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.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Mehmet Akbıyıkoğlu for his contribution to the identification of sample areas, and for cutting and debarking the trees and transferring them to the laboratory.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Financial support
This work was supported by General Directorate of Forestry of the Republic of Turkey: [Grant Number Project Number 15,7102/2017-2021].