Natural Wood Resistance of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia in Field Testing

ABSTRACT The natural wood resistance of sabiá (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia) was evaluated under field conditions for use in organic agriculture. A total of 97 one-meter length logs with bark and diameter classes (5.0-7.9 and 8.0-11 cm) were fixed (0.4 m) in the soil at a distance of 0.5 m from the edges of a forest fragment in Viana, Espírito Santo, Brazil and evaluated after 5 years and 5 months for their resistance to breaking through the application of manual force. The presence of xylophagous termites and fungi was verified. The percentages of unbroken pieces of wood were 81.82% and 79.24% respectively for the larger and smaller diameter classes. For the smaller diameter class, 52.83% showed moderate to superficial attacks, and the largest diameter class had 61.36%. In this case, 41% of the pieces presented superficial attacks (by termites and fungi) or were not attacked, confirming good performance of the tested wood.