EFFECT OF PLANT EXTRACTS TREATMENT ON SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF LANNEA COROMANDELICA (HOUTT.) MERR. WOODHeena Gupta, K.R. Sharma and Bhupender DuttAbstract Specific gravity, a relative measure of the amount of wood substance contained in a sample of wood, is an important parameter to determine wood quality, pulp yield and strength of paper and all the physical and mechanical properties of wood are greatly affected by the fluctuations in the quantity of water present in wood. Wood being hygroscopic material is liable to degradation due to microbial agencies which reduces its strength and thus, must be treated with preservatives to increase their service life. The conventional wood preservatives cause environmental pollution and thus the development of ecofriendly formulations from natural resources such as plants, known as bio preservatives have been emphasized. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to study the effect of plant extracts of Lantana camara L. and Ageratum conyzoides L. at different concentrations viz. 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00 per cent in different solvents i.e. petroleum ether and methanol on the specific gravity of Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr. wood samples. The results elucidated that among the plant extracts, the maximum specific gravity was found for Ageratum conyzoides L. extract treated wood samples. The highest value have been recorded when methanol was used as a solvent. With the increase in concentrations, the specific gravity of treated wood samples increased where, maximum was recorded at 2.00 per cent concentration over control. The results revealed that the specific gravity of wood has been influenced by plant extracts treatment at different concentrations.
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