Plum aphids and PLC mitigation

General Fruit Growing
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Last year I posted in June that I was experiencing some severe affects on both peach and plums that caused leaves to curl up and die back. I soon realized the leaf roller aphid was the culprit thanks to Brady Bush! It took me several weeks of spraying with soapy water to get control.

After reading as much as I could about possible prevention measures, I decided to try Joe Real’s method. So far I seem to have prevented this issue.

Here is my Actual trial treatment:

1/22/25: Buds started awakening 2 weeks ago, most Europeans not yet swelling! But most Asians are! So today I used Joe Real’s recipe on all plums and peaches; Recipe: The Italian Dressing Recipe for Peach Leaf Curl by Joe Real

  1. Add 2 oz(4TBS) of 5% vinegar to 1 gallon of water. Always add acid to water and not the other way around.

  2. In a small cup, mix well together 2 TBSP (1 OZ) of Melaleuca Oil, 1 TBSP of Neem Oil, 2 TBSP of Dawn Liquid dishwashing soap.

  3. Add to the 1 gallon diluted vinegar solution, and stir well, hence oil and vinegar and it makes for Italian Dressing.

  4. Mix and Shake very well like you would an Italian dressing before spraying.

  5. Spray during bud swell, but not during the full bloom, and when air temperature is above 40 deg F but below 75 deg F, preferably in the late afternoon.

1/28/25: Had very sunny weather for several days so, I made the second application, substituting Castile soap for Melaleuca Oil.

2/14/25: Repeated using Melaleuca Oil. Buds swelling but not opening!

3/7/25: Repeated using Castile Soap in lieu of Melaleuca oil. Buds still pre ballon. (Since blossoms had not yet opened decided this could still be applied but was my last application)

Results so far:

4/16/25 Most plums have been leafing out for several weeks. I have inspected several times during rainy days for aphid signs, no leaf curling or whiteish green sheens on foliage.

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Thanks for the update.I may try that next year,as they are still prevailing,after using a few things.
At about first showing of color from Plum flower buds,the trees were sprayed with a mixture of Peppermint Castile Soap,Neem,dish soap,vegetable oil and Ortho’s Fruit Tree Spray.It may have helped but they still ravaged a Flavor Grenade Pluot and a few branches on others.I remember it being rainy during that time,so it could have diluted the potency.I made a couple of early evening applications of the Ortho product during flowering,but once they get inside the leaves,it’s difficult to penetrate.

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Hi Brady,
Only with your help last spring was I able to arrive at a trial method that made sense. Now, seeing that you have aphids while I don’t, at least yet, I think you just need to start much earlier when buds show any signs of swelling in Jan- Feb. Thanks for your feedback as we try to narrow down to a prevention method, I will keep monitoring to see if this method has actually prevented my infestation. Should be able to confirm by June if everything is still healthy without leaf curlers!
Dennis

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