Pine wilt can kill infected trees within a few weeks. The pine wood nematode does the damage, but it is the pine sawyer beetle that spreads the deadly nematode.

Thus, disease measures for pine wilt involve control of the pine sawyer beetle. I learned about this today at Keya Golf Club in Fukuoka. There are approximately 25,000 pine trees at Keya, and helicopter application of insecticide can be completed on all these trees within one hour. 400 L of spray solution are added to the tank, the helicopter sprays that out, and then the process is repeated 3 more times. In total, the helicopter will make 4 runs, each time with 400 L of spray solution.

After observing the spraying from the ground, I got to take a ride in the helicopter and enjoyed a fine view of this classic golf course.