Agarwood knowledge

人工處理植入催化劑

Artificial inoculation technique already been developed and is found to be most effective and reliable method for enhancement of agar production. Works on commercialization are in progress and expected to make available for general use in the field.

The Agarwood created by artificial inducement is called Cultivated Agarwood or Induced Agarwood. Artificial inducement technique (or Agarwood inducement) consists of two actions: to wound the tree and to pour stimulative agent into this injury, this stimulative agent hereinafter referred to as inoculant. Quantity and quality of cultivated agarwood surrounding the injury depends on the composition of inoculant and the method of transfusing inoculant into the tree. 

Nowadays, there are about several tens of inoculants whose composition is kept secret. But in general the main components of inoculant are:

• Some fungi and microfungi, for example: Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht., Cladosporium spp, Cercosporella spp, Aspergillus Phoenicis (Corda) Thom & Currie, Cytosphaera Manganiferae Died, Melanotus flavolivens (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Singer, Penicillium Citrinum Thom, Chaetonium globosum Kunze, Phaeoacremonium parasitica,…in which Fusarium, Cladosporium and Cercosporella are three of 17 fungi that were found in 9 natural agarwood samples collected from the forest in Thailand, Fusarium and Chaetonium are two fungi found in natural agarwood pieces collected from India. 
• Some phytochemicals, phytohormones namely: salicylic acid, ethephon, methyl jasmonate, chitosan, sodium bisulfite,..
• Some bacteria, yeast extracts, plant nutrient media and plant regulators 

Two main methods of transfusing inoculant into Aquilaria tree: 

Dispersing wounding by mechanical injury: to drill several tens (20-100) of hole into which the inoculant is poured. In this case induced agarwood is formed around these spot injury sites. The resulting agarwood from the localized formation is usually in the form of thicker wood chips.

Internal wounding: to transfuse inoculant directly into the xylem vessels of tree by using transfusion set, in this case only few holes are needed. If the internal wounding technique to be applied then induced agarwood is formed in whole tree along the xylem, from root/base up to the top of the trunk in a systemic manner, but relatively thinner formation of resinous wood. 

Lately, inoculant operators have adopted to Dispersing wounding, leaving the Internal wounding for few reasons after gaining numerous field experiences … wood rotting is the main drawback.

wood rotting by internal wounding

While internal wounding is preferred by certain people, it can be further improved with “Pressurized method”. The air pressure can be portably pumped range 0.5 ~ 1.5 bar, hence minimize local concentration which resulting in tissue rotten. For cost effective, unit can be connected to multiple points, and reusable in next application. This invention is simple, inoculation process completed at faster time, no ingress of rain water even the injection holes are not sealed. Click “Mini pump“.

Dispersing wounding, mechanically wounded with nails, traditional way in Bangladesh

Dispersing wounding, tree drilling and chemical injection.

This effort involves drilling of trees and keeping the wound open by placing a small piece of plastic pipe in those holes followed by a chemical injection to stimulate tree defense mechanism that produces resin. The first project of this effort was initiated in Vietnam under a supervision from Prof. Robert Blanchette, a wood pathologist from the University of Minnesota who together with local farmers and Buddhist monks. They developed experimental plots to stimulate the production of agarwood and after years of trials, this treatment yielded agarwood. Dr. Blanchette stated that this artificial induction could yield agarwood ten times faster than natural formation (WWW page: http://forestpathology.coafes.umn.edu). This finding has gained appreciation and has been considered as one of the most successful finding (Persoon, 2007). This treatment causes tree to respond in two defense mechanisms, physical and chemical. The first is phloem cells form callus and the second, should callus formation is prevented, the tree produces resin.

Dispersing wounding with 10~20ml liquid inoculant, some inoculant service providers utilize upto 100ml per treated hole.

Dispersing wounding, inoculant-soaked bamboo stick, Thailand

Dispersing wounding, inoculation of fungal inoculum

The formation of agarwood is a result of plant defense mechanism towards fungal attacks by producing resinous compounds as secondary metabolite. In their natural habitat, the process of resin accumulation as the result of tree-pathogen battle may take many years and the longer the process takes place the more expensive and highly valuable the resin is. Many scientists have been passionately trying to understand the cascade process of this tree-fungi interaction in producing gaharu. Isolation of various fungi from infected trees have been widely reported.

Surface Inducement Technique ( Agar-SIT )… inoculant is designed to brush on the tree trunk. This technique allows easy agarwood collection, a considerably high yield and good resinous of agarwood could be harvested, along with the sustainable agarwood formation from the same tree. Specifically, this technique is aimed for oil production. Click “Agar-SIT-105” for detail …

Dispersing wounding, non-destrustive harvest, by Pheeraphan Thailand

The infected tissue is stripped by chisel

Internal wounding, Single unit, 300ml inoculant per tree,  by PENGHARUM.

Internal wounding, Multiple units, by Gaharu Biotech,Pahang.

Gravitically flow.

Application of Chemjet, pressure exerted 0.75bar. Test plot to verify strength of inoculant

Inoculant on Sinensis “Click Here”

Artificial fire method, ChinaIt is to burn the live agarwood tree with a large fire, forcing the agarwood tree to be injured. It looks very cruel, but it does not let the agarwood tree die, so the agarwood tree will mobilize the resin secreted by the immune system to heal the fire, and eventually form agarwood. Select the older tree, peel off the bark from the tree, leave the top leaves, and then use  gas torch to burn the whole tree and burn it black. This method is derived from the natural fire or the process of lightning strikes. The agarwood produced in this way is mostly thin, it is used a lot to produce incense.

In China, newer species of Kynam has been successfully grafted, this species requires mechanical stress without any injection of liquid inoculant to produce resinous agarwood. Application of soldering device is sufficient for the job. However, the seedlings demand extremely premium price for the moment, click “Kynam”

Planting money (Agarwood) trees doesn’t come without its challenges. One of these challenges is the inoculation. The Aquilaria tree has to be induced with a infection to induce production of agarwood (the resin), otherwise the tree would be quite worthless. Not all Aquilaria trees produce agarwood, they have to be infected by a certain kind of stress before they start “fighting back” with resin production to counter the infection. And even so, there is no set volume in the resin production (meaning each tree will produce its own amount).

• Aquilaria khasiana, found in Pakistan & India.
• Aquilaria apiculina, found in Philippines
• Aquilaria acuminata, found in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia & Philippines
• Aquilaria baillonil, found in Thailand and Cambodia
• Aquilaria baneonsis, found in Vietnam
• Aquilaria beccariana, found in Indonesia
• Aquilaria brachyantha, found in Malaysia
• Aquilaria crassna found in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam
• Aquilaria cumingiana, found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines
• Aquilaria filaria, found in New Guinea, the Moluccas, and Mindanao (Philippines)
• Aquilaria grandiflora, found in China
• Aquilaria hirta, found in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia
• Aquilaria malaccensis, found in Malaysia, Thailand, and India
• Aquilaria microcapa, found in Indonesia and Malaysia
• Aquilaria rostrata, found in Malaysia
• Aquilaria sinensis, found in China
• Aquilaria subintegra, found in Thailand

Termites in forestry / Mối trong lâm nghiệp

Termites can have a significant impact on plantation and urban forestry, as well as on agricultural tree crops.  Many other insect pest species cause damage to various parts of the tree, but often do not cause mortality. Even where termites do not cause death of the tree, they may cause damage to the bole, for example, by consuming the heartwood and, thereby, hollowing the trunk and reducing the value of the tree as a source of timber. There are a number of current chemical control methods employe

d, namely fipronil; imidacloprid; chorfenapyr have proven to be an excellent control product.

Mối có thể có tác động đáng kể đến nông  trại và lâm nghiệp, cũng như cây trồng nông nghiệp. Nhiều loài côn trùng gây hại khác gây thiệt hại cho nhiều bộ phận khác nhau của cây nhưng thường không gây chết cây. Ngay cả khi mối mọt không làm chết cây, chúng vẫn có thể gây hư hại cho thân cây, ví dụ, bằng cách ăn lõi gỗ và do đó làm rỗng thân cây và làm giảm giá trị nguồn gỗ của cây. Có một số phương pháp kiểm soát hóa học hiện nay được sử dụng, cụ thể là fipronil; imidacloprid; chorfenapyr đã được chứng minh là một sản phẩm kiểm soát tuyệt vời.

The newest tools in fighting termites are products that cause colony mortality away from the treatment site. To be effective, these products must be non-repellent and slow-acting enough to allow intoxicated termites to leave the treatment site. This is important, because large numbers of dead termites around the treatment zone repel healthy termites. Fipronil and imidacloprid kill insects through hyperexcitation of the central nervous system. Fipronil and imidacloprid are both non-repellent, slow-acting insecticides, this delayed behavioral affect may allow healthy nestmates to come in contact with insecticide-treated termites more often. This increases horizontal transmission of slow-acting-insecticide, thus increasing colony mortality.

Các công cụ mới nhất để chống mối là những sản phẩm gây chết mối ở khu vực xa nơi xử lý. Để có hiệu quả, các sản phẩm này phải không thấm nước và tác dụng đủ chậm để cho phép những con mối bị say rời khỏi nơi xử lý. Điều này rất quan trọng vì số lượng lớn mối chết xung quanh khu vực xử lý sẽ xua đuổi những con mối khỏe mạnh. Fipronil và imidacloprid tiêu diệt côn trùng thông qua quá trình kích thích hệ thần kinh trung ương. Fipronil và imidacloprid đều là thuốc trừ sâu không thấm, tác dụng chậm, ảnh hưởng hành vi chậm trễ này có thể cho phép những con mối khỏe mạnh tiếp xúc với mối đã được xử lý thuốc trừ sâu thường xuyên hơn. Điều này làm tăng sự lây truyền theo chiều ngang của thuốc trừ sâu tác dụng chậm, do đó làm tăng tỷ lệ chết của đàn côn trùng.

Alternatively, one may opt for biopesticide such as Phyto-E.

Ngoài ra, người ta có thể lựa chọn thuốc trừ sâu sinh học như Phyto-E.

Aquilaria tree damage by Termites

Soil treatment/ xử  lý  đất 
Soil treatment to protect trees from attack by termites involves the application of chemicals to the soil surrounding the base of the tree.  This may be done at the time of transplanting seedlings from the nurseries into the field, or it can be done to trees already in-ground.  In the former, granular formulations of insecticides (e.g. fipronil, carbosulfan) are usually used, since they are easy to carry into the field, and they are applied into the planting hole.  In the latter, the soil at the base of the tree is removed to form a cavity or trench around the tree, and liquid-based chemicals are poured in and allowed to seep into the ground by gravity and capillary action.  The cavity or trench is then filled over with the soil originally excavated from around the tree, and treated as well.

Xử lý đất để bảo vệ cây khỏi sự tấn công của mối mọt liên quan đến việc sử dụng hóa chất vào đất xung quanh gốc cây. Việc này có thể được thực hiện tại thời điểm cấy cây con từ vườn ươm ra ruộng hoặc có thể thực hiện đối với những cây đã mọc sẵn trên mặt đất. Trước đây, người ta thường sử dụng các công thức thuốc trừ sâu dạng hạt (ví dụ fipronil, carbosulfan) vì chúng dễ dàng mang vào ruộng và bón vào hố trồng. Sau đó, đất ở gốc cây được loại bỏ để tạo thành một hốc hoặc rãnh xung quanh cây, và các hóa chất dạng lỏng được đổ vào và để thấm vào đất nhờ trọng lực và hoạt động mao dẫn. Sau đó, khoang hoặc rãnh được lấp đầy bằng đất đào ban đầu xung quanh cây và cũng được xử lý.