The global movement of solid wood packaging material is an important pathway by which invasive organisms have increased their range. The International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM No. 15) was published by the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention to provide guidelines for wood treatment to reduce the risk of accidental pest movement via solid wood packaging material. This study assessed the exposure temperature and time combinations necessary to kill a range of fungi and one species of Phytophthora colonizing wood. The ISPM No. 15 protocol (heat to 56 degrees C core temperature for 30 min) was included as one of the treatments in the experiment. The survival data collected in this experiment were utilized to develop a binomial generalized linear model that allowed statistical assessment of survival following treatment. The tolerance of the isolates to heat treatment was variable and it was found that the ISPM No. 15 protocol did not result in mortality of all species that were tested.
Pitch canker is a highly damaging disease of Pinus radiata and the New Zealand forest industry is concerned by the potential impact of the disease, should it arrive, in New Zealand. To provide a rapid identification technique for this pathogen, a polymerase chain reaction‐based diagnostic method has been developed. The method is able to detect the presence of the pathogen within infected host tissue, as well as infested soil and the reliability of the test has been estimated using Bayesian statistics.
The crystal structure of the monohydrate of bis(ethylenediamine)copper(II) has been determined by three-dimensional X-ray methods. The complex ion is octahedral, the ligands being the two bidentate ethylenediamine molecules, the water molecule, and one of the chloride ions.
