Apples are suffering from heat and damage, jujubes from anthrax disease... frequent autumn rains leave farmers in distress.

(Chungju, Boeun=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Byeong-gi and Kim Hyung-woo = "I'm worried because it's raining so much, there are many burst fruits, and the apples aren't getting their color."

On the morning of the 16th, in a 3,300㎡ apple orchard in Anlim-dong, Chungju City, North Chungcheong, farmer Im Mo (59) said this while looking up at the overcast sky.

His day starts by rushing to the orchard in front of his house to check if there are any burst fruits without shells.

Seeing the apples with 2 to 3 burst fruits per tree, which have lost their commercial value, makes him disheartened.

Generally, when it rains a lot, fruit trees absorb too much moisture, making it easy for the shells to burst. Additionally, if there is insufficient sunlight, the fruit won't get its proper color and the sugar content will drop, significantly lowering the commercial value.

Mr. Im said, "Last year was tough due to the heat, but this year it's the excessive rain that's the problem," and lamented to the sky, "I come out and manage it from morning, but if it keeps raining like this, all efforts are futile."

The situation in nearby Jecheon, which also has many apple farms, is not much different from Chungju, known as the "hometown of apples."

Mr. Sim Mo (50), who operates a 66,000㎡ apple farm in Sinwol-dong, said, "The apples currently being cultivated are Manseongjong Busa, which were harvested and stored in a freezer to be shipped around next year's Lunar New Year. However, if the color doesn't develop before it gets cold, the commercial value will drop significantly, so there's more to worry about than just that."

The rain damage is not limited to apples.

The continuous autumn rain, with no sign of stopping, is also causing distress among cabbage farmers in Goesan, famous for its "pickled cabbage."

Cabbage farmer Kim Mo (63) said, "As the kimchi season is approaching, diseases such as clubroot have struck all at once. Today, the farmers gathered to discuss what to do, but there are no countermeasures," and expressed his frustration.

In Boeun, jujube farmers are in despair.

Boeun, which accounts for 10% of the national distribution volume, has been famous for its jujubes since ancient times.

With the opening of the Boeun Jujube Festival, which brings in a salty income by selling fresh jujubes, just one day away, frequent rain has caused black spots on the fruits and the spread of anthracnose, making the farmers' hearts heavy.