184 Orchards in Gyeonggi-do Affected by 'Fire Blight' Last Year

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Last year, 184 farms in Gyeonggi-do were affected by fire blight, known as 'fruit tree foot-and-mouth disease.' The damage covered 99 hectares of apple and pear orchards.

Fire blight first occurred in 2015 in Anseong, Cheonan, and Jecheon, and last year it spread to 288.9 hectares of fruit trees across 618 farms in 22 cities and counties in 5 provinces nationwide.

Within the province, the affected areas include seven cities and counties: Yongin, Pyeongtaek, Namyangju, Icheon, Paju, Anseong, and Yeoju, with Namyangju and Yeoju experiencing their first outbreaks.

Accordingly, the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services produced 5,000 copies of a booklet containing winter fire blight prevention guidelines on the 4th and distributed them to farms through city and county agricultural technology centers.

Fire blight, which affects about 180 species of the Rosaceae family including apples and pears, causes tissue to wither as if burned.

It spreads rapidly and has no cure; once it occurs, infected trees must be buried within 10 days, and the host plants cannot be replanted for three years, resulting in severe damage.

The Agricultural Research and Extension Services urged immediate reporting if ulcers suspected to be overwintering sites for the pathogen are found on fruit trees during winter.

Kim Seok-cheol, director of the Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services, explained, "It is important to maintain orchard cleanliness by disinfecting tools to prevent bacterial transmission. If it is difficult to distinguish between general ulcers and suspected ulcers, you can contact the city or county agricultural technology centers or the provincial agricultural research institute for diagnosis."

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