'Preventing Ginkgo Fruit Odor'... Incheon City Operates Early Harvest Rapid Response Team

Incheon City announced on the 19th that it will operate a mobile response team until November to address complaints about the foul odor caused by ginkgo tree fruits in the fall.

The mobile response team will be overseen by Incheon City’s situation management, and each district and county will use vibration harvesters, fruit collection nets, and aerial work vehicles to harvest the fruits of 12,764 ginkgo trees early.

Ginkgo tree fruits are known for their excellent shading and air purification abilities, and their yellow autumn foliage is beautiful, but the fallen fruits emit a strong foul odor and leave stains on roadsides, damaging the city’s aesthetics, earning them the nickname "unwelcome guests of autumn."

The city requested the Health and Environment Research Institute to measure contamination levels such as heavy metals and residual pesticides in the ginkgo fruits, and fruits confirmed to be safe will be used for citizen experience events.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will minimize citizen inconvenience caused by odors by harvesting the ginkgo fruits early," adding, "Furthermore, through the street tree risk assessment and diagnosis project and the specialized street tree creation project started this year, we will create a safe and beautiful street environment."

Harvesting ginkgo nuts using a vibration harvester
[Photo provided by Incheon City]

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