Peach Leaf Curl – and how to avoid it

Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that distorts the leaves of peaches and nectarines, and sometimes also apricots. The leaves crumple and thicken, and often have red blistery patches. Ultimately they fall off, and if your peach tree only has a handful of leaves left, it’s obvious that it won’t perform well.

Symptoms of peach leaf curl include shrivelled, deformed leaves and red blotches. Photo: Shutterstock

Luckily, there is a way to prevent it infecting your peach trees and that is to keep the rain off them. The fungal spores need wet conditions to germinate so covering the trees with a clear plastic sheet between November (after leaves have fallen) and mid-May to keep their branches dry will prevent infection. That’s why, more often than not, peaches and nectarines are grown against walls, to make covering them easy.

The sheeting shouldn’t form an air-tight seal around the tree, simply cover it from the top and down the front, like a mini lean-to greenhouse. Leave gaps at the sides so insects can still get in to pollinate the flowers, or you won’t get any fruit anyway and your efforts will have been in vain.

If your peach does show signs of infection, remove any leaves as soon as you spot the symptoms. If the tree is otherwise healthy, it should hopefully produce a second flush of leaves that won’t be reinfected.

If you are considering planting peaches or nectarines, there are some cultivars that have more resistance to peach leaf curl than others. Peach ‘Avalon Pride’ is said to be the best.

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