Evaluation of vacuum technology to kill larvae of the Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), and the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), in wood

Abstract

Gamma irradiation is a commonly used method of sterilization of wood specimens prior to decay testing. As part of a larger series of studies, an investigation was made into the effects of gamma irradiation on flexural bending strength properties and its corresponding relationship to changes in lignin and hemicellulosic contents of wood after exposure to various dose rates and total dosage. Effects of irradiation were compared with effects of a steam sterilization method. Flexural strength was reduced in response to a long exposure to radiation. Klason lignin and galactan contents were also reduced by a high total dose. The other carbohydrate components of wood showed no discernable differences under the range of irradiation exposures used. The dose rate used to achieve the critical total dosage of gamma radiation required for sterilization of wood intended for laboratory decay testing was found to differentially affect both bending strength and some chemical components in irradiated pine.