
I seem to have some fruit forming where the flowers have dropped off. There only seem to be 5 leaves affected so I'll try and get some copper based product for winter and hope it doesn't affect it too much.

[Martin H]

Yes, that's leaf curl. The only sure way of stopping it is to shelter the plant from the rain in winter and spring. If the stems stay dry then the fungus can't grow. More advice here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=232

[Kristen]

Is there anything I can do to it to stop it?

(Not entirely sure that is leaf curl ... rest of the leaves look really healthy)

Have they been outside since you got them in October? If so that will be the cause. They (leaves / branches) need to be kept dry over winter - if planted against a wall then rigging up a plastic sheet to deflect the rain off them is the normal solution. If they are pot grown them bringing them under cover (if no leaves then they don't need any light )

Also do you think it's worth reporting it to the nursery I bought it from?

If they've been outside in the wet (and it IS leaf curl) then No.

If not leaf curl but something else then Yes

Perhaps send the nursery your photo and ask if it is leaf curl, or not?

[Jay22]

My pear tree had an attack of aphids last year causing leaves to curl and guess what...they are curling again, not once the leaf is fully out but before...are the aphids back! Can't see any though. If so any recommendations on how best to get rid of them?

[BertieFox]

Leaf curl on all plants in the peach family is something you will never resist (in a wet climate) unless you protect it from the elements, or spray repeatedly with some unpleasant fungicide. The best method is to build some kind of rain cover, such as a polythene roof, which protects the tree from the winter and spring rains which bring the fungus.

Compared to frequent spraying and all the other efforts you put into producing a crop, constructing a temporary structure from light timber and polythene is really the easy option but we are all very lazy to do things like this because of the initial work. You can remove it all in early summer and put it back up during the following late winter though, with less effort.

Peach leaf curl, also known as leaf curl, is a disease caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans. In a dry climate, this is rarely a problem. Interestingly, we have a self sown peach tree by the house which crops prolifically and never suffers from this disease. However, it is protected on both the north and east sides by buildings. Meanwhile, the trees in the open garden often get this problem in a wet spring. The aphids are surely merely a symptom and NOT the cause.

[Alison]

I have a small peach tree in a pot which I put in the greenhouse over winter purely to avoid this problem. It does mean that I tend to pollinate it by hand as I prefer to keep it inside until after the leaves have all developed.

[Nurseygreen]

Thanks all. Unfortunately living in rented accommodation a Green house/permanent structure isn't possible, but I'll see if I can construct something to keep it sheltered, although it has been remarkably dry down here in Portsmouth! The tree is against the house and fence so is protected on its North and East side. I have counted 7 fruit forming so I'm hoping they're not affected! I want some nectarines!

[starloc]

Just been searching and found a couple of strange `cures` for leaf curl....

Hanging a small net bag of crushed eggshells in the tree....seems to be the thing to do in France!.....sounds weird but people who try it say it works!

Egg shells in fruit trees! - FrenchEntrée

Spraying with oil of oregano or thyme oil in 6 to 7 ml per gallon of water ( UK or US gallon....not sure ), patent says it cures it on affected leaves / fruit as well as preventing it

Method for treating peach trees for peach leaf curl disease - BECKER JACK L.

I have sprayed with lime/copper and half the trees have leaf curl, ried one tree with captan....has leaf curl..... so will spray with oregano solution and see what happens....and hang some egg shells in a bag.....

[BertieFox]

If you are unfortunate enough to have mare's tail/horsetail (Equisetum) as a weed (as we do!) then it is supposed to make an effective fungicide, due to all the silica it contains. Steep the cut stems in water for a week or two and then spray it on the trees. At least that is the advice, but as the horsetail only starts coming through around the same time as the peach leaves, you have to work fast!

[Nurseygreen]

Looks like I'll be having omelette for breakfast tomorrow then!