Kingsburg Peach Tree - Ask Extension
Hello, we live in Oregon City, we planted a Kingsburg peach tree in the late spring of 2020. This year we noticed a few (maybe 5% or less) of the leav...
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Kingsburg Peach Tree #806431
Asked August 15, 2022, 6:07 PM EDT
Hello, we live in Oregon City, we planted a Kingsburg peach tree in the late spring of 2020. This year we noticed a few (maybe 5% or less) of the leaves were deformed, very curled and my husband looked it up and thought iy might be a fungas, the rest were fine. We had peaches on the tree this summer for the first time, they started to form in June but as of now 8/15/22 they are still hard and only the size of a golf ball and some have brown spots.
Is there a problem with our tree or is this expected as the first crop and next year will be better?
I appreciate your help!!!!
Clackamas County Oregon
Expert Response
Thank you for your question, Jennifer. First, as to hard fruit, you might want to try picking a few, and bring them inside to see if they soften up, as this suggests: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/peachharvest.html
Unfortunately, there are 14 insects (https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/crop-pests?combine=peach), and 18 diseases (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-and-disease-descriptions?title=peach) that call peaches "home," and, without more information, we can't diagnose which your tree has. Can you cut a fruit open to see if there is insect damage there? Did you photograph the curled leaves, or examine them for insects?
Perhaps the following OSU publication would help narrow down the problem(s) so we can find a cure: https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/ec819
Thanks!
Unfortunately, there are 14 insects (https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/crop-pests?combine=peach), and 18 diseases (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-and-disease-descriptions?title=peach) that call peaches "home," and, without more information, we can't diagnose which your tree has. Can you cut a fruit open to see if there is insect damage there? Did you photograph the curled leaves, or examine them for insects?
Perhaps the following OSU publication would help narrow down the problem(s) so we can find a cure: https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/ec819
Thanks!