TNAG-1607-FCO40-22122-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 77

QUESTION NO. 4

Reply by Hon. D.P.H. Liao, CBE, JP,

Secretary for District Administration,

to a question by Dr. the Hon. Henrietta IP Man-hing, OBE, JP,

in Legislative Council on 14 January 1987

QUESTION: Will Government inform this Council how many South China Pine trees in the territory have been affected by the pine-wilt nematode and what measures will be taken to preserve this type of tree?

Sir,

Some one million South China Pines, representing

about 70% of the total stock of this species in Hong Kong,

have been affected by the pine-wilt nematode since its

discovery in this territory in the late nineteen seventies.

About one third of the affected trees have died

and the remainder will probably die in the next few years.

So far, no effective chemical or biological

method of controlling this pest has been established, either

in Hong Kong or elsewhere. The Agriculture and Fisheries

Department has been trying to limit or delay the spread of the

pest by cutting down and burning the affected trees. Tens of

thousands of trees have been dealt with in this way since 1980.

The gradual decline of the South China Pine, which

was planted as a pioneer species in the nineteen fifties, is

not an entirely unwelcome event since it will have the effect

of opening up the forest canopy and encouraging the growth

of native broad-leaved trees and shrubs. The ensuing mixed

broad-leaved vegetation will be more resistent to fire and

pest than the South China Pine.