Why did you wrap it in plastic wrap?… Pest damage doubled in one year

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The cherry trees on Yunjung-ro, Yeouido, a famous cherry blossom spot in Seoul, have been wrapped in plastic wrap for over a month. This is to prevent pests that attack cherry trees, but as the damage nearly doubled in one year, an active preventive measure seems necessary.

Reporter Jung Jun-ho covered it.

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Yunjung-ro, Yeouido, Seoul.

Hundreds of cherry trees are wrapped in plastic wrap.

There are holes all over the tree, and the bottom is full of powder from the holes.

It is a trace of a pest inhabiting cherry trees, the cherry musk beetle.

The cherry musk beetle feeds on the tree's moisture and nutrient passages and breeds by laying eggs in the summer.

It lives mainly on cherry trees that are over 30 years old, and is considered the main culprit in the death of large cherry trees.

In particular, as the damage to Yunjung-ro, which has many cherry trees over 100 years old, increased, the autonomous district even came up with an extreme prescription to cover the trees with plastic wrap for over a month.

Even just two or three cherry musk beetles can lay dozens of eggs on one tree, so the tree may die within a few years.

Each local government is increasing cherry trees to attract tourists, and the number is increasing recently as trees weaken due to climate change such as high temperature and drought.

It was designated as a pest two years ago, but the damage area has nearly doubled in one year.

[Jung Jong-guk Jeong / Forestry Researcher, National Academy of Forest Sciences: I have caught almost 100 of them from one tree. including young caterpillars. Looking at the recent trend, it seems that many of these large trees will disappear within a few years.]

Even in Japan, where there are many cherry trees, it is a problem even in the local governments that issue local gift certificates worth 500 yen per 10 adult carcasses and about 5,000 Korean won. There is.

The Korean government is also reviewing active preventive measures, such as the use of specialized control personnel, 'tree doctors', to prevent this wild oxen.

(Video editing: Eunjin Choi, VJ: Hyungjin Kim)