Forest Service Treats 2.61 Million Pine Trees for Pine Wilt Disease in First Half of Year - "Highest Ever"

(Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Ju-young = The Korea Forest Service announced on the 9th that it has completed control measures for 2.61 million trees to prevent the spread of pine wood nematode disease in the first half of this year, marking the largest scale ever. According to the Korea Forest Service, to curb the increasing spread of pine wood nematode disease since 2023, a total of 1.49 million infected trees were investigated until May, and 2.61 million trees were controlled, including trees with potential infection. Based on the National Institute of Forest Science's monitoring results, recent climate change and abnormal high temperatures have extended the activity period and habitat of nematode vectors, while pine tree growth conditions have become vulnerable, leading to continued increases in pine wood nematode damage. The Korea Forest Service improved the existing investigation method of infected trees, which was previously based on local government applications, by ...