The resistance of Pinus sylvestris L. wood modyfied with furfuryl alcohol for destruction by Reticulitermes lucifugus var. santonensis (de feyteaud)
The aim of the research was to determine the changes in susceptibility of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) wood to feeding by subterranean termites Reticulitermes lucifugus var. santonensis conducted in accordance with the ASTM D 3345-08: 2009 The sapwood after modification in furfuryl alcohol at concentration 50% with the addition citric acid at concentration 1%, natural sapwood and heartwood experiment as a compulsory reference material were used for the tests. The blocks of Scots pine wood were used to create seasoned samples of 7% ± 1% moisture content. The blocks with dimensions of 25.4 x 25.4 x 6.4 mm were made from three trees. Each variant was represented by 5 blocks. All wood blocks were freeze-dried before starting the experiment in order to measure the dry weight. After 4 weeks of termite feeding visually rates of wood destruction were: 9 (light attack) for modified sapwood, 2.8 (heavy attack/failure) for natural sapwood and 8.2 (light attack/moderate attack) for natural heartwood. The loss of wood weight of blocks was: 0.01 g for modified sapwood, 0.071 g for natural sapwood and 0.21 g for natural heartwood. The mortality of the termites in the case of modified sapwood was complete. The termite mortality in natural sapwood has been classified as slight, and in natural heartwood as slight to complete.