Plantation Age Effect on Gmelina Arborea Characteristics

1.0 Introduction

Wood presents a unique challenge in use because of its variability and the directional nature of its basic structure. These are the sources of some of its attractive features but they require also that they be handled and applied in ways appropriate for good end use. The ways in which the structural features of the particular species determine their properties and limit the uses and applications can be studied more precisely (Jayeolaet al., 2009). Many attempts have been made to define wood quality (Keith 1985), but the definition proposed by (Mitchell 1961) appears to be the most widely cited: “Wood quality is the resultant of physical and chemical characteristics possessed by a tree or a part of a tree that enable it to meet the property requirements for different end products”. As wood properties affect various aspects of the manufacturing process, wood quality must be defined in terms of the value of its end products. In addition, the definition needs to include serviceability, and cover attributes of interest to end-users, which may or may not have a direct impact on manufacturing, but will continue to matter long after the product has been sold and installed. Wood fibres are usually cellulosic elements that are extracted from trees, straw, bamboo, cotton seed, hemp, sugarcane and other sources.