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Plum Tree Curled Leaves with Tubes: Leaf Curl Plum Aphid

Plum tree has curled leaves with 1/4-inch hollow tubes on undersides. Not eggs—emerging from leaf tissue.

Identification: Leaf Curl Plum Aphid

Shiny, green to brown aphids inside curled leaves. Overwinter as eggs near buds. Spring populations cause tight leaf curls. Migrate to aster family plants in May. Heavy honeydew secretion reduces growth and fruit sugar.

Management

Dormant/delayed-dormant spray best timing.
Zinc sulfate (36%) at 10-20 lb/acre in Oct hastens leaf fall, disrupts lifecycle.
Natural enemies help but often insufficient.

Plant Diseases: Plum Tree Shot Hole and Bark Bumps: Separating Insect Damage from Normal Lenticels; Spindle Galls on Plum Leaves: A Cosmetic Issue; Lilac Leaf Curl and Bark Splotches: Herbicide Drift Suspected; Flowering Plum Post-Bloom Transition: Normal Seasonal Progression; Flowering Plum Sudden Defoliation: Overwatering Root Rot Risk; Plum Tree "Ghost Leaves": Diagnosing Browning and Bud Check; Flowering Plum Pale Leaves and Trunk Swelling: Fertilizer Response and Wait-and-See; Asian Pear Sticky Leaves: Scale Insects; Controlling Aphids on Plum Trees for Healthy Foliage; Viburnum Yellowing and Peach Leaf Curl

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