Decay Resistance of Five Indonesian Bamboo Species Against Fungi

The decay resistance of five bamboo species, i.e. ampel bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris), betung bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper), andong bamboo (Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea), tali bamboo (G. apus) and wulung bamboo (G. atroviolacea), collected from Bogor and Yogyakarta, was evaluated using the Kolle flask method (dried blocks on malt agar in flasks). The bamboo samples were divided longitudinally into three parts, namely, bottom, middle and top portions. Bambusa vulgaris, G. apus and G. atroviolacea were found to be moderately resistant to attack by 15 fungi, whereas G. pseudoarundinacea and D. asper were not resistant. Weight losses between bottom, middle and top portions of bamboo were not significantly different. However, the highest weight loss was encountered on the middle portion of G. pseudoarundinacea exposed to Pycnoporus sanguineus HHBI-324 (38.3%), while the lowest was found on the bottom portion of B. vulgaris exposed to Lentinus lepideus (2.3%). The most severe decay was caused by P. sanguineus HHBI-324, Tyromyces palustris and Polyporus sp.