This study evaluated the decay resistance of treated wood with a new quaternary ammonia compound, didecyl dimethyl ammonium tetrafluoroborate (DBF) in laboratory soil bed and Basidiomycetes tests. Treated sugi sapwood specimens with DBF at various concentration levels were first subjected to soil bed tests using two types of soil. The specimens subjected to soil bed tests were then used for Basidiomycetes tests using two different test fungi. Compost soil caused more mass losses in the specimens in comparison with field soil. DBF treatments at the highest retention level (7.7 kg/m3) did not protect wood entirely in soil bed tests suggesting that detoxification or bio-leching of DBF chemical due to various organisms or chemical reactions occurred in the soil matrix. In Basidiomyecetes tests, the white rot fungus, Coriolus versicolor caused less mass losses compared to the brown-rot fungus, Coniophora puteana. The specimens subjected first to soil-bed tests showed higher mass losses in Basidiomycetes tests using C. versicolor than those not subjected to soil-bed tests. C. puteana tests, however, showed variations in the mass losses of the specimens. These results may suggest that DBF can be used as a wood preservative to protect wood in above-ground applications.

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