Controlling biological deterioration of wood with volatile chemicals. Interim report 1, January 1974--December 1976

Abstract

Biological procedures were developed to obtain fungi from Douglas-fir poles to distinguish between decay and nondecay fungi and to detect preservative or fumigant depletion so that supplemental treatments could be applied before significant reductions in pole strength occurred. Electrical resistance devices appeared capable of detecting advanced decay and measuring fumigant vapor concentrations in poles and will receive further study. Eight decay and 29 nondecay fungi were obtained from 3,111 Douglas-fir poles in western Oregon. Decay fungi rarely were obtained whereas nondecay fungi frequently were obtained from cedar and southern pine poles. Of the five most prevalent nondecay fungi in Douglas-fir poles, one was quite resistant to chloropicrin. Since this fungus inhibits the growth of a decay fungus in wood, the potential exists for a combined chemical-biological control of internal decay.