Why I'm no longer concerned about peach leaf curl | An end of season update

[@dracarys6594]

Thanks for all the content

[@fletcherfarm]

Thanks for watching! I hope it's helpful to someone out there.

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

The spores get in durring bud break. it doesn't really matter how wet the dormant season was, bud break is what matters most. Maybe cleaning leaves could slightly help in an intensely spaced orchard that gets a lot of summer rain. But for me with wet early spring and dry summers, even on individuals isolated by litteral miles I get enough curl to kill trees if left untreated for 3-4 years (Production drops to nothing in the first year of non-treatment.)

[@fletcherfarm]

San Diego is a different beast. My early ripening peach bud break is late January, well within the dormant season for most trees, and right in the middle of our rainy season. Humid and wet conditions do help spread the fungus, and an unusually wet winter like we experienced in 22-23 caused a higher rate of spread in SoCal. The length of the rainy season will determine how much of the new growth is affected. Luckily for me, after the first flush, the rain tapered off and the new growth came in clean.

[@Mrbfgray]

My experience in farther N. Commifornia--wet winters mean ton of leaf curl and it does slow/stunt early season growth. However by now you wouldn't know it, just as you say. I'll probably just live with it, ugly as it is. Biggest problem for me w peaches is thinning them, orchards just carefully shake the trees to thin I understand, going to try that next yr, have done some of that in past but didn't like how it made the biggest little peaches fall first, maybe that doesn't matter over time tho.

[@fletcherfarm]

My experience with leaf curl is definitely climate dependent. I'm on the line between Zone 10a/10b. I can see how leaf curl would be more of an issue in wetter climates. Good luck!

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

​@@fletcherfarm USDA hardiness zones are nothing more than a convoluted way to say minimum winter temperature, which really says next to nothing about growing conditions. Especially in the west half of the country.

[@fletcherfarm]

@@TheDuckofDoom. You're right, but when you layer the state on top of that (CA in my case) you get a better picture of the climate. Zone 10 in CA is mild temperatures, a rainy season in the winter, and about 10in of rain a year. Zone 10a/b in Florida is way different climate wise. Gotta attach the state to the hardiness zone. I try to do that as much as I can.

[@wari-bateshwar7461]

Have you considered aminopyralid in the soil? Most farmers use herbicides to increase their crop production.

[@fletcherfarm]

I'm not familiar with that. I'll have to learn more and weigh the options.