Ohioguy wrote:
Here are some extreme close-up photos I took of the problem this
morning:
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9199/peach1r.jpg
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8543/peach2m.jpg
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/6452/peach3.jpg

Photos are resized to ~110k so they'll load quickly

In the second one, you can also see the couple of places on the right,
near the base of the peach leaf, where I think the ants are doing
something to the tree - almost like they're getting sap. I don't think
this is a major issue like the tip dieback and clear gelatinous mass,
though.


I had this exact same thing in my nectarine tree a couple years ago. Once I
blocked the ants at the trunk base with some Tanglefoot, then a bunch of
ladybugs appeared and within weeks I had new growth without the new-shoot
dieback symptom. Now I always block the ants and each spring a large
population of ladybugs returns to the tree. Obviously they are feeding on
some kind of insect and I was finally able to see some very small critters
with a magnifying glass. Whatever they are, they are much smaller than any
aphids I've seen. Anyway, I'd suggest blocking the ants and see if some
beneficial predator bugs appear to clean up the pests.