Hwasun-gun "Please Report Suspected Symptoms of Fire Blight Disease in Fruit Trees"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Young-gyun] Hwasun County, Jeollanam-do (Governor Gu Chung-gon) recently urged farmers to immediately report to the Agricultural Technology Center if they discover suspected symptoms of fire blight, which is rapidly spreading mainly in the Chungcheong region, the county announced on the 19th.

The Rural Development Administration has raised the crisis response level from "caution" to "alert" considering the spread pattern, including confirmed areas and farms, increase in the number of farms, and affected area compared to the previous year. Recently, fire blight has been confirmed in a total of 434 farms (239.8 hectares) nationwide, mainly in Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Gyeonggi regions.

The affected area has already far exceeded the total area from the previous year, and for the first time this year, two cases were confirmed in Iksan, Jeonbuk, indicating that southern regions cannot be complacent either.

Fire blight is a bacterial infectious disease called "fruit tree COVID" or "fruit tree AIDS" because there is no preventive vaccine or treatment, and the infection route is not properly understood.

Also, leaves and branches turn black or red as if burned by fire and wither. There is currently no clear treatment method, and even a single infected tree can cause such massive damage that the entire orchard must be closed.

To prevent fire blight, it is crucial for fruit farmers to maintain orchard cleanliness, restrict outsiders' access to orchards, thoroughly disinfect (people and tools) upon entry, prohibit the import of scions and seedlings from affected or adjacent areas or from foreign or unclear sources, and conduct self-monitoring at least once a week for early detection of symptoms.

An official from the Agricultural Technology Center said, "Not only farmers cultivating pears and apples but also residents with just one or two trees in their yards should immediately report to the Agricultural Technology Center if suspected symptoms of fire blight appear."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.