Abstract
The study assessed the effect of jatropha, linseed, eucalyptus, neem and jojoba oils on protection of three wood species (Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo and Pinus mallichiana) against termite attack by Odontotermes obesus. Conditioned and pre-weighed blocks of each wood species were vacuum-pressure impregnated with a 15% concentration of the oil-ethanol solutions. Resistance of treated and untreated wood against termites was tested under laboratory as well as field conditions using choice and no-choice tests. Oil treated wood showed significant reductions in weight loss compared to control treatments. Complete termite mortality was recorded for all oil treatments except eucalyptus oil. Linseed oil showed good results in each treatment in terms of feeding resistance as well as mortality of termites followed by neem, jatropha, jojoba and eucalyptus oil. The lower weight losses were found in both choice and no-choice field tests for linseed oil treated Dalbergia sissoo while untreated Pinus wallichiana sapwood had the greater weight loss. It was observed that the oil retention was significantly more in sapwood than in heartwoods. The retention of oils justified that wood with high oil retention showed more resistance against the termite except eucalyptus oil treatment of Pinus wallichiana.
Highlights
A number of developing countries especially Pakistan, have experienced the disastrous earthquakes in 2005 and recently in 2013.These earthquakes have oriented towards use of houses constructed with wood to limit casualties (Haseeb et al 2011)
The current study evaluated the wood preservative potential of five plant oils against a subterranean termite Odontotermes obesus under laboratory as well as field conditions
ANOVA revealed the significant interactions among oil type (p0,05) for the wood type in the choice and no-choice tests for A. nilotica wood
Summary
A number of developing countries especially Pakistan, have experienced the disastrous earthquakes in 2005 and recently in 2013.These earthquakes have oriented towards use of houses constructed with wood to limit casualties (Haseeb et al 2011). The important timber species in Pakistan are Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. Termites are abundant in Pakistan with 53 species. Of these 13 are reckoned pests of agriculture, buildings and forestry (Hassan et al 2018). Several house infesting termite species have been documented in these areas. A distant report mentioned that Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) was more abundant in Bagh and Poonch, which were epicenters of earthquake jolts (Shakoor et al 1991). Odonototermes obesus (Rambur) was the only species infesting wooden structures in residential areas and caused huge losses (Aihetasham and Iqbal 2012).
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