Disease · Olive
Olive leaf spot (peacock spot): where the grove is losing its leaves
Venturia oleaginea
Peacock spot infects in winter and shows months later. We fly the grove and mark the trees with the thinnest canopy, where the most leaves have fallen. Then it has to be checked on foot.
We have not flown this problem ourselves yet. We work it out with you, on your field.
The problem
The leaf that falls too soon
Round, dark spots appear on the top of the leaf, often with a yellow halo, and the leaf falls too soon. In bad years the defoliation can be heavy and cost you crop.
It needs the leaf to be wet: rain, dew or fog, in mild weather. It infects mostly in winter and the infection can stay hidden for a long time. That is why, when you see it, it has already happened. It likes hollows, riverbanks and dense, poorly ventilated canopies.
How it works
A flight to see the canopy
1
We fly the grove
In spring and again in early autumn, when the defoliation is already noticeable in the canopy.
2
We send you the map
Trees and areas with a thinner canopy. The spots are on the lower leaves and are hard to see from above: it is confirmed on foot.
3
You adjust
Pruning that lets air through, and stronger protection in the areas that suffer most.
The areas that lose the most leaves often repeat: hollows and damp edges. A map from several years makes them clear.
Where it shows up
In the olive grove
- Olive
Most varieties are susceptible to some degree, and it changes from one site to another.
What farmers ask us
Peacock spot: your field questions
When does it infect?
In winter and spring, with a wet leaf. But you can see it months later, because the infection stays hidden.
When do you protect?
Before the rainy spells that carry a risk, because no product cures a leaf that is already affected. The timing depends on the area and the year: ask your adviser.
Does burning the fallen leaves help?
Little. The fungus survives mostly in the leaves that stay on the tree.
Know someone this would help?
Send them this page. If they have olive leaf spot (peacock spot) in their fields, you save them some searching.