Author

Upasna Sharma, Sangeeta Gupta

Abstract

An enormous number of commercial timbers are prone to parasites due to the exudates they possess and are worth protecting. These exudates could be responsible for both susceptibility and resistivity of plants towards diseases. In plants; they are stored into cavities or ducts and are referred as secretions.We observed that an assembly of enemies are lined up to attack only wood hand samples of Artocarpus chama and not any other tree species that were stored in Xylarium (DDw) – Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. On further investigation, Microtermesobesi Holmgren; a termite of insect group was identified from microscopic slides and appeared as the first ever reported woody termite on Artocarpus chama. Insect attack towards specific timber is attributed to its anatomical, biochemical and physiological features. The findings could be useful in wood seasoning and preservation of Artocarpus chama to maintain the durability of timber. A number of heartwood timbers exhibited resistance towards Microtermes obesi. Therefore, understanding natural insect durability of wood is critical for making sensible and wise use of wood

286-289

Doi Number 10.5958/2455-7218.2023.00021.9

Keywords Artocarpus chama, Termite, Plant exudates, Cavity & ducts, Timber durability.