Insects 2012, 3(2), 532-537; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects3020532
Resistance of Particleboards Made from Fast-Growing Wood Species to Subterranean Termite Attack
1
Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
2
Forest Products Research Institute, Bogor 16680, Indonesia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 8 April 2012 / Revised: 23 April 2012 / Accepted: 14 May 2012 / Published: 29 May 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Termite Management and Control - Special Issue Dedicated in Memory of Dr. Kunio Tsunoda)
Abstract
Laboratory-made particleboards were tested for their resistance to subterranean termite, Coptotermes curvignathus Holmgren (Order Isoptera, Family Termitidae) by Indonesian standard SNI 01.7207–2006, during four weeks and at the end of the test their mass loss percentage and feeding rate were determined. Particleboards consisted of: jabon (Anthocephalus cadamba, Family Rubiacea) with a density of 0.41 g/cm3; sungkai (Peronema canescens, Family Verbenaceae) with a density of 0.46 g/cm3; mangium (Acacia mangium, Family Rhamnaceae) with a density of 0.60 g/cm3 separately and the three species mixture at a rate of 1:1:1. Densities of the boards were targetted at 0.60 g/cm3 and 0.80 g/cm3 by using 12% urea formaldehyde as binder with 2% paraffin as additive based on oven dry wood particle weight. The hand-formed mats and hot-pressing at 130 °C and 2.45 MPa for 10 min were applied. The results showed that particleboards density did not affect mass loss and feeding rate, but the particleboards made from higher density wood resulted in higher resistance to subterranean termite attack. The most resistant particleboards were made of magium, followed by sungkai, mixed species, and jabon. View Full-Text
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MDPI and ACS Style
Hermawan, D.; Hadi, Y.S.; Fajriani, E.; Massijaya, M.Y.; Hadjib, N. Resistance of Particleboards Made from Fast-Growing Wood Species to Subterranean Termite Attack. Insects 2012, 3, 532-537.