The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1903-03-11
TREATMENT OF THE
PEACH LEAF CURL
STATE ENr0MOL0GIST ISSUES IMPOR'
TANr PAPER ON THE DISEASE.
II Is of Much Interest to the Fruit Growers
of This Section. Tells How to
Eradicate tie Pest.
Eradicate tie Pest

BY w. M. SCOTT, State Entomoogist
(By w. M. Scott. State Entomologist).
Peach leaf curl is a disease which
appears in our orchards in early
spring. causing the young and tender
foliage to thicken, curl and finally
drop. Although it may occasionally
be seen on the twigs, it's attacks are
confined principally to the leaves.
In the early part of the summer all
the affected leaves are shed and moth
ing more is seen of the disease until
the following spring. When an or
chard is but slightly affected, a new
crop of leaves is quickly produced and
the damage is slight; but when. as fire.
quently happens, the greater part of
the foliage is involved, the tree is i'm
poverished, the present crop of fruit
destroyed and future crops affected.
Prevention by Spraying.
Few fungus diseases affecting cul
tiyated plants have proven more cas-
lily or surely prevented than the Leaf
Curl of the peach 1t has been demon.
strated beyond question that even
the worst affected orchards may, by
proper spraying at the right season,
be practically freed of the pest, and
with single application of the treat
ment. Numerous fungicides have
been used and recommended, but of
them all the safest and most effective
IC
ture This should be applied in late
winter or early spring. After the buds
have become swollen the germs of the
fungus begin to penetrate the tissues
and the treatment Is therefore less
effective, so that it is necessary to
least two weeks before the trees are
likely to bloom A little later when
the young leaves have begun to push
out and the evidences Of the disease
become apparent, it is altogether too
late, and a spraying, so far as the
leaf curl is concerned, would be
waste of labor and material
1t is very important in spraying for
this disease that every part of the
tree be reached by the Bordeaux or
other mixture used, for if a limb or a
portion of limb be missed the fungus
will develop upon it, and thus tend
to re-infect to some degree the rest
of the tree.
Formula and Directions.
Bordeaux is composed of a mix
ture of the diluted solutions of lime
and bluestone and may be prepared
from the following formula
pounds fresh, unslaked lime.
pounds bluestone (sulphate of cop
peri.
so gallons of water.
AS much as six pounds of bluestone
and an equal quantity of lime may be
employed with safety and perhaps
advantageously in some cases. How
ever, when it is desired to use Bor-
deaux for brown rot or other diseases
after the foliage is out, the quantity
of bluestone should be reduced to
pounds and that of lime increased to
nine pounds, because of the injurious
effect that strong Bordeaux has upon
peach foliage.
Stake the lime carefully with lust
enough water to reduce it to the CON
sistency of thick cream and dilute to
Is gallons; dissolve the bluestone in
% gallons of water also. Then in a
separate barrel mix the two solutions.
first pouring in a bucket of enc and
then a bucket of the other, or better
still, pouring then in simultaneously
After thoroughly stirring the mixture
and allowing it to stand for few mo-
ments it is ready to be strained into