Development of an industrial process for spalted wood in high value furniture applications

Demand for natural wood material with aesthetic character is on the increase, with the furniture industry turning its focus to spalted wood, a term given to any coloration in wood in response to a fungus. Normally a product of mature trees, the natural occurrence of spalted wood does not meet customer demands. This shortage has led to investigations into finding reliable spalting methods for commercial production. There are two main types of spalting, pigmentation and zone lines, with our focus being the latter.
We aim to:
• develop a simple, fast and standardised method for spalting wood with specific fungi;
• use monocultures to optimise and standardise treatments;
• make unique and predictable zone line patterns;
• reduce costs by selecting fungi with a preference for low moisture conditions;
• maintain wood mechanical strength;
• utilise three wood species (ash, beech, and sycamore) normally burned as energy wood in Switzerland.
We selected 13 genotypes of Kretzschmaria deusta from circa 100 samples isolated from a felled beech, alongside Trametes versicolor and T. pubescens. Through antagonism tests, we expect to find that different combinations provide different zone line patterns, which likely varies between tree species.
This project will:
• increase our knowledge of spalted wood applications;
• appeal to customers’ artistic senses;
• develop a niche market using naturalised tree species grown in Switzerland for the high-end
furniture market.