<![CDATA[The decreasing availability of timber from natural forests has led to the use of rapidly growing types of wood as alternative materials in order to satisfy the needs of the wood-based industry. In West Nusa Tenggara Province one such fast-growing species is rajumas wood (Duabanga moluccana Blume). Nevertheless, this species has poor natural durability and is therefore vulnerable to attack by wood-decaying fungi and subterranean termites. The present study was carried out with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of wood preservation treatments involving a fungicide, an insecticide and a combined fungicide-insecticide in enhancing the durability of rajumas wood. The wood preservation was performed by means of the cold-soaking method and was then followed by laboratory tests using the wood-decaying fungus Schizophyllum commune and field exposure tests. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at a 95% confidence level. The laboratory results showed that the fungicide treatment provided the highest resistance to fungal attack and was not significantly different from the combined of fungicide-insecticide treatment. In the field test, the combined fungicide-insecticide treatment provided the best protection against subterranean termite attack, although its performance was not significantly different from that of the insecticide treatment. Overall, the combined fungicide-insecticide treatment demonstrated greater potential as an effective wood preservation method because it simultaneously protected the wood against both major groups of wood-destroying organisms, thereby extending the service life of rajumas wood. ]]>
