Mold and Sapstain Control: Laboratory and Field Tests of 44 Fungicidal Formulations

For a half century the lumber industry has been protecting unseasoned forest products against molds and sapstaining fungi using largely the sodium salts of penta- and tetrachlorophenols. Because of toxicities and persistence of these otherwise very valuable fungicides, searches are being made for other, more environmentally acceptable replacements. In 1975, the Western Forest Products Laboratory (now Forintek Canada Corp.) began laboratory and field testing candidates and, by 1978, 44 formulations had been evaluated. Using test methods partly developed by this laboratory, most formulations were first screened in small-scale, 4-week tests. The most promising formulations were later given 4-month field tests on unseasoned lumber in close-piled packages. The results indicated a potential value in MBT (methylene bisthiocyanate) and sodium tribromophenate, a similar effectiveness in TCMTB (though presently restricted by cost), and limited promise from Mitrol (guazatine), Captafol, and Delsene (MBC). Final tests under mill conditions, however, are required to prove practical usefulness. The other formulations tested are presently considered impractical for various reasons such as poor performance, high cost, excessive toxicity, and impractibility (i.e., nonaqueous solvent systems).

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