Indicators and associated decay of Engelmann spruce in Colorado

Average cull deductions for 11 cull indicators were determined from over 2,000 abnormalities on 1,027 merchantable Engelmann spruce in 21 stands throughout Colorado. On a board-foot basis, Fomes pini punk knots or sporophores caused an 81 percent deduction. Deduction for broken tops or dead tops with adjacent dead rust brooms amounted to 24 percent. Basal wounds, dead rust brooms, a dead leader, frost cracks, all forks, joined at the base to another tree, spike top, and trunk wounds were each responsible for a 10 percent deduction. Fomes pini was the most important decay fungus.