Determination of wood characteristics of Pinus brutia Ten. infested with Marchalina hellenica Genn.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the chemical, anatomical, physical, and mechanical properties of Marchalina hellenica Genn.-infested Pinus brutia Ten. wood. Studies were carried out on wood samples taken from uninfested trees, those with low M. hellenica infestation, and those with high infestation. In the P. brutia wood heavily infested with M. hellenica, statistically significant decreases were found in the holocellulose and α-cellulose ratios, the tracheid number in latewood, the growth ring width in earlywood and latewood, and the density and strength values. However, the density and strength values of the P. brutia wood samples that were not infested and those with low M. hellenica infestation did not statistically differ from one another.