In general fast-growing tree species harvested at a young age has substantial amount of sapwood. It also contains juvenile wood, which has undesirable inferior physical and mechanical properties. Having sapwood and juvenile wood in the trees makes them very susceptible to be attacked by biological deterioration specifically termites in a tropical environment. The main objective of this study was to investigate the termite resistance of four fast-growing Indonesian wood species treated with furfuryl alcohol and imidacloprid. Wood specimens from sengon (Falcataria moluccana), jabon (Anthocephalus cadamba), mangium (Acacia mangium), and pine (Pinus merkusii) were impregnated with furfuryl alcohol, using tartaric acid and heat as well as treated with imidacloprid for the polymerization process. All of the specimens were exposed to environmental conditions in the field for three months. Based on the findings in this work, the untreated control samples had higher weight loss values and lower protection levels than those of imidacloprid-treated and furfurylated samples of all four species. It appears that furfurylation and imidacloprid treatment of such fast-growing species had a significant impact regarding their resistance against termite so that their service life can be extended during their utilization.

Gewang (Corypha utan Lamk.) is one of the endemic palm species which has been used as a building material for many years in Indonesia. The objective of this study was to enhance the overall resistance of gewang wood to biological deterioration by using smoke treatment. Samples taken from different parts of the trunks, namely bottom, middle, and upper parts in a longitudinal direction and outer and inner parts in a transversal direction, were exposed to the smoking process. Discoloration, dry-wood termite (Cryptotemes cynocephalus) and fungi (Schizophyllumcommune) resistance of smoked samples were determined according to the Indonesian standard. Based on the findings in this work, discoloration of smoked specimens was more prominent than that of the unsmoked samples. Overall termite and decay resistance of smoked samples were enhanced and higher than those of unsmoked samples without any influence of longitudinal and transversal orientations within the trunks. It appears that smoking can be considered as a potential method to improve decay and termite resistances of gewang wood.