Fumigants are increasingly used in several countries for remedial treatments of transmission poles to increase the service life. The present study was initiated primarily to test the remaining toxic effects of spruce (Picea rubra) wood, fumigated with chloropicrin (trichloronitro methane) or MIT (Methyl isothiocyanate) after long period of aeration, on the spore germination of decay fungi. This study indicates that spore germination of decay fungi is more sensitive than mycelia for these fumigants. An assay involving spores could therefore complement the earlier proposed open and closed tube bioassays for assessment of remaining ability to prevent reestablishment of decay fungi in fumigated wood. This assay is sensitive both to bound wood residues contributed by the fumigants as well as to fumigant vapor.

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