Surface burning effectiveness of five commercial wood species in makassar againts Schizophyllum commune Fr.

Abstract

Wood as a natural material is known to be susceptible to various biodeterioration agents. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of wood surface burning on the physical changes of wood and the attack of Schizophyllum commune Fr. The research was conducted in several steps, starting with the collection of wood samples from a Timber TradingUnit (UD) in Makassar City. The samples were prepared with dimension of 5 x 2,5 x 1,5 cm3, and each side of the samples was evenly burned using a torch for two to five minutes, resulting in a uniform thickness of 1-2 mm for the burned surface. Five types of wood were used for the surface burning, namely white teak (Gmelina arborea), sengon (Albizia chinensis), bayam (Intsia bijuga), teak (Tectona grandis) and meranti (Shorea spp). The research consisted of two treatments, one without burning and the other with burning. The results showed that the moisture content of all five wood species decreased after the burning process, with moisture content reductions of 15,61% for G. arborea, 14,30% for A. chinensis, 14,33% for I. bijuga, 11,37% for T. grandis, and 20,43% for Shorea spp. Regarding the aspect of fungal attack, the burning process did not inhibit fungal spread from the sides to the middle of the wood surface, but the burning treatment contributed to a lower weight reduction in the test samples compared to the untreated ones.