I've had several samples of distorted peach leaves brought to my office this past week. A quick glance through one of my disease books confirmed that we had an outbreak of peach leaf curl, a fungus disease.

Peach leaf curl is first noticed early in the spring when leaves start to unfold. Diseased leaves are noticeably red and soon become distorted, thickened and greatly curled as they develop. When diseased leaves are fully developed, they are lighter colored than normal - frequently flushed with red - and greatly curled, puckered and distorted. Leaves infected with leaf curl also are thicker than normal and have a firm and leathery consistency.