Decay Resistance of Sixty-Five Southeast Asian Timber Specimens in Accelerated Laboratory Tests

Abstract

Decay resistance of sixty-five specimens of Southeast Asian timbers, which covered 23 families, including 37 genera, was tested in laboratory sand block tests against a soft rot fungus, Chaetomium globosum Kunze, and a white rot fungus, Coriolus versicolor Quel. It was shown that there was a tendency, especially in the case of Co. versicolor, for dense and/or extractive-rich species to be more resistant to decay, and that the greater part of extractive-rich species became more susceptible to decay after treatment with hot methanol. Ochanostachys amentacea, Scorodocarpus borneensis, Eusideroxylon zwageri, Cantleya corniculata, Shorea exelliptica, Shorea hypoleuca and Shorea laevis retained high resistance even after the treatment. In addition, different reactions to methanol extractives between the two test fungi were observed in several species.