Chitosans have recently been explored for controlling a number of plant pathogenic fungi and have shown some promise for controlling stain fungi on wood. The potential for using chitosans either alone or in combination with copper sulfate to protect wood from fungal decay was explored using maple veneers. Chitosan treatment reduce weight losses caused by two brown rot and one white rot fungi, however, there were differences in responses to the three fungi as well as between different chitosan sources. The addition of copper appeared to produce no substantial improvement in protection beyond that afforded by either treatment separately. The inability of copper to improve performance may reflect inactivation due to interactions between the two biocides. Further studies with alternative co-biocides are suggested.

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