Bio-susceptibility of shells of Camellia oleifera Abel. fruits to fungi and termites

• We evaluate the durability of shell of C. oleifera fruit towards Basidiomycete fungi and termites.
• The shell is degraded by white and brown rots, to different extends considering the fungus species.
• The shell is degraded by termites, but induces a complete mortality of these insects through a toxic effect.

In this study, we investigated the resistance of C. oleifera Abel. fruit shell's probe to fungi and termites. The degree of decay of C. oleifera Abel. fruit shells inoculated with Coriolus versicolor, Pycnoporus sanguineus, Coniophora puteana and Antrodia spp. in temperate or tropical environment was assessed. The resistance of the shells to subterranean termites in a tropical chamber was also assessed. It was found that there is an overall difference between the resistance to fungi decay and to termite attack. It was found that: the degree of degradation of the shell colonized by white-rot fungi is more severe than the fragmentation of the shell by brown-rot fungi. It was also found that the white-rot decay of C. oleifera Abel. fruit shell is greater than to beech wood, and then brown-rot decay of Scots pine sapwood is severer than to C. oleifera Abel. fruit shell. The resistance of C. oleifera Abel. fruit shell to attack by the subterranean termites was found to be high. It was concluded that the fungal species was an important controlling factor to the decomposition of C. oleifera Abel. fruit shell; and that termite infestation of C. oleifera Abel. fruit shell did take place but termite mortality (100%) occurred. Based on these results, further investigations are being made in order to solve the use of massive by-product from edible tea-seed oil industries.

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