That sounds like a selling point for commercial growers.
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We do list it as PLC resistant, but I would agree that itās more susceptible than other varieties.
Here is my personal take on it.
Your microclimate will determine this, 100%. When it comes to the PNW and peaches/nectarines, a few degrees either way, moisture on a certain day, wind, and direct sun. We have people 100ā lower in elevation less than a mile away whose results will differ on PLC in a given year.
In some years, you hit it just fine. Other years, even Frost (still the most resistant here at Raintree) will get it pretty bad.
We donāt spray unless we absolutely need to, but I know it would be more consistent if we did.
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Since the innoculum is endemic nurseries could sanitize the trees for a fee before shipping, a reduction is half of pathogens hitched on the specimen will help. Also this thread has some information on PLC resistant variety. Europe leads research on PLC and they have a few promising varieties that nurseries can try bring to US.
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Lots of peach leaf curl threadsā¦ Itās a thing apparently.
Does keeping rain off the leaves reduce the impact of PLC? Greenhouse grown or covers?
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Absolutely.No rainfall touching the tree equals zero PLC.
I went to a presentation,by the one time director of the WSU Mt. Vernon Research Station in Washington.He said,if someone could design a portable shelter system for protecting against PLC,they could make a lot of money.
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Thanks.
That makes the dwarf / miniature varieties a little more attractive as there is a chance at building something to do just thatā¦ Even if itās just a mostly transparent arbor cover.
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I am quite surprised. 2 trees that have been curl monsters, despite their curl resistant reputation, seem to have got the memo this year. My hw272 peach and Hardired nectarine both so far seem to holding back the curl. Hw272 got curl so bad the last couple years that it has barely grown and the foliage has been gnarled as soon as it starts to unfold. I have never sprayed these trees.
I almost cut them both off at 30ā to top work Oregon curl free, kriebiach nect, and Salish summer to the roots. I am glad I gave them one more shot at life. I cannot believe this is the same tree. Hw272 today. Pinch me.
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Not seeing any curl yet on my tree either. I think I noticed it peaked during the cold/wet April last year, rather than in the very earliest stages of the flush, but so far at least it seems like this isnāt a bad year for PLC for me either.
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Your trees are as far along as mine. Thatās a bit surprising. All that chilling really gets them charged up for growth. Iām sure Iāve been warmer the last month than the PNW. But we struggle some for chilling so that holds back the medium and high chill varieties.
Zero PLC here. I havenāt seen a speck in west Texas since I started growing here in 1971. Fireblight only once. Dry springs have their advantages.
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This is correct, mid-April and early May is when itās the time to check for curl. So far, I am not seeing anything on my experimental trees or Frost, OCF and Salish Summer that were not treated.
I am further south in PDX, except Hollywood plum and a couple of peaches in a gallon pot none of the other stone fruits have so much growth has Noddykitty. Interesting how microclimates work.
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Well the home orchard products are so low in copper I would not use them. Itās not going to help.
Macular degeneration runs in my family so I take PreserVision. It contains some important vitamins that have been shown to help prevent or delay onset. Ironic that copper is one of them. We canāt live without it yet itās fatal to other species. The product contains 1 mg which is 111% daily recommended intake. Unlike mercury our body can excrete copper. I suppose my waste contributes to marine exposure. I live in Michigan and most waste water during floods is drained into the lakes. The system is overrun. But we are talking my eyes here. They come first for me.
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I thought it was interesting that this orchard started in the 1930ās. They have used copper for a very long time yet no issues whatsoever.
@Olpea hey Mark check out this 20 year old peach tree grown in Michigan. Look at the trunk. My ten year old trees have thicker trunks than this tree. I guess all gardening is local. When you mentioned trunk size I was a little worried. Looks like my trunk size is par for the course. I feel better nowš. I was a touch worried after seeing your trees.
Interesting that most of us that use copper use it in oil and it appears for decades what they did here. New data suggest fall fertilizer for trees and this guy has always done that. What a beautiful orchard here.
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If there was some way to make peach trees not get disease and live forever I think the people who make their money growing peaches would probably be on to it. Thereās probably a reason non-organic peach growing is way more popular commercially than organic-only disease controls.
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Unfortunately true. I use copper which is organic but so many say too much will hurt your orchard. Looking into ways to remove copper. I see grapes and blackberries absorb quite a bit. Seems like the best way to control copper in the soil is by growing fruit there. Put some apricots around your copper sprayed peaches to take it out of the soil.
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The issue with copper based fungicides is that the concentrations are incredibly high for the sake of convenience. i.e. a brute force approach of throwing as much copper as possible so that it sticks around providing residual safety. That way the grower doesnāt have to be in the field spraying 2% copper 10 times in the season.
Again, customers are used to $2/lb peach or less. There is no incentive for growers or companies to invest and resources to find effective formulas that doesnāt contain 30% MCE.
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If and only if one can find a market where $5-10/lb peach is acceptable and the grower is sufficiently capitalized to absorb costs for half a decade. However, for home growers our fruits are already the most expensive, with some additional time and investment one can grow without using various toxins.
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Personally, if I lived farther away from a salmon spawning creek, I would have no problem doing a copper douse once a year. But Iāve seen with my own eyes when I studied as an undergrad, helping graduates do fieldwork, of the first hand death dealt by copper. Just a little copper kills all the salmonidae eggs. Not one and 10, but all of them like a nuclear bomb. Also, if copper is dosed in an aquarium, inverebrates like snails and shrimp die in hours of being added to the tank. Even years later unless the substrate is swapped out.
But my northmost trees are like 4 feet from the creek bank. I could not live with myself if I oversprayed or thought about rain drip. There are pinks down creek every year, and the coho salmon my elementary school release every year are released into the same creek.
More a location problem than a problem with copper overall.
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Thanks for posting that vid Drew. I almost always enjoy watching videos about growing peaches.
Butā¦ I donāt buy that that peach tree is 20 years old (at about 11:20 min in the vid). That bark on the trunk (and scaffolds) is way too smooth for a 20 year old tree. Iād estimate the tree at about 6 or 7 years old. Maybe the owner was confused, or maybe the youtube influencer was confused, but I donāt believe that tree is 20 years old.
Compare the bark on that tree to your 10 year old tree you posted.
That said, I donāt think you have anything to worry about. Your trees are doing well under your care. And the important thing is you are getting good fruit!
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