• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2020

Indonesian log production is dominated by young trees harvested from plantation forests. The timber contains of sapwood and juvenile wood, which are not resistant to termite attack. Smoking treatment can enhance wood resistance to termite attack, but it also changes the color. Specimens of mangium (Acacia mangium) and sengon (Falcataria moluccana) wood were exposed for 1, 2, and 3 weeks to smoke produced from the pyrolysis of salam (Syzygium polyanthum) wood. The color change of the wood was measured using the CIELab method. In addition, wood specimens were exposed to subterranean termites (Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren) under laboratory conditions. Untreated and imidacloprid-preserved wood samples were also prepared for comparison purposes. The results showed that the color of smoked wood differed from that of untreated wood, and the color change for sengon was greater than for mangium. In addition, the 1-week smoking period changed the wood color less than the 2- and 3-week periods, which did not differ. Imidacloprid-preserved wood had distinctive color changes compared to untreated wood. Untreated mangium wood had moderate resistance to subterranean termite attack (resistance class III), while sengon had very poor resistance (resistance class V). Salam wood smoke enhanced wood resistance to termite attack, and smoke treatment of 1 week for mangium and 2 weeks for sengon resulted in the wood becoming very resistant (resistance class I). Both types of smoked wood were more resistant to subterranean termite attack than imidacloprid-preserved wood (average class II resistance).