IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Fungus cellar testing as an evaluation method for performance of treated timber in ground contact
2001 - IRG/WP 01-20227
A fungus cellar method for the accelerated evaluation of performance of treated wood in ground contact is described. The test soil comprised of sandy loam, vermiculite and Japanese horticulture soil "Kanumatsuchi" in a ratio of 6:2:2 by volume. The soil was inoculated with the dominant test fungus isolated with selective medium from decayed wood samples. Pairs of treated and untreated wood specime...
Y Nagano


Soft rot - Soil burial - Tests. Influence of the water content of the soil on wood decay
1972 - IRG/WP 212
The decay of wood samples buried in the soil is influenced by various factors. Decisive are the water content, the content of organic substances, pH-value content of mineral nutritive substances etc. of the soil. For the tests, carried out by the EMPA until now, it was always started with a water content of 35%, refered to the dry weight of the EMPA-soil = 75% of its water capacity. In order to in...
O Wälchli


Evaluation of the pulsed-current resistance meter (Shigometer®) for determination of the internal condition of utility poles
1979 - IRG/WP 2128
A number of Telecom poles, which had been removed from service to be replaced by a radio link, were inspected using an electrical resistance meter (Shigometer®). These poles were creosoted, non-durable Victorian species in service in New South Wales. Six of these poles, chosen to represent various internal conditions typical of the range of the population tested, are discussed here. Data, from tr...
J D Thornton, W G Seaman, M McKiterick


Potential toxicants for controlling soft rot in preservative treated hardwoods. Part 1: Laboratory screening tests using a filter paper technique
1977 - IRG/WP 290
Thirty-one miscellaneous formulations have been screened using a filter paper assay technique, for their efficacy in controlling the growth of Chaetomium globosum, Cephalosporium acremonium, and a mixed inoculum of finely ground soft-rotted wood obtained from preservative treated transmission poles. The formulations consisted of various organic compounds and inorganic preparations made from differ...
H Greaves


A laboratory technique to measure the performance of preservative treated hardwoods in ground contact
1982 - IRG/WP 2172
A laboratory technique to measure the performance of preservative treated timber in ground contact is described. It uses partially sealed blocks of timber which are treated, leached and sawn into small stakelets for soil exposure in a fungal cellar. Performance is monitored by the loss of static bending strength with time, and a simple apparatus for measuring the deflection of a stakelet under a l...
E F Baines


Protection of southern pine using N,N-Napthaloylhydroxylamine: Field tests, soft-rot cellars and aquatic bioassay leach testing
1999 - IRG/WP 99-30204
Recent environmental restrictions are limiting the use of broad-spectrum biocides for wood preservation. There is an urgent need for new, sharply targeted, environmentally benign wood preservatives. N'N-Napthaloylhydroxylamine (NHA), a water-soluble calcium-precipitating agent, has been shown to inhibit decay by brown-rot and white-rot fungi in soil-block tests and prevent damage by Easte...
D M Crawford, F Green III


Laboratory testing of wood natural durability - In soil-bed assays
1998 - IRG/WP 98-20141
Laboratory methods for assessing wood decay resistance are being investigated in the framework of an ongoing European research project. This paper summarizes the main results obtained for soil-bed tests based on the European prestandard ENV 807-Test 2. The data suggest that this testing methodology is suitable for evaluating the natural durability of timber species in soil-contact under conditions...
R Sierra-Alvarez, I Le Bayon, J K Carey, I Stephan, J Van Acker, M Grinda, G Kleist, H Militz, R-D Peek


Is laboratory testing of decay resistance questionable as a single criterion for natural durability?
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20096
In a laboratory test set up over 20 hardwood species were evaluated according to the European Standard EN 350-1 including Basidiomycete and soft rot testing. Half of the species used were of a known natural durability. The Basidiomycete testing was carried out using Coriolus versicolor, Gloeophyllum trabeum and Coniophora puteana in a malt agar test similar to EN 113. From this test it was not pos...
J Van Acker, M Stevens, T Van Cauwenberghe, T Seynaeve


Effect of soil type and moisture content on soft rot testin
1986 - IRG/WP 2270
Several soils of different types were tested at a range of moisture contents for their suitability for use in a soil burial soft rot test. Their effectiveness was assessed by weight loss in CCA treated and untreated beech and birch outerwood. A horticultural loam (John Innes No. 2) was the most appropriare soil in terms of amount of weight loss caused, tolerance to changes in soil moisture content...
S M Gray


Suitability of cotton strip testing as a screening method for the development of wood preservative formulations
2003 - IRG/WP 03-20270
This paper outlines a simple and rapid test method for screening the efficacy of wood preservative formulations against microbiological attack using cotton strips. The method was evaluated against soft rot and was found to provide reliable information on the protection of lignocellulosic material against microbiological attack. The assessment is based on visual interpretation of decay and on a sim...
H Leithoff, I Stephan, H Härtner


Developments in unsterile soil soft rot testing
1984 - IRG/WP 2210
Two unsterile soil test methods, the soil burial technique and a method using vermiculite burial with soil inoculation, were compared using different soils to determine their effectiveness in evaluation of wood preservatives against soft rot. Isolation of fungi and microscopy of decayed wood indicated that both methods produced accelerated soft rot attack in treated and untreated birch. Vermiculit...
P A McKaig


Collaborative soft rot tests: Tests conducted at Princes Risborough and Delft on soil samples from collaborating laboratories
1972 - IRG/WP 210
The laboratories which took part in the original collaborative soft rot test (Savory and Bravery, Holz u Org 5 (1) 58-90, 1970) sent samples of the soil used in the original test to Princes Risborough. Portions of this material were sent to Dr Hof for soil analyses at TNO and the remainder was employed at Princes Risborough for the conduct of comparative tests of soil virulence when used as a comb...
J G Savory


Which substrate to use in a laboratory test with soft rot micro-fungi: vermiculite or unsterile soil?
1991 - IRG/WP 2372
A draft European Standard is being proposed by CEN TC 38 in which a vermiculite-burial and a soil-burial test to be carried out in succession are required. Various experiments with both procedures were set up with CCA, CC and propiconazole-formulations. The results show that vermiculite and unsterile soil yield comparable threshold values against soft rot. This poses the question of whether a two-...
A R Valcke


Effect of moisture and cellulosic substrate on decay of hardwoods by soft-rot fungi
1982 - IRG/WP 2173
The development by Forintek Canada Corp. of standard test procedures for laboratory preservative evaluations using soft-rot fungi was requested by the American Wood Preservers' Association. In Europe, through cooperative studies in the International Research Group on Wood Preservation, several attempts have been made to produce a standard procedure, but variability in results obtained bet...
A Byrne, R S Smith


Collaborative soft rot tests: Statistical treatment of results of soil analyses
1971 - IRG/WP 29
Institutes taking part in the collaborative experiments already reported forwarded samples of the soils employed in the tests to the Forest Products Research Laboratory, England. The soils were then autoclaved sterilised under uniform conditions and sent to the Department of Forest Soils, the Royal College of Forestry, Stockholm, Sweden. The results of the soil analyses are given in Table 1, toget...
A F Bravery


Design of a laboratory method for evaluating the effectiveness of soft rot preservatives
1988 - IRG/WP 2312
This purpose of this work was to design a method which makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of products which present protect wood against soft rot, using new products·of a different nature, on wood of·Pinus sylvestris L. and Fagus sylvatica L., and which, suitably applied, avoid big economic losses deriving from lack of knowledge of the active principles suitable to present protect w...
M T De Troya, A M Navarrete


Method of embedding and staining of wood after biological testing to support the identification of decay type
1998 - IRG/WP 98-20131
A method for preparing wood for microscopic analysis after decay testing is described, with special regard to a novel fast simultaneous staining, which helps to identify different types of decay. The novel staining process is explained as well as the embedding of heavily decayed samples in polyethylene glycol (PEG) and picking up of sections by transparent adhesive tape. Special feature of the int...
A O Rapp


Untersuchungen zur Prüfung mit Moderfäulepilzen im Vermiculit-Eingrabe-Verfahren
1972 - IRG/WP 214
Im Hinblick auf die Entwicklung eines Prüfverfahrens für die Bestimmung der moderfäulewidrigen Wirksamkeit von Holzschutzmitteln wurden Versuche mit Reinzuchten von Pilzen und mit Vermiculit als Trägersubstanz sowohl mit unbehandelten als auch mit Schutzmittelgetränkten Holzproben durchgeführt. Dabei wurde die Eignung von handelsüblichen, eintachen Einweg-Kunststoffbechern anstelle der bish...
W Kerner-Gang, M Gersonde


Collaborative soft rot tests: Final Report
1978 - IRG/WP 2106
Since preparation of Document No: IRG/WP/258 results have been received from the remaining collaborators. Thus there is a little further to add to the conclusions already derived, those in Document No: IRG/WP/251 being as follows: 1) the exposure system used sometimes resulted in excessive weight gains in the sterile check blocks. Consequently the corrected loss in weight of the test blocks could ...
J G Savory, J K Carey


Investigations on testing with soft rot fungi by the vermiculite-burial method
1972 - IRG/WP 215
With the object of developing a test method to determine the effectiveness of wood preservatives against soft rot attack, tests have been carried out with pure fungal cultures using vermiculite as the substrate for untreated and preservative impregnated wood blocks. In these tests the suitability of common commercial, simple disposable beakers was proved successful as a substitute for the glass bo...
W Kerner-Gang, M Gersonde


Soft rot tests with soils of different origins
1984 - IRG/WP 2226
In the BAM a comparative soft rot test with 9 different types of soil (one soil each from Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland and 6 soils from laboratories in Germany) were carried out. The pH values of the different soils ranged from 3.2 to 7.1, and the amounts of organic matter were between 4 and 44% (w/w). The test specimens - Pine sapwood blocks treated with different concentrations of a CCA p...
M Gersonde, W Kerner


Objectives of future collaborative soft rot tests
1972 - IRG/WP 209
Progress has been made towards acceptance of a defined laboratory test method for determining the toxicity of preservatives against soft rot fungi (Documents IRG/WP/201 and IRG/WP/208) and, at the 1971 meeting in Brussels, the framework of collaboration for the next phase of testing was discussed. Time available at Brussels did not permit restatement of objectives, consideration of the stages by w...
J G Savory


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


Influence of the content of organic matter of soil on the degradation of wood by soft rot fungi
1970 - IRG/WP 27
The degradation of wood specimen burried in the soil by soft rot fungi is influenced by a number of factors. These are in particular the water holding capacity, water content, content of organic matter, pH, content of mineral nutritive substances etc. The results of the interlaboratory tests, carried out within the IRG/WP let presume that the intensity of wood degradation occurs proportionally inv...
O Wälchli


Collaborative soft rot tests: Specific gravity loss resulting from soft rot
1973 - IRG/WP 227
It was proposed at the 5th meeting of Working Group II of the IRG in June 1973 in Lahti, Finland, that the specific gravity (swollen volume basis) of test blocks used in the IRG Collaborative Soft Rot Tests should be determined on all the blocks at the completion of the exposure period. Specific gravity determined on the basis of the oven dry weight and water swollen volume was selected because (1...
C R Levy


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