THERMAL MODIFICATION OF RUBBERWOOD TO INCREASE ITS RESISTANCE AGAINST ASIAN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES

The potential of thermal modification to improve the resistance of rubberwood to Asian subterranean termites Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) was studied. The rubberwood samples were dried at 185, 200 or 215 °C until constant weight before termite tests. The choice experiment in the field had three months duration. The results indicated that drying at 215 °C gave rubberwood the best resistance to C. gestroi infestation among these samples, with the lowest relative loss of mass, followed in rank order by 200, 185 °C and control treatments. However, the relative loss of mass did not differ significantly between the 200 and the 185 °C treatments. The control samples were distinctly infested by C. gestroi. The thermal treatments affected meachanical properties, and bending strength and density decreased while compressive strength parallel to grain increased with the treatment temperature.