Chungcheongbuk-do begins to establish a control strategy to prevent the spread of the third major outbreak of pine wilt disease

As the country enters its third major outbreak, damage spreads to adjacent areas such as Chungnam and Gyeongbuk.

Prepare improvement measures for the current pest control system and regional strategies for each city and county by July next year

(Cheongju = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeon Chang-hae = Chungcheongbuk-do is starting to establish a regionally customized control strategy to prevent the spread of pine wilt disease.

As the damage caused by the third outbreak of wilt disease spreads nationwide, the purpose is to minimize the inflow into the province using control methods tailored to city and county conditions.

According to North Chungcheong Province on the 6th, the province will spend 100 million won to promote 'pine wilt disease control strategy establishment service' for six months from January to July next year.

Pine wilt disease is a disease in which 1mm-sized wilt nematodes parasitize within tree tissue and destroy moisture and nutrient transport pathways, causing the tree to dry out and die within one year of infection.

Infections can include not only pine trees but also sea pine trees, pine trees, and pine trees. There is currently no cure, so infection is 100% fatal.

The domestic outbreak was first reported in Busan in 1988.

Afterwards, there were 'first and second major outbreaks' in which 1.37 million trees were damaged in 2007 and 2.18 million trees were damaged in 2014.

However, as of May of this year, 1.77 million trees nationwide were infected, according to analysis, indicating that we have entered the 'third major outbreak'.

Fortunately, in North Chungcheong Province, the damage amounted to only about 570 trees in 7 cities and counties, excluding Boeun, Okcheon, Jeungpan, and Eumseong, out of 11 cities and counties, and is classified as a 'minor area.'

However, the adjacent regions of Sejong, South Chungcheong Province (Cheonan, Taean, Cheongyang), and North Gyeongsang Province (Sangju, Gimcheon, Mungyeong, Yeongju) are severely damaged, so a preemptive control strategy is needed to block the inflow into the province.

The fact that damage in the province was concentrated in Jecheon, Danyang, and Yeongdong, which border the affected areas in Gyeongbuk, is also a cause for such concern.

Accordingly, North Chungcheong Province plans to improve the current pest control response system to prevent the spread of wilt disease through a pest control strategy establishment service and prepare a regional pest control strategy customized for each city and county.

The main contents of the service include establishing a metropolitan-level control strategy in connection with the national control strategy, suggesting control methods according to the level of wilt disease damage by city and county, and creating a strategy map.

In addition, we plan to analyze the existing pest control history, such as preventive tree injection, chemical spraying, and fumigation, to examine problems with each method and include improvement measures.

In addition, we will also seek conservation measures against wilt disease for prime pine forests such as the Baekdudaegan protected area, major temples, parks, scenic spots, natural recreation forests, and village forests.

An official from North Chungcheong Province said, "We plan to use the service results as basic data for each city and county's control strategy for next year's intensive control period (September 2027 to April 2028). Furthermore, we will do our best to prevent the spread of wilt disease by actively using it to establish joint surveillance and control plans for adjacent cities, counties and regions."