THE INFLUENCE OF DRYING SCHEDULES ON THE REDISTRIBUTION OF LOW-MOLECULAR SUGARS IN PINUS-SYLVESTRIS L

The distribution of the water soluble substances in green wood and subsequent redistribution during drying, is of importance for the colonisation by microorganisms. In this study the influence of a fast and a slow drying schedule on the redistribution of low-molecular sugars in the wood of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was investigated and for this purpose through- and-through sawn, 50 mm thick planks, were dried in a mobile batch kiln, Samples at different depths in the planks were chemically analysed. There is a considerably greater amount of sugars at the surface of the planks after the fast drying schedule compared with the slow drying schedule, but for both schedules there is always a high gradient of the sugars from the inside to the surface of the planks. Obviously, sucrose is very liable to be hydrolysed during handling or/and drying. The distribution of the sugars along the height of the tree after drying is also given. A selective choice of the drying schedule could be a means to regulate the redistribution and thereby decreasing risk of deterioration.