S. Korea develops on-site disease test kit for pine trees

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run forestry laboratory said
Wednesday it has developed an effective test kit to easily detect destructive
pine wood nematodes in trees.
The Korea Forest Research Institute said the kit can be used on-site with minimal
training and can contribute greatly to containing the disease that has wrecked
havoc in forests around the world.
In the past, contamination could be determined only through a process that
sometimes took a week and required samples to be checked by experts in
laboratories.
The new kit, the first of its kind in the world, uses advances in DNA screening
and an extensive database of the antigens and antibodies of nematodes that have
been found in the country.
The nematode, or Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is transmitted by sawyer beetles.
Once contaminated, the tree wilts and dies, and because there is no treatment,
all contaminated trees must be cut and incinerated.
The first case in South Korea was reported in 1988 in the southeastern port city
of Busan, with the disease spreading to most parts of the country and affecting
around 8,000 hectares of forests.
In the past few years, Seoul has taken tough preventative measures, such as
levying fines for transporting pines and destroying whole forests if one diseased
tree is found. The latter measure has resulted in the destruction of 230,000
trees so far.
Experts have warned that the spread of the wilting disease could have serious
consequences, as roughly 40 percent of all trees in the country are pine trees.
Pine forests in Japan and China have been hit hard, while the disease has also
affected countries including the United States, Canada and Portugal.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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