Naju-si Supplies Preventive Chemicals for 'Fire Blight' to Pear Farmers

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) announced on the 22nd that it will supply control agents to pear cultivation farms to prevent 'fire blight' in advance.

The Naju Agricultural Technology Center invested 130 million won to support 2,178 farms (total area 1,946 hectares) with the control agent 'Tamnara' (copper compound) to prevent fire blight in advance.

'Fire blight' is a disease in which leaves, stems, branches, and fruits wither and die as if they have been burned due to pests and diseases.

According to the Rural Development Administration, due to the occurrence of fire blight last year, 744 farms (394 hectares) in 15 cities and counties across 5 provinces nationwide were closed (buried), marking the greatest damage in the past five years.

Also, since it is highly contagious and there is no suitable treatment, fire blight can be prevented in advance by thoroughly monitoring and removing suspicious ulcer branches and spraying control agents at the right time.

The effective control method is to spray the agent when the floral buds wrapped in bud scales emerge and the bud scales fall off for pears, and when new shoots appear for apples.

For pear orchards in the Naju area, it is recommended to spray between the 25th and 31st while checking the flower bud status in each orchard, spraying when the pear bud scales open (before flowering).

In particular, mixing copper compounds with other agents such as lime sulfur mixture or Bordeaux mixture increases the incidence of phytotoxicity, so mixing agents is prohibited.

However, if lime sulfur mixture must be sprayed before copper compounds in the orchard, it is advisable to advance the spraying time and use copper compounds 5 to 7 days later.

An official from the Agricultural Technology Center said, "Since the fire blight agent has also been proven effective against black rot and bacterial diseases, farmers must spray according to the appropriate timing and method," and added, "To prevent phytotoxicity caused after spraying, it is necessary to spray at the right time and comply with the standard dilution ratio (1,000 times) indicated on the registered agent."

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