Natural durability of eucalypt from Italian plantations against fungi and cerambicid Trichoferus holosericeus Rossi

The natural durability against basidiomycetes fungi and the insect Trichoferus holosericeus Rossi of clones Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus x trabutii coming from an Italian plantation is investigated in this work. The raw material originates from a nine-year old multiclonal plantation located near Battipaglia (SA), Southern Italy. Four clones with better results both in terms of growth rate and resistance to biotic diseases were selected for natural durability tests. The tests were performed in accordance to EN 350-1. The results obtained with fungal tests are promising and encourage further investigations in field tests for clones such as 7 and 329 and for E. x trabutii. All the tested clones are resistant to Trichoferus holosericeus Rossi.