The effect of wood species and temperature on efficiency of metham sodium (32.1% sodium N-methyldithiocarbamate) decomposition to methylisothiocyanate (MITC) was investigated on 10 hardwoods and 9 conifers over a 144 hour period. Gas chromatographic analyses of headspace samples and ethyl acetate extracts of the wood revealed that decomposition never approached the theoretical decomposition efficiency (40%). Decomposition was generally better with hardwoods and at higher temperatures, although there were exceptions with some species. The results suggest that there is some potential for improving the performance of metham sodium through the use of additives which enhance decomposition efficiency.

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