The reflectance method for testing the effectiveness of fungicides against surface mould growth on materials: I. Wood

An instrumental method for the measurement of the toxic value of preservatives against mould fungi on wood and wood products was tested as an alternative to the widely used visual method with its inherent disadvantage of subjectivity. The new criterion of effectiveness to be used was light reflectance as measured by either the Zeiss photometer (Leukometer) or the Zeiss spectrophotometer (Spekol 10) fitted with the Rd/0 reflectance adapter. Sodium pentachlorophenate and the WR-3 (quaternary ammonium compound), applied to pine and birch wood samples were tested for effectiveness against five species of fungi capable of causing surface moulding. Although the reflectance method was more laborious, the results obtained seem to be better than those obtained by the visual method. The proposed method appears to be of practical value in eliminating difficulties involved in the subjective assessment of both the intensity of surface growth and the effectiveness of the wood preservatives themselves.