Winter dormancy is a fantastic opportunity to spray Stone fruit trees for Peach Leaf Curl and other fungal diseases which in fact, cannot be treated at any other time of year!
Lime or Copper sprays should be applied to your tree either at leaf fall (Autumn) and/or at bud swell (this can be as early as June - depending on the varieties on your tree).
If your tree has shown signs of Peach Leaf Curl in previous seasons, it is a good idea to spray in Autumn AND at bud swell to ensure thorough treatment and good coverage. Sprays should be repeated about 1 week apart, and can be applied using a hand sprayer following the product label. Sprays for Peach Leaf Curl are available from most plant nurseries and hardware stores.
Florda Prince (the yellow peach variety we use on our trees) is the first of the stone fruits to ‘wake up’ from dormancy. This ‘waking up’ can be seen as a swelling of the blossom buds, long before any leaves emerge.
See the Stone Fruit and Apple Blossom Development Stages images (right) to help guide you in determining the various stages of your tree waking up from dormancy.
References: Orchard plant protection guide for deciduous fruits in NSW 2017-18, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Shane Hetherington NSW DPI for development stages images, Orchard Plant Protection Guide NSW 2020-21. and the FST Team.
