Previous research identified five volatile organic compounds produced by Trichoderma spp. that may be inhibitory to wood decay fungi. The effects of four of these volatile organic compounds, 2-propanone, 2-methyl-1-butanol, heptanal and octanal were tested over a range of concentrations against four selected wood decay fungi. The fungi were incubated in malt extract broth under appropriate conditions and growth was estimated by biomass production and respiration rates. The results indicated that the growth of all four fungi were affected by at least one of the compounds, usually by inhibition but in rare cases stimulation. One of the four compounds, heptanal completely inhibited the growth of three of the four fungi and significantly inhibited the growth of the fourth. The implications of these results for the biological control of wood decay fungi and future studies are discussed.

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