For me it happened with PLC...I'm sure it's not your problem but the answer should lie with the leaf. However this winter has been rough on the peach trees.

Nope not PLC I sprayed for that long ago.

I thought this all sounded too familiar and found a thread of mine almost a year to the day of this post. Last year we had tons of rain, so that caused stress for my peach trees. This summer we have missed every thunderstorm in the area and it has been quite dry. Whether it is too dry or too wet, I get leaf drop every June. I take it, the leaf drop has nothing to do with my spraying according to last years comments from H man and Olpea. It just makes your heart sink, to see a tree loaded with peaches and leaves falling. A note to MileHighgirl. . . its not only hale, and freezing temps that are more than frustrating. It is when you see fruit on your tree and one day it is perfectly beautiful and the next day it looks naked. This is one tough business. I have so much respect for all fruit growers! Mrs. G

It shouldn't be due to drought unless the grass is brown. Is it really that dry? What is your rootstock? Are you sure it wasn't the spray?

A little leaf drop is normal. What percent of the leaves have fallen? If you hit the tree a hard rap do more fall off?

Peach tree short life, this copy and paste Clemson university

.This is a disease caused by the ring nematode, bacterial canker organism (Pseudomonas species), fluctuating winter temperatures, pruning the wrong time of year and poor horticultural practices. Trees suddenly collapse shortly after leafing-out or prior to leafing-out in the spring of the year. Removing a piece of bark from the lower trunk has a characteristic sour sap odor. The root system appears healthy and frequently puts up a flush of sprouts.

Prevention & Treatment: Prune trees only in February and early March. Adjust the soil pH to 6.5 prior to planting and lime regularly to maintain this pH after planting. Select sites that are on heavier soils and are well drained. There is no nematode control after planting for homeowners. Select peach trees that use the variety 'Guardian' for their rootstock. 'Guardian' is more tolerant of the ring nematode.

Mrs. G,
Has anyone else use your sprayer for other thing before you sprayed your tree this last time?

We are not too far from each other. I can't think of any severe weather (wind, rain or drought) that would effect your but not my orchards.

My peaches and other trees all had delayed leafing out this year about 1-2 weeks late. Aside from many flower buds got killed, they seem to grow normally.

The peach trees are from five to three years old only. Too young to die and very healthy other than dropping leaves. Yes, I shook the peach tree with no name (four years old on dwarf rootstock; company is no longer in business where I bought it) and more leaves fell off. This happened this time last year as well. This is the first time the 'four year old' will have fruit. I'd say there are 65% of its leaves on the ground. Same as last year. The other peach trees are not as bad. 10-20% of their leaves are off. The only thing I can think of is I swictched pumps for the sprayer when I refilled the tank. The other sprayer had been filled with Monterey Fungi Fighter. Don't think any residue from MFF would hurt my peach leaves. No the grass is not brown. The fruit is looking great. I"ll post a pic tomorrow. Mrs. G

Gator!
"Prevention & Treatment: Prune trees only in February and early March. Adjust the soil pH to 6.5 prior to planting and lime regularly to maintain this pH after planting. Select sites that are on heavier soils and are well drained. There is no nematode control after planting for homeowners. Select peach trees that use the variety 'Guardian' for their rootstock. 'Guardian' is more tolerant of the ring nematode."

I prune all of my trees between the middle of Feb and the end of Feb. every winter. My soil is excellent. I'll check for 'Ring Nematode." thanks! Mrs. G

Lets see, 65% of leaves on the ground, excellent soil, and the grass isn't brown. That doesn't add up. Something serious is wrong. Either the spray program is wrong, the soil isn't excellent, or something else is off kilter. Peach tree short life is only a recognized problem in the Southeast.

All the issues with your other trees makes me wonder what's going on. Your climate isn't extreme and if your soil is well drained peaches and your other fruit trees should be productive and relatively long lived.

How cold was the extreme low this past winter?

Fruitnut it really wasn't all that bad. We had 10 above not including windchill and that doesn't change anything. The grass is green the other trees are beautiful.. Have plums and my Jonagold has suprised me with the beginnings of lovely apples. Even my Enterprise will have apples this year. The only tree with four apples is the Pristine. My Mott's Pink has its first four apples this year. Three out of my five peach trees have peaches. The other two are only in second leaf. My Montmorency is loaded with cherries this year (very long wait!). My blackberries and raspberries are filled with flowers. And my 8 currant bushes are loaded as well. Really don't know what to make of the peaches, but they did this last year is all I can say. All trees have been sprayed the same way for the past 8 years. Mrs. G PS Thanks Fruitnut. I too am confused.

The fluctuating winter temperatures as I remember you had warm days in winter in some your post, I think cause of characteristic sour sap odor below bark on trunk. That cause Leaf drop, now how a void sour sap be higher chill Peach tree. I think on warm days in winter sap rise and stop then sour in trunk tree. Paint are cover on trunks would stop rise sap, almost like sun scald conditions

I had the same problem last year with one of my peach trees, This year it was dead, No green wood and no leaves an what branches that were on it snapped off easily so I cut it down then pulled out the stump, Too this day I still don't have a clue what it was.

Hmm, Gator that is interesting. My orchard faces due south with some shade in the late afternoon to the north. I'll check the trunks. Thanks again. We did not have warm days but it was mild, and still is we've only had a handful of days in the seventies and eighties. Back in the sixties today. The peach trees I have are good to zone 5. Mrs. G ONLY ONE tree has dropped 65% of its leaves (not the whole orchard). Sorry if I wasn't clear.

Jimmy, that sounds fairly awful to me as I've had the tree for four years and love it. Last summer, after dropping leaves it came right back with a full tree of leaves before fall. No fruit, but this year I posted a picture of all its blooms this spring. The fruit is almost the size of a quarter. The larger leaves of which there were tons,are on the ground. Only some branches are clinging onto its leaves and all of the new leaves at the ends of the branches are green and healthy. ???????? Mrs. G

I didn't have any new leaves, My leaves just started to fall off like it was fall and this was around july, Also my tree had peaches on it so I thought oh boy I'm finally going to get something then all of a sudden everything is going, I really need to come up with a good spraying schedule as I'm still learning.

Hmm, Gator that is interesting. My orchard faces due south with some shade in the late afternoon to the north. I'll check the trunks.

You need cut into sap see if sour smell, the bark want show any thing.

One thing want to add the sour sap be foot to foot half above soil. Later you get water sprouts below sour sap they grow great. Most peach tree have some sour sap every year, but only effect lower leaves around area limbs first few leaves fall early this mile cause sour sap I have this every year 15 to 20 leaves fall oldest one will fall that ones get sour sap first. Peach drop same, but higher in tree than damage fallen leaves.

This post was edited by gator_rider2 on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 21:12

Thanks Gator, also I emailed our Univ. of RI head of Hort, she is the Universities liason to all of the orchards in the state. She said RI doesn't have Ring Nematodes, so I'm ok there. Mrs. G

I'm at a loss Mrs. G. I don't think it's PTSL, or your spray program. Are you sure the soil in this particular spot is not soggy? I have a soggy spot in my front yard, but you can only tell it by digging down about a foot where you'll see water at the bottom of the hole this time of year.

That mean sour sap want be below ground that's good info below graft live and still chance for rest tree above graft as long have leaves. Long list still in works we have all summer on winter ones, But ph 6.5 range needs be checked sooner.

I had a peach do that a few weeks ago. I know for me the problem was I had peach tree borers on it last year that nearly killed the tree then and it looks like it got it now. Check at the bases of all your peach trees for brownish wettish gooey frass (looks like brown sawdust mixed with clear jelly). I sort of doubt it is borers because the leaves usually yellow before dropping in that case, but its worth checking into. The only other time I had a drop like that was due to a spray that I mixed the wrong concentration on.

Scott

Hello, In 2011 and 2013 we had torrential rains (I think we had almost 20" in May and June) and my cherry trees which were not on mounds dropped their leaves in mid summer with just the little ones left (They never recovered). The peaches not on mounds did not drop their leaves but were weakened and did not survive the winter.

Winter damage (at least here) normally shows itself right after bloom when the trees are leafing out, and all the leaves die, not just the big ones.

Once I had leaf drop on an apricot I sprayed with an "Organic Pyrethrin" spray, it was the only tree I sprayed that day and started dropping leaves a few days later. I chalked it up to a bad batch of spray, I threw the rest out. The tree recovered and lived for years.

So I would guess either your trees are sensitive to your spray or dose, for which you can try another ones there are alot around (or could it be your water? over chlorinated, or hard?), or water on the roots (which prevents oxygen from getting to the roots so they drown).