Taphrina deformans (peach leaf curl)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Taphrina deformans (Berk.) Tul.
- Preferred Common Name
- peach leaf curl
- Other Scientific Names
- Ascomyces deformans Berk.
- Exoascus amygdali Jacz.
- Exoascus deformans (Berk.) Fuckel
- International Common Names
- Englishleaf blisterleaf blister of peachleaf curl of peach
- Spanishabolladura del melocotoneroarrufat (melocotonero)lepra del melocotoneroverrucosis del durazno
- Frenchcloque de l'amandiercloque du pecher
- Local Common Names
- GermanyKraeuselkrankheit: Pfirsich
- EPPO code
- TAPHDE (Taphrina deformans)
Pictures
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
Host | Host status | References |
---|---|---|
Prunus armeniaca (apricot) | Other | |
Prunus dulcis (almond) | Other | |
Prunus persica (peach) | Main | Rashtra (2017) |
Prunus persica var. nucipersica (nectarine) | Main | |
Prunus salicina (Japanese plum) | Unknown | Oh et al. (2020) |
Symptoms
Symptoms appear about 1 month after flowering starts. Leaves are thickened and distorted (puckered, curled) and green to bright red, depending on variety (Wilson and Ogawa, 1979). Whole shoots are affected when the infection becomes systemic in the growing tip, causing lateral shooting or 'witches broom'. Flowers and fruit surfaces may be similarly affected, with heavily diseased trees having a dramatically different appearance to healthy trees. When diseased leaves are about to release ascospores their surfaces develop a silvery-white 'bloom'. Later these leaves turn black, die, fall and are replaced by new leaves. Leaf blackening coincides with higher daytime temperatures. Areas of bark are also blackened where systemic shoot infection was present. Fresh leaf curl symptoms can reappear on new autumn shoot growth in vigorous varieties.
List of Symptoms/Signs
Symptom or sign | Life stages | Sign or diagnosis |
---|---|---|
Plants/Fruit/abnormal shape | ||
Plants/Fruit/discoloration | ||
Plants/Growing point/discoloration | ||
Plants/Growing point/distortion | ||
Plants/Inflorescence/discoloration (non-graminaceous plants) | ||
Plants/Inflorescence/distortion (non-graminaceous plants) | ||
Plants/Leaves/abnormal colours | ||
Plants/Leaves/abnormal forms | ||
Plants/Leaves/abnormal leaf fall | ||
Plants/Stems/distortion | ||
Plants/Stems/witches broom | ||
Plants/Whole plant/dwarfing |
Prevention and Control
No host immunity is known, resistance is present in a few varieties and susceptibility varies between varieties, but varietal resistance is not currently used to control leaf curl. Chemical control is very effective if sprays are applied at leaf fall and/or just before bud break. A single spray after leaf fall is used in drier peach growing regions, but in wetter regions, several leaf-fall copper-based sprays (copper oxychloride, cupric hydroxide, Bordeaux mixture) and one or two bud-movement sprays of ziram, thiram, copper-based compounds and other fungicides are used to effectively control the disease. The development of resistance to copper-based fungicides was demonstrated in T. deformans by Cheah et al. (1993).
Impact
T. deformans has little economic impact on commercial orchards where spraying occurs, but if spraying is not carried out, total yield loss can occur due to extensive defoliation, with eventual tree debilitation, stunting and death.
Information & Authors
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Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 19 September 2022
Language
English
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