Seoul begins preemptive strike on ginkgo trees before nuts become stink bombs

In the fall, ginkgo trees turn a vibrant golden yellow, but their fruits pose a significant odor management challenge. (Getty Images)

The refreshing autumn breeze offers a welcome respite from the sweltering summer, but it also heralds the season of smelly ginkgo fruits.

To tackle the annual nuisance of rotting ginkgo nuts stinking out the streets, the Seoul Metropolitan Government launched Monday a city-wide initiative in which specialized personnel will remove the nuts from trees before they have a chance to fall and rot.

The operation, spanning all 25 districts of the city, targets female ginkgo trees, which account for about a quarter of the city's 102,794 ginkgo trees.

Specialized teams will use special equipment to shake the trees and collect the nuts, focusing on heavily trafficked areas, according to city officials. The teams will also be dispatched in response to citizen complaints about ginkgo trees.

The removal operation is underway in some districts already, starting with Secho-gu earlier this month, although the full-scale operation starts this week. The city plans to complete the process by the end of October.

Once the collected seeds, which are edible, pass a safety inspection by the Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, they will be distributed to senior citizen communities and social welfare organizations.

Workers shake a gingko tree to collect its seeds in Seoul. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)

By No Kyung-min(minmin@heraldcorp.com)