Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design Re: Leaf Curl 2Oct 04, 2010 7:40 pm Two very different causes. Peach leaf curl on some stone fruit is caused by a fungus. It can only be treated just as the buds swell on the stems. After that is pointless. Nothing will happen. Spray with either Copper oxychloride or the enviro friendly option is the cert organic "Eco Garden fungicide" or Eco Rose (it is the same thing ) http://www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au/product.php?id=2 Citrus leaves curling is as a result of an insect. The citrus leaf miner. A moth lays the egg on the leaf and then when the egg hatches the leaf miner burrows between the thin waxy top layer of the leaf and the deeper layers of the leaf. Just amazing little buggers! If you look carefully at fresh damage with the healthy looking leaf and light silvery trails and squiggles, you might even catch them in the act. Some may need a magnifying glass to see them. That can really only be controlled with a vegetable based oil. White oil and white oil products are petroleum based and can also only be applied a few times a year or damage may occur. Use "Eco Oil" http://www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au/product.php?id=1 to spray over the leaves. This will discourage the moth from landing on the leaf as it is all oily and that stuffs up their ability to fly Many recommend systemic insecticides. However you will kill more bees and other good things than the leaf miner you are focused on You need the bees to pollinate your flowers and if you kill them, are you really making it easy for yourself? Not only that there will be residual insecticides in the fruit you eat. Citrus leaf miner is going to always be a problem. By following my guides for soils and mulches, you will make the leaves much thicker and stronger and ultimately less prone to attack. If you go nuts on "citrus fert" you get rapid weak thin growth highly prone to citrus leaf miner attack. Lots of seasol, molasses, also powerfeed, thick layers of straws and or tree lopper mulch. Use slow release fertiliser like "osmocote plus organics" if you feel compelled to use something processed after the organic treatments If you even need them. |