In India, the harvest of A. malaccensis is being done at present from the trees under cultivation/ plantation occurring outside the Protected Areas, i.e., from home-gardens, private lands, leased lands etc. Practically, in Northeast India, the harvest is not only dependent on the age and GBH/ DBH of the trees, but also on the intensity of infection in trees, monetary needs of the growers, etc. In several areas of Assam and Tripura, harvesting is done from naturally infected trees, even < 30 cm of GBH, as well as from well-grown artificially infected trees. However, due to presence of very high number of plants in cultivation and frequent plantation activities in the harvesting states, the present volume of harvest has low impact on the national population of this species.
Harvest to products: Harvesting of agarwood trees can be done throughout the year. However, the best harvesting period is from January to May due to the presence of maximum concentration of oil and lesser amount of waxy substances in the wood during that time. After felling, the lateral branches and leaves are removed, and main trunks of the trees are cut into logs. In the process of bringing out the infected part in the form of ‘Chips’, the logs (‘Kunda’) of agar trees must be chiselled through a series of stages with different market value. Hence, various agarwood forms are available in the market depending on the cutting stages, locally (Assam, Tripura) known as ‘Buta’, ‘Bangtang’, ‘Chap Bangtang’, ‘Chips’, ‘Churan’ etc.
The first stage after removal of bark and some of the non-infected parts is called ‘Buta’. The further chiselled stages are called ‘Bangtang’, ‘Chap Bangtang’ and finally the ‘Chips’. During this entire process, some parts of wood get dusted out, which also bears infected parts of agarwood. This is locally known as ‘Churan’/ ‘Churen’ (saw dust/ powder) which is used in ‘Malor oil’ (high-grade oil) production. Similarly, several kinds of chips are available depending on their finishing, like ‘Zora’ or ‘Jura’, ‘Chhalla’, ‘Mori’ or ‘Muri’, ‘Khudi Mori/ Muri’, ‘Sishor muri’, ‘Kone’, ‘Ghap’ etc. Several grades of Agar-oil are available in the market (‘Khara’, ‘Batali mal’, ‘ Kolagachi’, ‘Dum’, ‘Boha’, ‘Boya’, ‘1st Jaal’, ‘2nd Jaal’, ‘3rd Jaal’, AAA, AA, A+, A1, A, Super Deluxe, Super Double, Super etc.). Still, there is no commonly accepted set standard.
The distillation units or ‘Dag’ come in a variety of sizes. ‘Malor oil’ is processed in Dags of sizes: 5 kg, 10 kg and 60 kg. Boya oil is processed in 500 kg and 1,000 kg Dags. The fuels used for the oil distillation process are usually rice husk or firewood. Though the use of firewood is so expensive, it is still used, because the fragrance of oil distilled using firewood is preferred by some buyers.
Uses: Agarwood is highly valued for its traditional uses as incense in different cultural and religious ceremonies. ‘Attar’ and ‘Aguru’ are water-based perfumes containing agarwood oil traditionally used by various communities. It is also utilised in the aroma industry, in medicine preparations, as air freshener and purifier. The essential oil extracted from agarwood has antiinflammatory, anti-rheumatic, analgesic, anti-oxidant, carminative and stomachic properties. It can also help detoxify the body, clean out excess salt and uric acid, and repair damaged skin cells. Indians and Chinese also use agarwood oil in their traditional medicine as a liniment for treating various skin diseases. Agarwood also helps to cure asthma, abdominal pain, chest congestion, diarrhoea, relieve delivery pain, and treat attention deficit disorder. The oil is also used as a fragrance in producing cosmetics, soaps and shampoos (Chakrabarty & al., 1994). It is also highly used in aromatherapy. The dried leaves of A. malaccensis is also used as a tea.
In India, the bark and wood of A. malaccensis are used to make rope, cloth and fuel for fumigation, respectively (TRAFFIC, 2005). The uses of agarwood are not restricted to incense and perfumery. It is also used in making ornaments, viz. bracelets, boxes, bead strings, and sculptures out of solid pieces (Barden & al., 2000; Persoon, 2008). Agarwood powder is known to be used as an insect repellent effective against fleas and lice (Heuveling van Beek & Phillips, 1999). In the Middle East, agarwood oil symbolises wealth and is widely used during wedding ceremonies. In UAE, burning agarwood chips is an essential prevailing practice to honour guests' visits (Antonopoulou & al., 2010). Agarwood is used as an aromatic ingredient in wine in Taiwan. In India, the ‘Boya’ obtained from agar plants is widely used in making smokeless tobacco products (‘Gutka’) to produce aromatic flavour. Agarwood is also used in funeral pyres by different communities (Chakrabarty & al., 1994; Yaacob, 1999). Apart from these, agarwood and agar-based products have various other uses.
