Farmers in South Korea harvest about 900 million pounds of apples annually. This production is only possible because a large number of fungicide sprays are made to prevent fungal pathogens from rotting the apples. The most common disease of apples in Korea is white rot, a disease that starts on the apple peel, moves toward the core and turns the entire fruit into a soft, watery, pale rotten mess.

“In Korea, due to frequent rain during apple growing season, especially in one month of the rainy season, the disease problem is very serious. If fungicides are not used at all, more than 90% of the fruit may be rotten and almost all the leaves may drop before harvest. Most apple growers spray fungicides 14 to 16 times in each growing season. Among the diseases of economic importance, white rot is the most serious, as cv. Fuji that is highly susceptible to this disease accounts for more than 70% of apples produced.”

Authors: J.Y. Uhm, D.H. Lee, D.H. Kim and H. Woo
Affiliation: School of Applied Biology and Chemistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea
Title: Development of a spray program for apple with reduced fungicide application in Korea.
Publication: Journal of Plant Pathology. 2009. 90(Supplement 2):S2.155.