Yeongdeok-gun Conducts Joint Control of Simultaneously Occurring Sudden Pest Outbreaks Through Collaboration

Military and National Forest Management Office, Joint Pesticide Application on 50ha of Farmland and Forests

Yeongdeok-gun conducted a joint collaborative control of sudden outbreak pests that occurred simultaneously over two days on the 3rd and 7th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk, designated the 3rd of this month as "Joint Pest Control Day" and carried out joint pest control during the nymph stage of sudden outbreak pests in collaboration with the Yeongdeok National Forest Management Office to prevent the occurrence and spread of damage caused by sudden outbreak pests due to increased risk from climate change.

On the 30th of last month, Yeongdeok-gun held a Sudden Outbreak Pest Control Countermeasure Council for agricultural and forest areas, forming a team of about 30 members including staff from the Agricultural Technology Center, Forestry Division, Jipum-myeon, and officials from the Yeongdeok National Forest Management Office. They conducted joint pest control activities over two days on the 3rd and 7th.

The target area was 50 hectares of farmland and adjacent hills around Gisa-ri, Jipum-ri, and Wonjeon-ri in Jipum-myeon. To prevent the spread of sudden outbreak pests such as the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) and Brown-winged Cicada, and to minimize secondary damage, pesticides registered under the Pesticide Control Act were sprayed using wide-area sprayers.

Sudden outbreak pests that move between farmland and nearby hills lay eggs on tree trunks. After winter, during the peak hatching period of larvae in May and June, the larvae awaken, suck sap from branches, and excrete secretions that cause sooty mold on crops, significantly reducing the commercial value of agricultural products and causing severe damage.

Yeongdeok-gun and the Yeongdeok National Forest Management Office judged that this period, when 80% of the eggs hatch, is the optimal time for pest control, as the temperatures last winter and this spring were somewhat higher than average, accelerating the hatching period and increasing pest occurrence. To maximize pest control effectiveness, simultaneous control was conducted in both farmland and forest areas.

Hwang Daesik, Director of the Agricultural Technology Division at the Agricultural Technology Center, stated, "By conducting joint collaborative pest control during the simultaneous outbreak of sudden pests, we have worked to reduce pest density and minimize crop damage. We ask general fruit farmers to actively cooperate in pesticide control by combining joint collaborative pest control with timely individual crop pest management to prevent crop damage."

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