Fig. 133. Moldy Peaches
Fig. 134. Peach Mummies
Peach Leaf Curl. Peach leaf curl does damage amounting to about $3,000,000 yearly in the United States. It can be almost entirely prevented by spraying the tree with Bordeaux mixture or lime-sulphur wash before the buds open in the spring. It is not safe to use strong Bordeaux mixture on peach trees when they are in leaf.
Cotton Wilt. Cotton wilt when it once establishes itself in the soil completely destroys the crop. The fungus remains in the soil, and no amount of spraying will kill it. The only known remedy is to cultivate a resistant variety of cotton or to rotate the crop.
Fruit Mold. Fruit mold, or brown rot, often attacks the unripe fruit on the tree, and turns it soft and brown and finally fuzzy with a coat of mildew. Fig. 133 shows some peaches thus attacked. Often the fruits do not fall from the trees but shrivel up and become "mummies" (Fig. 134). This rot is one of the most serious diseases of plums and peaches. It probably diminishes the value of the peach harvest from 50 to 75 per cent. Spraying according to the directions in the Appendix will kill the disease.
Fig. 135. Half of Tree sprayed to prevent Peach Curl