Method for inhibiting sapstain in wood

摘要

Described is a method for treating logs of felled trees against sapstain, that may be applied later than some conventional anti-sapstain treatments and yet still provide effective inhibition of sapstain development. Treating a log or piece of sawn timber includes steps of: (a) exposing the log or timber piece to a fumigant effective against any existing sapstain fungi; and (b) applying an anti-sapstain treatment to the log or timber piece to inhibit re-growth or infection of sapstain fungi. Preferably the method includes exposing the log or timber piece to the fumigant prior to melanisation of any existing sapstain fungi. Typically the log or timber piece will have a sapstain level of less than 10%, more preferably less than 5% and most preferably less than 1% at the time of treatment.