RUBBER WOOD TO THE RESCUE OF TIMBER INDUSTRIES

H Mahinda Goonasekara

Compared with other resources (forest plantations, home gardens etc.), rubber plantations as a source of timber to the timber based industries take a leading position. Easy and ready accessibility, added to the wide acceptability and applicability of its wood working properties makes rubber wood the industrialist's prime choice.

While plantation management is required to obtain higher yields and higher grades of timber from the plantation, the timber industries are expected to have a more rational and an integrated approach in the use of much sought after woods.

The paper discusses the avenues available to the industrialists to use rubber wood in the areas of small log sawing, improved sawing, techniques, minimizing waste, waste utilization, value addition, improved chemical treatment and kiln drying methods, obtaining a higher value of products from the same unit volume of wood.

Department of Forestry and Environmental Science,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura,Sri Lanka. 1999. All rights reserved.