The bioassay with Aspergillus niger is a simple way of determining the presence and amount of pentachlorophenol or tributyltin oxide in wood, but it does not appear useful for measuring strongly fixed chemicals such as chromated copper arsenate, borate, and fluoride. Its effectiveness in detecting other preservatives has not been...
A closed-tube bioassay with Poria placenta was used to measure residual fungistatic vapors in wood fumigated with methylisothiocyanate (MIT). This bioassay showed an inverse linear relationship between fungal growth and the amount of MIT in the wood samples. For fumigated increment-core sections of unseasoned Douglas-fir heartwood (4.8 mm in diameter...
Heartwood from coastal redwood [Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don.) Endl.] is very durable and is often used untreated in harsh environments, such as cooling towers of power or chemical processing plants. Wood in this environment is often attacked by soft rot fungi. Some wood users attempt to bolster protection by including...
Alder represents an abundant but underutilized resource that has little natural resistance to decay. Treated alder might be used for stakes, posts, or other nonstructural applications. The performance of alder treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), copper 8 quinolinolate, zinc naphthenate (ZN), or thiocyanomethylthiobenzothiazole (TCMTB) was assessed in soil block...
Mylone@ and tridipam are two solid chemicals that decompose to produce methylisothiocyanate (MIT), a highly effective wood fumigant. In this study, two techniques -- a rapid, test-tube method and small-scale, wood-block assay -- were used to determine the effect of the pH of various chemical buffers on the decomposition of...
A small-scale test was developed to evaluate the ability of fungicides to control decay fungi established in wood. The test, which uses blocks 2.5 x 2.5 x 10 cm, tests the ability of a chemical to migrate from the middle of the block to control a previously established decay fungus,...
The influence of moisture content (MC) and conventional preservative treatment on methylisothiocyanate (MIT) sorption and diffusion were investigated in Douglas-fir wood. In wood at 0% MC, the ratio of equilibrium MIT adsorption to desorption concentrations was low (0.2), but it increased rapidly to about 0.94 above 18% MC. Partition coefficients...
High concentrations of the fumigant methylisothiocyanate (MITC) will effectively control decay fungi in large wood structures, but the fungitoxicity of low MITC concentrations and the influence of wood moisture content (MC) on its performance are not well understood. The MC of Douglas-fir heartwood greatly influenced the susceptibility of the decay...
Vapam(r) (NaMDC) is the fumigant most commonly used to arrest and control decay of utility poles. While volatile fungitoxins are detectable only 1 to 2 years after treatment, poles treated with Vapam(r) remain free of decay fungi for 6 to 17 years. Vapam(r) decomposes to produce volatile fungicides as well...
A small block test was used in assessing whether pelletized sodium n-methyldithiocarbamate (NaMDC) would decompose and produce methylisothiocyanate (MITC) and thereby eliminate Antrodia carbonica colonies from Douglas-fir heartwood. Also evaluated were the effects of wood moisture content, dosage, incubation period, pH level, and presence of copper sulfate on percentage of...
The effects of moisture content, flow direction, concentration, and temperature on the diffusion of chloropicrin in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) heartwood were investigated. Diffusion coefficients were strongly affected by wood moisture content. Coefficients for radial and tangential diffusion at the fiber-saturation point were twice as high as those at...
Studies of the effects of various chemicals on fungal growth are difficult to perform on filamentous fungi because of the difficulty of observing the protoplasm through the rigid hyphal wall, and because most activity occurs in the region near the hyphal tip. However, hyphae can be exposed to certain enzymes...
The relationship between moisture content and the presence of methylisothiocyanate (MITC) in wood following various applications of sodium n-methyldithiocarbamate (NaMDC) was investigated with small Douglas-fir heartwood blocks. While MITC levels were initially higher in wetter blocks, MITC levels in drier blocks remained more stable over the 8-week test period. The...
Adverse effects on mechanical properties from using a supercritical fluid (SCF) to increase preservative penetration of refractory woods were evaluated by treating small ponderosa pine sapwood specimens with supercritical carbon dioxide at 64 combinations of temperatures (35 to 80 C), pressure (1,000 to 4,000 psig), and time (0.5 to 2...
A new laboratory technique to simulate the initiation of wood decay and to assess the effects of incipient decay on material properties is described. Douglas-fir heartwood specimens were exposed to brown-rot (Postia placenta and Gloeophyllum trabeum) fungi for various periods. Bendlng properties were determined by nondestructive and destructive tests, and...
Impact bending and breaking radius were used to measure loss in toughness caused by basidiomycetes isolated from wood. Small test pieces were used to accelerate testing. Wide differences were found among, and sometimes within, the 26 species tested. Brown-rot fungi tended to cause greater losses than white-rot fungi, but no...
Differences in stain susceptibility were evaluated on sterile and unsterile samples of freshly sawn, frozen and thawed, or oven-dried and rewetted ponderosa pine sapwood. Samples treated with sterile medium or with medium inoculated with either Pseudomonas putida or Bacillus subtilis were inoculated with selected wood-staining fungi. In general, fresh unsterile...
The effect of various wood characteristics on decomposition of metham sodium to methylisothiocyanate in sixteen North American and Southeast Asian hardwoods and softwoods was investigated. While marked differences were noted in the degree of decomposition among some species, the relationship between decomposition and lignin content, extractive levels, wood pH, or...
The effect of pretreatment of Douglas-fir flakes with CCA-C, borate, and azaconazole on properties of flakeboard was studied. Flakes had higher retention levels of CCA-C and borate in their ends than in their centers. The distribution of chemicals was uniform in panels, which indicates that the chemicals did not migrate...
Hyphal fragments and protoplasts of two wood-degrading fungi, Postia placenta and Trametes versicolor, were used to examine the effects of two fungicides, copper sulfate and azaconazole, on fungal health (as measured by oxygen consumption, glucose utilization, potassium levels, cell regeneration, and copper uptake). Although both cell systems responded to the...