Control of building mold colonization of drywall with volatiles from Muscodor albus

Isolates of representative building mold species (Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp. and 10 other genera) with the exception of Trichoderma viride, were inhibited or killed by volatiles produced by potato dextrose agar or rye grain cultures of Muscodor albus. The possibility of using biofumigation with M. albus as a preventative or a curative treatment against mold colonization of drywall was investigated. For preventative usage, pieces of drywall were fumigated for 48 h with 5 or 20 g of grain culture of M. albus in 11-L boxes. After treatment, the drywall was subjected to simulated water damage, followed by incubation under saturated humidity for 2 weeks. Under these conditions, untreated pieces of drywall developed natural fungal populations of about 10 super(5) to 10 super(6) cfu/cm super(2) while drywall fumigated at the 20-g rate had non-detectable fungal populations. For curative usage, pieces of drywall subjected to simulated water damage and colonized with Cladosporium cladosporioides, Aspergillus niger or Stachybotrys chartarum for 2 weeks were fumigated for up to 96 h with 5 or 20 g of M. albus culture. C. cladosporioides was usually eliminated within 48 h, while A. niger and S. chartarum were more resistant and required up to 96 h fumigation to achieve similar results.