Imsil-gun Conducts Joint Pest Control to Prevent Rice Pest Damage

Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk Province, announced on the 5th that it will conduct joint pest control for rice pests twice starting in July to prevent damage caused by abnormal weather conditions.

The county plans to carry out the first pest control from the 11th to the 21st and the second from the 30th to the 1st of next month.

Imsil County is making every effort to jointly control rice pests and diseases.
[Photo by Imsil County]

This year’s aerial pest control will involve six Imsil-gun pest control teams, the same as last year, conducting drone pest control over the entire area.

The aerial pest control area is planned to cover 2,349 hectares in the first round and 2,325 hectares in the second, totaling 4,674 hectares. The total project cost is 979 million KRW, with 30% subsidized by the county government, 30% by local agricultural cooperatives, and farmers bearing only 40% of the cost.

For general pest control, pesticides will be provided individually to farms that cultivate early-maturing rice varieties where aerial control is difficult, eco-friendly farms, and farms adjacent to livestock barns and orchards.

The total project cost for general pest control is 243 million KRW (40% county government, 60% farmers), covering 1,042 hectares in the first round and 1,063 hectares in the second, totaling 2,105 hectares.

Notably, both aerial and general pest control will support two types of insecticides and fungicides for the first and second rounds, and starting this year, nutritional supplements will be additionally provided during the second round of both aerial and general pest control.

Pest control will be conducted only in the morning before sunrise to maximize effectiveness, and the second round will include nutritional supplements to prevent lodging and improve grain quality, ensuring thorough management during the late growth stage.

To prevent unintended contamination, pesticides selected will comply with the Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) set simultaneously for rice as well as for crops like chili peppers and peaches, ensuring that pest control does not violate the PLS (Positive List System for Agricultural Chemicals).

Rice blast disease is likely to occur when rainfall continues for more than three days, temperatures range between 20?25°C, and humidity exceeds 90%. Disease incidence may increase in farms with heavy nitrogen fertilizer application, so careful monitoring during the rainy season is necessary.

Before the full-scale pest control, on May 31, a joint pest control council was held with 25 participants including representatives from each town and related officials to select fungicides, insecticides, and nutritional supplements for the first and second rounds of aerial and general pest control, and to discuss the timing of pest control.

County Governor Shim Min said, “We ask for your efforts in timely pest control to minimize damage and improve quality through late-stage pest control. Due to the recent abnormal weather, the increase in rice blast, rice leaf folder, and rice bacterial leaf streak occurrences requires us to make every effort to prevent late-stage pest damage.”

Imsil = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Nosik baekok@asiae.co.kr

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