I live in Italy and have horrible peach leaf curl on my peaches and nectarines.
The chemicals I can get here are weaker than in the U.S. or I can’t buy at all. For instance I can only get copper of 30% strength, so up to this point I have been unable to control the peach leaf curl with copper and sulfur winter/spring spraying.
This year I researched and was able to find Ziram 76DF to use later this year and next spring.
Has anybody used it successfully?
It is a zinc-carbamate fungicide. Chemically it is an old-school brute force approach. I expect it to control all the problems listed for each crop on the label. Take the protective gear warnings seriously and pay attention to the restricted number of days of application before harvest. Here is a copy of the label:
Ziram_76DF.pdf (218.6 KB)
Thanks for the label. The Italian label only lists Peach Leaf Curl as a use for Ziram 76DF. It’s nice to know what else it treats
I’m surprised you couldn’t control it with copper whatever the percentage of the formula, it’s what’s in the tank and not what’s in the bag or bottle that matters. Here I’ve gotten good control at problem sites with the 30% solution in Cuevo the popular organic approved copper soap- and with a single, properly timed spring spray- 2.5 fl. oz to the gallon of water. Sorry, can’t give you the metrics without doing the same chore you now have to do instead. There are 128 oz in a gallon of water.
Contrary to general guidelines I can actually wait until the first sign of green to get control, but have only accomplished this with chlorothalonil which is considered the go-to here for PLC. I haven’t tried it with copper which I apply a week or two before first green. Both chlor and copper have worked well for me.
I followed the instructions on the label and it did absolutely nothing. The curl couldn’t have been worse. I thought about doubling the amount in the tank to make the solution stronger
…
Which copper product?
I used this one along with a separate sulfur spray at a different time
For 10 years I tried to control PLC with bi-monthly (Nov-Feb) applications of Kocide 3000 (46% copper) alternated with homemade Bordeaux mixture (hydrated lime + copper sulfate). That’s a lot of spraying to still get 15-20% PLC.
Last year I tried 1 spray of Ziram at green tip and got less than 2% curl.
I know that others have achieved control with copper alone but, in an environment with 4 months of constant rain, something stronger is needed. This year I plan a fall and spring spray.
It must be sprayed at the proper time for it to work. Fall when dormant and spring before tip green is ideal. 27% Copper diammonia diacetate has eliminated PLC for me.
Awesome, great news. Can you tell me what amount you used to mix with water? I want to compare it to what the Italian label says to use
I use ziram. it works great. here’s a good reference for my area, it lists copper as “fair to good” and ziram as “excellent”. zinc is bad for riparian life but compared to the amount dumped on roofs here for moss, a little dose for a few peach trees doesn’t keep me up at night
In US measurements :1 TBS/gallon
Thanks for the comments. I feel optomistic I can get some peaches next year
Is some kind of sticker being used with the fungicide,especially if it rains a lot?
I was planning on using dormant oil mixed with the ziram…
I use nufilm 17 with ziram. the best application time, if you’re only doing one, is right at bud swell (“delayed dormant”) so it can knock down all the accumulated fungus spores, plus have some residue to cover the spring growth that’s most affected by leaf curl. for this, a sticker might not be necessary for effectiveness, but spring rains can be so continuous here I think a sticker is a good idea
Have you ever tried a single spray of copper at green tip? Here in the northeast we’ve had the same kind of rain you get in winter 4 springs in a row, starting well before trees leaf out.
Maybe it has to do with temps there compared to here. Are you close to the coast?
What do you mean 15-20% PLC? Leaves or trees?
I’m going to add that next year,to see what happens.Last Spring there was some,but acceptable PLC,with about two sprays of Copper/sticker,before green tip.
the majority of the population in the PNW is in the western part of or/wa/bc, near the coast, puget sound, or a river, and temps are heavily moderated by that, I think that keeps it near plc activity temps more frequently
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7426.html: “The optimum temperature for fungal growth in laboratory cultures is 68°F, the minimum is 48°F, and the maximum is 79° to 87° F”
our springs are relatively warm. and the rain is not intense, just a very consistent misting, a hundred days in a row it seems, with dew hanging well into the afternoon or even all day. it’s like the inside of a wet terrarium. a lot of PNW leaf curl recommendations from extension services note that treatments that work well elsewhere will fail here. some labels give a special rate. for example ziram gives a higher rate west of the rockies vs. east
@Exmil
Under the label section “Directions For Use:”
For dilute applications, use ZIRAM 76DF at the recommended
rate per 100 gallons.
This means: for standard maintenance use “per 100 gallons”.
For concentrate ground applications, use a minimum
of 20 gallons of spray per acre.
This means: for stubborn infestations use “per 20 gallons”.
Then:
Peaches,
Nectarines
West of the Rockies
This is your climate in Italy.
2 2/3 - 3 1/3 pounds.
So 3 lbs on average. This works out to:
For Imperial units:
