IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Protocol for evaluation and approving new wood preservative
1985 - IRG/WP 2159
M E Hedley, J A Butcher


Agenda:Workshop CCA failures in horticultural soils
1983 - IRG/WP 3241
J A Butcher, H Greaves


AAC preservatives: Recent New Zealand and Australian experience
1982 - IRG/WP 3188
This paper outlines the present commercial situation in New Zealand, presents results of current research undertaken at FRI and CSIRO, Division of Building Research (DBR), and comments on parallel research carried out elsewhere. Finally, some general comments are made on the limitations of present technology....
J A Butcher, H Greaves


Recent soft-rot research in softwoods and hardwoods
1980 - IRG/WP 1108
The purpose of this paper is to describe briefly the current status of our research on soft-rot fungi. The work to be discussed is still in progress and any results described must be regarded as provisional....
J A Butcher


Questionnaire: Facility for accelerated stake tests in unsterile soil
1981 - IRG/WP 2166
An acceptable name for this type of test facility has not yet been devised, but it has previously been referred to as a FUNGUS CELLAR or as a TROPICAL DECAY HOUSE. The attached pamphlet (What's New in Forest Research No.65) describes in broad terms the facility used for this purpose at FRI in New Zealand. Over the last two or three years several laboratories and commercial firms have inst...
J A Butcher


Report on questionnaire: Facility for accelerated stake tests in unsterile soil
1983 - IRG/WP 2169
In October 1981 a questionnaire (IRG Doc. No. IRG/WP/2166) on the so-called fungus cellar tests in unsterile soil was prepared and despatched to 56 individuals representing various institutes, organisations, or companies. In addition a further 68 letters describing the purpose of the questionnaire were sent to additional IRG members who could request the full questionnaire if appropriate. This rep...
J A Butcher


Isolation and identification of bacteria from degraded wood - A progress report
1986 - IRG/WP 192
During attempts to isolate tunnelling bacteria in pure culture, physical separation from other bacteria was successfully achieved by the use of cellophane. Cellophane was used in liquid cultures as a substrate for tunnelling bacteria that were present in a mixture with other bacteria. By tunnelling into cellophane, TB were physically removed from contaminating bacteria which could then be removed ...
J A Drysdale, P J Ruland, J A Butcher


Premature decay of CCA-treated pine posts in horticultural soils - An overview
1984 - IRG/WP 1241
The recent discovery in New Zealand of early decay in CCA-treated pine posts set in horticultural soils led to the establishment of a comprehensive research programme. The objectives and outline of this programme are presented together with an overview of research progress to date. Results suggest that premature decay of CCA-treated timber is restricted to material placed in highly cultivated soil...
J A Butcher


Soft rot tests
1983 - IRG/WP 2206
At the IRG meeting in Turkey it was proposed that developments in testing preservative-treated wood in unsterile soil according to techniques variously described as "fungus cellar", "soil-bed", or "accelerated field simulation" be considered along with conventional laboratory procedures as the basis for a standard test. Before formulating any co-operative test programme it is essential to examine ...
J A Butcher


An evaluation of chemical treatments for the protection of radiata pine logs from fungal degrade
1986 - IRG/WP 3377
Busan 30, Busan 1009, Mitrol PQ375. and sodium pentachlorophenoxide (NaPCP) plus have been evaluated as antisapstain treatments for the long-term protection of debarked radiata pine logs. After 3 months' winter-spring storage, treated debarked logs had less surface and internal sapstain than 'control' logs. After 6 months' storage all logs had internal sapstain ...
J A Drysdale, M E Hedley, J A Butcher


A serial exposure technique for estimating probable service life of treated timber
1978 - IRG/WP 2111
This paper briefly describes part of our preliminary work aimed at developing a test procedure that culd be adopted as a standard method. A detailed version of the work has been submitted for formal publication. In both papers, the aim is to promote interest in extended laboratory testing of wood preservatives. It is believed that this work may provide the basis of a laboratory test procedure from...
J A Butcher


Soft-rot control in hardwoods treated with chromated copper arsenate preservatives. Part 3: Influence of wood substrate and copper loadings
1977 - IRG/WP 2100
The hypothesis is proposed that hardwoods need more chromated copper arsenate (CCA) than softwoods to protect them from soft-rot attack mainly because hardwoods are more readily consumed by soft-rot fungi. Simple model systems, using copper-supplemented agar or groundwood pulp treated with CCA showed that fungi tolerated more toxicant (copper) as more available substrate (malt) was provided. Soft-...
M A Hulme, J A Butcher


A test method to simulate above-ground exposure
1978 - IRG/WP 2112
The simulated above-ground exposure technique described is worthy of consideration as a simple procedure to determine the relative decay resistance of preservative-treated wood exposed to a moderate decay hazard. The method may readily be modified to allow testing of other materials such as plywood by simply enlarging the slots cut in the modified feeder strips. The method by no means completely s...
J A Butcher


Current status of AAC preservatives in New Zealand
1980 - IRG/WP 3141
Two types of alkylammonium compounds (AAC) have been approved as commercially acceptable wood preservatives by the NZ Timber Preservation Authority (TPA). They are alkyldimethylbenzyl ammonium chloride and alkyldimethylamine acetate, both of which must contain either (a) 70% alkyl chains of C12 + C14 and less than 10% of any other individual chain length, or (b) 85% alkyl chains of C12 + C14 with ...
J A Butcher


Influence of variable lignin content amongst hardwoods on soft-rot susceptibility and performance of CCA preservative
1982 - IRG/WP 1151
This paper presents the outline of an argument, based on both new and established data, which relates varying lignin content to variation of soft-rot susceptibility between hardwood species and of performance of CCA preservatives in controlling soft-rot. Although more data need to be generated to prove this relationship, sufficient evidence exists for the hypothesis to be given close attention, pa...
J A Butcher, T Nilsson


Commercial antisapstain chemicals in New Zealand
1980 - IRG/WP 3142
Almost all sawn timber of exotic softwoods (principally Pinus radiata) and a large proportion of indigenous sawn timber receives an antisapstain chemical treatment to prevent fungal degrade during subsequent seasoning, storage, or transportation (if exported). Antisapstain chemicals are also widely used to protect freshly peeled round produce during drying. A further, specialised, use is as the fu...
J A Butcher


Benzalkonium chloride (an AAC preservative): Criteria for approval, performance in service, and implications for the future
1985 - IRG/WP 3328
The data base generated for benzalkonium chloride was considered adequate for commercial approvals, particularly after revision in late 1982. Field trials, although not part of the approval criteria, generally supported commercial use; decay observed in one test (post and rails) after 6 years' exposure would have resulted in some caution in setting retentions. No laboratory trial, nor fie...
J A Butcher


Bacterial degradation of wood cell wall: A review of degradation patterns
1990 - IRG/WP 1460
Information from bacterial degradation studies of 60's and 70's was reviewed by Nilsson in 1982. The application of electron microscopy to this area in recent years has provided much useful information and has eliminated earlier scepticism among workers about the ability of bacteria to degrade lignified wood cell walls. Studies using transmission electron microscopy together with...
A P Singh, J A Butcher


Soft-rot testing. Memo to CEN
1983 - IRG/WP 2206 A
1. Development of a single test procedure to assess performance of preservatives against soft rot fungi is an ideal that cannot be realised at present, if results are to be both reproducible between laboratories and pertinent to the practical requirements of individual countries. 2. Consensus opinion amongst members of Sub Group I - Soft rot tests, of Working Group II - Fundamentals of Testing, of the IRG, is that the immediate needs of CEN would be best answered by: (a) a code of recommended practice, (b) a multiplicity of test procedures, and (c) a degree of flexibility in test procedures. 3. The code of recommended practice should recognise the need for: (a) a pure culture, synthetic medium (sand or vermiculite + nutrients), single wood species test to be adopted by all laboratories as a common reference point of testing, (b) mixed inoculum and/or unsterile soil laboratory or fungus cellar tests which account for local variations in the fungal flora, (c) incorporation of a range of wood species where applicable (i.e. where mixed hardwoods comprise the main resource), (d) provision of local internal standards of known performance under field conditions, (e) incorporation of leaching procedures other than standard methods with deionized water (e.g. mild acid, milk alkali, ionic solutions of various salts) where applicable to local exposure conditions, (f) precise definition of the criteria used for establishing toxic thresholds (mass loss, strength loss, microscopic examination). 4. Initial screening tests should remain the province of the individual research worker. 5. The code of recommended practice should have the sole purpose of establishing provisional retention levels for subsequent confirmation by field trial. 6. IRG should list and approve test procedures considered adequate to establish toxic thresholds for preservatives against soft rot fungi. 7. It should be clearly understood that when using a series of test techniques, it is inevitable that a range of toxic thresholds will be obtained for the same preservative. 8. Guidelines should be drawn up for interpretation of test data for subsequent transformation to provisional retention levels. 9. Adoption of the broad principles outlines above is recognition of the dynamic nature of toxic thresholds. The additional information obtained by a more flexible, and complex, approach to testing may make interpretation more difficult but should provide data from which response of preservatives to varying biological and environmental hazards can be more realistically assessed. 10. It is recommended that CEN adopt, in principle, the basic philosophy of testing outlined above and move towards formulation of a Working Document in collaboration with IRG
J A Butcher, D J Dickinson