Collaborative experiments in testing the toxicity of wood preservatives to soft rot fungi.

Eight Institutes from seven countries, Austria, England, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland have collaborated in an attempt to assess the suitability of various laboratory test procedures for acceptance as standard methods of determining the toxicity of wood preservatives to the cellulose-attacking micro-fungi which cause 'soft rot' of wood. Pure culture methods with Chaetomium globosum have been tested together with soil burial methods in which the mixed fungus flora of unsterilised local soils has been used as inoculum. The results obtained with a copper/chrome/arsenate preservative have been presented and discussed. It is concluded that the information available is not yet adequate to permit definition of a reliable standard test method. The work has however demonstrated the unsuitability of Chaetomium globosum as a test organism in pure culture tests on softwood and has given indications that soils low in organic matter content may be most suitable for mixed culture tests.