Peach leaf curl. Figure 2 .
Symptoms first appear in early spring on expanding foliage.
Young, infected leaves become thickened and distorted along the midrib and take on a red to purplish hue. Later, as the fungus begins to produce spores, the leaf surface appears silvery or gray. Diseased leaves eventually die and fall off the tree. These leaves are replaced by a second growth of foliage, which rarely is infected by the fungus. Blossoms, young fruit, and succulent shoots also may be infected.