Curly leaf on my plum and apple?

Every spring we get people with samples of “curly leaf” on plums and apples and pears. Curly leaf or Peach leaf curl happens only on peaches and nectarines. If you have curly leaf on other fruit trees almost always it is a sign of aphid attack. The plum and apple aphid cause the foliage to curl around the insect to protect them from predators. The solution is to control the aphid. Because it is not possible to use systemic aphid controls on edible crops you have to protect the new growth. Masters’ Pest Fighter with Pyrethryns is a good control.

If you have true curly leaf on a peach or nectarine you can pick off the damaged foliage on small trees. Larger trees it obviously is not possible in most cases. In any case you need to fertilize to help the tree replace the damaged foliage. Remember to get three spraying with copper next winter starting at leaf fall.