A suspension of the common timber disfiguring mold
fungi Penicillium brevicompactum Dierckx (IMI
321324), Aspergillus niger v. Tieghem (IMI 329399),
and Cladosporium herbarum (Pers.) Link (IMI 299105)
was prepared and applied to the remaining 35 autoclaved
blocks using a similar method giving 3014,
3362, and 265 CFU/cm2, respectively. Unsterilized
wood blocks were not inoculated with fungi.
Following inoculation of the wood blocks with fungi
and/or yeast, lids were sealed onto the boxes with
Parafilm M tape to maintain high relative humidity.
Boxes were incubated under darkness at 20°C. After 15
and 25 days each block was examined for disfiguration,
which was classified into 1 of 5 categories (Table 2),
allowing mean values to be calculated for each treatment.
Control treatments consisted of autoclaved wood
blocks incubated following inoculation with either
molds or stain fungi but no yeast. Unsterilized wood
block controls were incubated without addition of either
fungi or yeast.