There are only a few leaves on our Eva’s Pride affected. We did spray with copper this year right before it started to bloom but maybe it was too late or should have sprayed again with all the rain? Is there anything else I can do now?
yep, I get a little bit every year. I just pick off and dispose of the leaves and it clears up with the heat of summer.
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Yes it is, and no, nothing you can do at this point. Once you have leaf drop, rake up as much dead leaves as possible. When you spray next season, spray the mulch below the tree as well. Try to get at least 3 dormant sprays in if possible, the last one as close to bud break as you can.
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I spray with copper as funcicide. Timing of your spray is important. For PLC, I spray copper after petal fall in late fall or before bud break in the spring.
Spraying copper at bud break or after bud break could help with other diseases but not PLC. To prevent PLC, buds need to be dormant.
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I agree with Mamuang, and if you ca get that last spray just prior to bud break, that will be the deal that seals.
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Yes, you sprayed too late.
Like others said, pick off those curled leaves if not many of them. New growth/leaves may not curl if there is no rain.
Next year, time your spray well. Only one spray of copper should be sufficient if done at the right time. I use copper hydroxide, Kocide 3000…
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Is there a rule for how many days before or after rain to spray? We kept waiting for it to dry out and then realized this one was going to bloom so hastily snuck a spray in. Too late I guess :(.
I usually wait until there is no rain 24 hours after I spray. Some chemical once it’s dry, it works well even if it rains sooner. I also use sticker to help copper stay on trees longer.
next year’s dormant season will be a time to spray.
Pick them off and destroy the leaves, I burn any I find. You might as well pull them now because it will kill all of the affected leaves any way.
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I do this too, but question if I should as I use copper, It may only be a preventative and not kill the fungi, so spraying the ground will not kill the organism. And technically could be considered a violation of law. As it’s not listed for spraying mulch. I never seen any label suggesting this either. If it helps I’ll do it, but if I’m wasting copper, and killing the soil for no reason, I would rather not do it.
I don’t spray copper on the ground. I’ll use an appropriate fungicide. I’m not keen on using a lot of copper products here, being very close to the ocean. All fungicides are pretty nasty business, even the organic options (i.e., copper). I don’t saturate the ground, but apply a light spray, and only under my cultivars that have shown to be more susceptible to PLC. Plus, remember - when you’re spraying the tree, there is already a certain amount of fallout to the ground from your tree spray. So, in a sense, you’re already doing that to some extent.
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OK, but you suggested it to somebody that clearly is using copper.
So I wanted a clarification, which I got! Thanks.
True, but that’s not against the law.
Can you cite the law stating it is illegal to spray fungicide on the ground? I am not aware of that, either. What if you need to spray ground-growing plants with a fungicide? That would be the same thing.
I think it’s the general law about using materials in a manner not specifically authorized on the label
That is understandable and certainly a general boilerplate statement applied to all insecticides (an most other products of all kinds) to protect the manufacturer. In the event the user does something with their product that is outside the label recommendation and might cause harm. Falls into the same category as the warning on a coffee cup: “Warning, hot!” Again, reiterating, I’m not advocating doing a “soil drench”, here. But, a light spray over the top of the mulch, which basically happens anyway, as you spray any tree: a good portion of that spray falls to the ground and hits the ground 
And, if you’re spraying ground level plants, you’re going to be spraying the ground unavoidably. So, that would still fall within the label indication.
I note that with many products the instructions on the label say to spray to the “dripping point”, meaning that it drips to the ground.
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Just from a commercial perspective, Patty is right. When driving through with an airblast sprayer, it blankets everything. It’s a hurricane mist everywhere in the orchard area. What I mean is that there is not one square foot which is not covered with the spray in the orchard.
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Yes, It would be on the label of the pesticide. if not labeled for that use, it would be illegal. It is against federal law to use a pesticide product in a way it is not labeled for. You will find that on the label too. The instructions say spray tree. Leaves both sides, branches too, not ground. I would consider that a violation myself. Some fungicides that are systemic will say spray/pour into the ground, then it would be legal to do so. I guess you missed that in my first post, it was the question I was asking. Is it worth breaking the law?
I did not miss that, but if you read Olpea’s message, this is what I’m inferring. Which is what I do, and what was recommended to me by the UC folks. So, I continue to do that and it works well for me in my high pressure PLC area. And, I am applying in the legal manner, so there are no insecticide police that would be coming knocking at my door to arrest me, Drew. My thorough spraying to “dripping went”, as Lois mentions ends up with a fair amount of fallout spray to the ground. Again, I am not advocating any sort of “soil drench”, but my overspray/thorough spray will end up falling to the ground. So, again, not breaking any law, here. Let’s put this to rest please.
Patty, how does PLC affect the tree though? I have a neighbor who apparently never sprays. He gets a ton of PLC, the leaves fall off eventually in summer and the tree grows new leaves!