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Busan Launches Preemptive Ginkgo Fruit Harvesting to Tackle Fall Street Odors

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, will carry out preemptive harvesting of ginkgo fruit this fall to minimize inconvenience to residents caused by sidewalk contamination and odors as ginkgo fruit ripens and falls.

The initiative is intended to prevent inconvenience caused by ginkgo fruit falling onto sidewalks. Of the approximately 33,000 ginkgo trees planted as street trees across the city, 10,000 female trees will be targeted.

Beginning around the Chuseok holiday period, approximately 250 field workers per day on average will conduct full-scale harvesting along designated routes and within designated areas using equipment and tools such as vibration harvesters and poles.

In addition, approximately 200 fruit collection nets will be installed by the end of September to prevent fruit from falling onto sidewalks.

During the first half of 2026, the city also carried out tree replacement and chemical injection and spraying measures aimed at fundamentally preventing fruit formation and promoting early fruit drop.

A total of 118 female ginkgo trees along nine routes, including Naengjeong-ro in Busanjin-gu, have been replaced with male trees. An additional 25 trees along locations including Gwangan-ro in Suyeong-gu are scheduled to be replaced in October. The city plans to secure funding annually and continue replacing trees, with priority given to areas that generate frequent complaints.

During the first half of this year, the city also completed injections of fruit-setting inhibitors and spraying of early fruit-drop agents on approximately 1,400 trees along 37 routes, including Haegwan-ro in Jung-gu.

Meanwhile, of the 48,860 kilograms of ginkgo fruit collected between September and November 2025, the city donated 3,000 kilograms free of charge to welfare facilities after the fruit underwent heavy metal testing.

Fruit scheduled to be harvested in 2026 will be donated free of charge when requested by welfare facilities and other organizations, disposed of by the city, or used as fertilizer at municipal nursery facilities.

Kim Chang-deok, Director of the Green City Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “The city is working to minimize inconvenience to residents by replacing trees and harvesting ginkgo fruit in line with the seasonal period when the fruit falls.”

He added, “Because the harvesting work will be carried out along roadsides using equipment such as vibration harvesters, there may be some inconvenience to pedestrians and traffic during working hours. We ask for residents’ understanding and will continue our efforts to create a more pleasant streetscape.”