Agar Wood

In my opinion, it is always always a great investment to plant tree (because I am a forester ). I have to first make myself clear that I am not trying to prevent you guys to plant the tree. I nstead I want you guys to think about what I have to say and YOU yourself have to analyze the risk involve. involve. At the time being, there are alot of people in West Malaysia that is planting the tree. I myself know a close friend that has around two thousand tree intercropped in his oil palm estate which is growing nicely. What everyone has in mind is that "there are money to be made here" so they started to plant lots of it. What alot of people does not know is that planting the tree alone is not enough!!! In layman's term, you have to "treat" this tree in order for it to produce the valuable resin. Frankly speaking, this so called "treatment" "treatment" is quite q uite new to Malaysia and we did not have any convincing result that there is an effective treatment that we can use on the tree. At the moment, a lot of R&D department including the one that I am working in at the moment is testing the treatment out. On our side, we will at least need another 1 year to get some result. So for those that is interested to invest. You might have to take the risk that there might not be an effective treatment technique out there that you can use and the worse scenario is that you might need more than 7 years to grow the tree and you have to sell them off as timber or other wood based product. Next is the price. You might have heard of those unbelievable expensive gaharu product somewhere before but mind you, those gaharu might be extracted from the wild (assuming no plantation can produce any at the moment). Good quality gaharu can fetch a price as high as rm60-70 per gram (rough estimation). Yes I know that it is kind of crazy but people actually pay to buy this stuff. Now back to the planting of the tree. Based on so me data from Thailand which is way ahead of us in research. Gaharu produced in plantation will most likely give you grade "C" gaharu which can be sold as USD100 per kilo (around rm300, another rough estimation since i dont have my file with me now). So the real question is, Is it worth planting a tree for 7 years in hope of a return of rm300 per tree assuming the minimum resin production is 1 kilo per tree? There are actually a lot more to discuss here but I can only think about this for the time being.

Bear in mind that when you are clearing the land up, you should leave those big tree around to give some shade to the karas seedling that you want to plant. Even though karas is a light demanding species, it is good to have some shade early in the planting stage to improve the survival survival rate. Once the seedling has established itself on the site, then you might consider felling those big tree to f ree up space and to reduce the competition for the karas tree.

Bila menyebut gaharu, ramai di antara kita yang membayangkan harganya yang begitu mahal sehingga ada yang mengatakan ia lebih bernilai dari emas. Harganya boleh mencecah sehingga RM14,000 - RM20,000 sekilogram untuk kepingan gaharu yang bermutu tinggi. Namun, semua hasil ini diambil dari hutan dan kini realitinya, pokok karas diancam kepupusan.Tanpa kesedaran untuk penanaman semula, negara kita mungkin tidak lagi dapat mengeksport hasil gaharu yang begitu tinggi permintaannya ke negara-negara Timur Tengah dan juga negara lain seperti Taiwan, Jepun dan sebagainya. Mungkin kita patut menoleh ke negara jiran yang lain seperti Indonesia, Thailand dan Myamar, mereka sudah jauh meninggalkan kita dari segi teknologi dan perladangan. Mungkin, kekurangan sumber maklumat yang tepat dan ju ga permulaan modal yang tinggi untuk diusahakan secara komersil menjadi faktor ia kurang diminati. Wajar, agensi - agensi kerajaan yang ada memainkan peranan dalam menyalurkan fakta yang lengkap dan p erkembangan teknologi harus dicapai dalam usaha menjadikan ia sebagai industri direalisasikan.Ramai di antara kita yang tidak sedar, usaha penanaman pokok karas sudahpun dilakukan oleh beberapa agensi yang ada di beberapa tempat di negara kita, juga penyelidikan dalam penghasilan gaharu melalui kaedah suntikan dan inokulasi juga giat dijalankan.Namun, kurangnya pendedahan dan pengumpulan maklumat, ia kurang memberi impak dalam pelaksanaannya.Untuk mereka yang berminat dalam penanaman pokok karas, mungkin ada b erita gembira. Mulai tahun hadapan (2007), teknologi dalam penghasilan gaharu akan dibawa masuk ke negara kita. Usaha menjemput Prof. Blanchette oleh satu agensi kerajaan adalah sangat tepat pada masanya. Namun, jika kita tidak menanamnya, teknologi tiada makna.Berbalik kepada usaha penanaman pokok karas secara ladang, beberapa faktor harus dipertimbangkan seperti pemilihan anak benih, jarak tanaman, kaedah tanaman, kaedah suntikan dan pasaran. Ia harus dinilai untuk meminimakan risiko yang ada dan mendapat hasil yang maksima selepas 7 tahun pelaburan.Pertamanya, pemilihan anak benih sering menjadi persoalan. Ada yang mengatakan spesis A lebih baik dari spesis B dan ada yang sebaliknya kerana ia lebih cepat membesar dan lebih mahal. Seharusnya kita meneliti semula beberapa kajian, pokok karas sebenarnya mempunyai method yang berbeza dengan pokok lain. Pokok yang sihat dan membesar dengan cepat menghasilkan resin gaharu yang sedikit berbanding pokok yang sakit dan diganggu. Ia sebenarnya selari dengan kejadian semulajadi gaharu di d alam hutan, pokok yang berada di kawasan berbatu dan mengalami tindakbalas kecederaan yang teruk menghasilkan gaharu yang lebih bermutu. Kita juga harus melihat kepada permintaan pasaran, spesis manakah yang menjadi pilihan pembeli dan mempunyai harga yang tinggi. Spesis Aquilaria Malaccencis adalah merupakan salah satu spesis yang mempunyai nilai komersil yang tinggi.Manakala kaedah penanaman, jarak penanaman 6"x6" atau 10"x10" menghasilkan jumlah tanaman pada 430 pokok atau 1,000 pokok seekar. Penanaman secara intergrasi adalah lebih meminimunkan risiko, malahan memberi pulangan  jangka pendek yang boleh menampung kos keseluruhan. Sulaman boleh dilakukan dengan tanaman herba dan tanaman kontang. Penjarakkan yang sesuai harus dilihat. Selepas pokok karas mencapai usia 5 tahun, suntikan sejenis enzim dilakukan untuk penghasilan gaharu dan dibiarkan selama 2 tahun sebelum mendapat hasil. Perlu diin gatkan, tanpa teknologi ini pokok karas tidak akan membentuk gaharu di dalamnya. Berbeza dengan semulajadi, gaharu terbentuk pada usia pokok 20 40 tahun melalui gangguan oleh fizikal atau microrganisme. Banyak laporan di dada akhbar dan laman web, menyatakan setiap pokok menghasilkan gaharu bernilai sehingga RM14,000 - RM18,000. Tetapi, kita perlu menilai setiap aspek dan risiko. Mungkin tidak keterlaluan jika kita meletakkan RM1,000 sahaja untuk sepokok yang menghasilkan gaharu. Bayangkan anda menanam 1,000 pokok dan anda tentu dapat mengira angkanya. Malahan jika hanya 50% sahaja yang menjadi, j umlah pendapatannya masih tinggi! Oleh itu, amat penting untuk

kita semua memperolehi sebanyak mungkin maklumat untuk merealisasikan penanaman pokok karas secara ladang. Diharapkan ada agensi yang bertindak sebagai pemantau dan dapat menyimpan data semua ladang karas di negara kita. Maklumat sebegini amat berguna untuk rujukan dimasa akan datang.

Anggaran Kos Permulaan Penanaman (Kelantan) bagi Seekar Tanah

1)Membersih tanah- RM500.00 2)Anak Pokok 10 Bulan (RM5.00 x 430 pokok)- RM2150.00 3)Baja C.I.R.P (RM0.50 x 430 ketul)- RM215.00 4)Kos penanaman (RM1.00 x 430 p okok)- RM430.00 5)Sistem siraman (anggaran polypaip untuk seekar)- RM3500.00 6)Kayu penegak / buluh (RM0.50 x 430 batang)- RM215.00 JUMLAH- RM7,010.00

Anggaran Kos untuk 7 tahun Seekar Tanah

1)Kos penanaman awal- RM7,010.00 2)Pembajaan C.I.R.P (3 x 3 tahun x RM0.50 x 430 pokok)- RM1,935.00 3)Penjagaan / pembersihan kawasan (RM 200 x 7 tahun)- RM1,400.00 4)Kos suntikan/ inducement pada tahun ke - 5 (RM50 x 430 pokok)- RM21,500.00 5)Kos penebangan pokok dan kutipan hasi- RMl3,500.00 6)Lain-lain kos (pagar / jagaan dsbnya)- RM5000.00 JUMLAH- RM41,345.00

GAHARU - Anggaran Hasil

Anggaran hasil minimun RM 1,000.00 sepokok. Seekar (430 pokok) - 100% RM 430,000.00 - 80% RM 344,000.00 - 50% RM 215,000.00

Pricing on Agarwood Jadual Gred di Pasaran

Buat masa ini tiada gred yang seragam dan selalunya berbeza mengikut negeri. Berikut adalah gred yang dikeluarkan oleh JPSM dalam Bengkel Penyeragaman Penggredan Gaharu di Semenanjung Malaysia pada awal bulan Jun 2007 yang lalu di Kuala Lipis Pahang. Harga (perkilogram)/ Price (perkilogram) Gred Super A-RM 25,000 ke atas Gred A-RM 20,000 Gred B-RM 18,000 Gred C-RM 15,000 Gred D-RM 8,000 Gred E-RM 3,000 Lain-lain Gred-RM 500 - RM 1,000 Gred Kayu untuk Minyak-RM 5 - RM 100 Minyak Gaharu-RM 300 - RM 350/ tola (12gm)

Grade Price (Rm/kg) Super A >25,000.00 A 20,000.00 B 18,000.00 C 15,000.00 D 8,000.00 E 3,000.00 Other 500.00-1,000.00 White wood 5.00-100.00 Oil (1 tola/12ml) 300.00-350.00 Remarks: Do NOT use this as an actual pricelist.

Yup there are a variety of inoculation techniques out there and as usual, everyone claims that their technique is the best without any results to back them up. My advice to everyone is to make sure that you have some rough idea what those techniques are and how they work before you purchase any. Alot of people takes this opportunity to sell fake inoculation techniques just to make some quick bucks. Another thing that everyone needs to remember is that do not overestimate your profit margin. Make sure that your margin is "logical" so you will not screw up with your financial management. Regarding vegetative propogation (cutting), it can be done but if i am not mistaken, the mortality rate is high among seedlings propogated this way. Another important point i s that, seedlings propogated through this technique usually does not have a nice tree stand. Meaning that they are usually not straight and they tend to have a lot of branches. Species: A. malaccensis - wood chip A. crassna - oil A. subintegra we focus more on Aq. Sub integra, as from our research with our partner in Trat, it produces more oil and are among the the best oudh oil from cultivated agarwood. (refer 'Cambodian Oudh' pricing) from our experience and research since all the inoculants nowdays cannot produce a high quality gaharu in chip form, we feel it is much wiser for gaharu planters to focus more on oil producing. from the 3 species above, cultivated of course, all o f them can produce oil, and in the market we found out that the market (esp middle easterners) are quite fond of the oil produced by Aq. Sub integra and are willing to pay quite a price! So for us, as for now, we prefer to focus more on Aq. Sub integra + a personnel from a government agency did announce that Aq. Sub i ntegra is the best cultivated gaharu producing species during an international gaharu conference recently held during NATPRO @ PWTC the best will be Crassna for chip gaharu or the Hybrid type.. but hybrid having trouble with malaysian climate, but most probable due to the long journey they take to reach here. Also get your self  familiar with CITES - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species http://www.mtc.com.my/mtib_procedure.htm . Regards to inoculations, there, it is sold at RM150 per liter (proven affective base on 10 year experience) compare to RM250-400 (with no proof of  affectiveness) sold locally. Its injected at 4th year depends of type of tree - weak 1 will die. The neighbouring country are not secretive on these infos.. if you can understand their language better..

before you go all out cutting your own forest for plantation.. be sure to check if there is any old karas tree growing on your land.. that tree will give you $$$$$$ in less than 2 years after inoculation!

Actually the plantation needs to be weeded, protected from fire, livestock and thieves. In the wrong place (e.g. poor draining soil) the trees can die of root rot disease (e.g. Fusarium spp) and leaf e ating caterpillars can be a serious pest - they have contributed to the death of many agarwood trees in Lao PDR and Vietnam (and perhaps other countries but I don't have any information about that). However all these problems can be avoided/controlled with proper management. If you see my earlier post you will note that I referred to 50,000 out of 100,000 trees being replanted due to the original trees dying - that was simply because the previous plantation owner did not manage his plantation properly.

Distance between trees : I'd suggest 3 meters very minimum, b ut 3.5 meters would be better.

http://www.fotolog.com/aquilaria/23667130 Looking from these pictures, I think you're goin to have tough competition from Thai growers. Those trees are not so good - they are too tall and thin and they should not have multiple stems. Objective should be to maximise the yield of agarwood per CA Kit, not per hectare of land (because your most expensive input is the CA Kit not the land or tree).

Regarding inducement treatment, the only proven and patented treatment worth applying is the CA Kit. All other techniques (and there are many that can produce resin in agarwood trees) are by far inferior. It simply does not make sense to spend money to grow a tree and then treat it with an inferior technique (especially if it costs more than a CA Kit!). Furthermore, if you want to export the agarwood legally (with CITES certification) then you will need to declare where the wood came from. Since the patent for CA Kits covers all other inducement techniques it will be easy to catch the person trading the agarwood that has been produced using another technique that infringes the CA Kit patent.

So if you want to maximize your profits from your agarwood trees and stay legal, the CA Kit is your only option. Since most of you are in Malaysia you can contact Healthy Business Sdn Bhd for more

information about CA Kits (see: http://www.cultivatedagarwood.com/?page_id=6) for their contact numbers.

Some people are just exaggerating the prices paid for trees in order to promote their products. There are a lot of cowboys in this business so please be careful everyone.

Yes I estimate conservatively US$200 per tree. The assumptions on which this figure are based are that an agarwood tree of 10 - 14cm DBH (diameter at breast height - 137 cm from the ground) is treated with a CA Kit and yields one year later a minimum of 200 grams of good quality agarwood chips which are currently selling at not less than US$1,000/kg at wholesale price in the country of  production. As you can see from www.scentedmountain.com the retail price in a consuming country can be much higher. Actually yields of up to 500 grams of good quality agarwood chips per tree (of  above size) have been harvested. Besides the good quality agarwood chips, there will also be a kilogram of lower quality agarwood powder (produced when cleaning the chips) worth about U S$30 - 50/kg that can be used to make incense or for oil extraction. Hence I consider the US$200/tree is a conservative figure.

. I believe around 800 - 850/hectare would be better. Anyhow, you can still produce agarwood at the higher tree density but just remember to give Healthy Business a call when your trees are big enough this will probably be at around 5-years-of-age (provided you prune them to just one main stem, otherwise a multi-stem tree will take 1 - 3 years longer for the individual stems to reach the right diameter for treatment).

Here are some pictures taken last week here in Laos following the harvest of 9 trees treated with CA Kits:

But what do you mean by pruning? I mean that when the young agarwood tree is growing (even when it is still in the nursery) it often has a tendency to form two or more main stems, i.e. one or more of the branches tends to b ecome more dominant than is desirable and so it starts to compete with the original main stem. If this side branch is not removed it will form a main stem leading to a mature tree with more than one main stem or trunk. Not all side branches do this, so I don't mean you should cut off all the side branches but where one side branch starts to become equal in size to the main stem then you can either cut i t off or just cut it back a little to reduce its apical dominance. Later on it is good to cut off the lower side branches so that you have a nice clear stretch of main stem in which to apply the CA Kit (because it's difficult to work on a tree when there are many side branches in the way).

Thinning & Prunning In timber plantation establishment, the first thing that you have to co nsider is what sort of spacing that you want to use for your plot. You can either choose a close spacing such as 3x3m which has a planting density of around 1100 tree per hectare. OR you can choose a wi de spacing such as 5x5m, 5x6m which has a planting density that is lower than that of the 3x3m spacing mentioned earlier. There are pros and cons on either approach. The close spacing such as the 3x3m will need more planting material in the initial planting stage and not to mention other resources such as labour, time and modal. This spacing will encourage the tree to compete against each other especially for light (canopy establishment) so the trees wil l grow vertically. And as for the wide spacing mentioned earlier, there are less tree per hectare so the tree will not have to compete too much against each other compare to the tree planted in a close spacing. The tree will grow horizontally (diameter) instead of growing vertically (height).

For timber production, our priority is to grow trees that is tall and straight with less or no forking at all. It is safe to assume that it is true in agarwood production too like what Happy Farmer has mentioned earlier. BUT there is a catch in using a close spacing for plantation establishment. Sooner or later, you will run out of space f or the trees to grow (when canopy establishment is achieve). The growth potential of the tree is capped by this factor and the tree will not be able to grow to its f ull potential. This is where THINNING treatment comes into play. Usually 1-2 years after planting, you will have to carry out thinning or else it will not be effective. The thinning p rocess is quite straight forward. It is as if you are playing the role of nature where you select and p ick out trees that is not growing well (survival of the fittest). By doing so you will free up space for the remaining tree. If our initial planting density is 1100 tree per hectare, after thinning, we will have a density of around 500-600 tree per hectare. Of course this will add up to your management cost but you can still sell those felled tree to generate some return for the time being.

Having sufficient space between the trees is important so that you get short fat trunks rather than tall thin trunks. Pruning is important so that you get single trunks not multiple trunks. So the objective is to get trees with single short f at trunks, not multiple tall thin trunks. Below are 2 photos of agarwood seedlings - one in the nursery and one already planted. In both cases you can see that one of the side branches has started to form a second main stem. Therefore some pruning should start even in the nursery to prevent this from happening.

Actually there is only one branch in each of those two pictures - the other is not a branch b ut is the main stem!

So yes you can remove the branch but don't remove the main stem. So now you will

ask me which is the branch. Well the branch is the one that emerges from a leaf axil (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf if you don't know what is a leaf axil o r just look at some of your own plants and you will soon see what I mean). Yo u could remove the entire branch or just cut off its tip to keep it in check (i.e. not let it become dominant). With the latter approach you retain most of  the leaves of the branch so that it can continue to photosynthesize and contribute to the growth of  the seedlings. Eventually though it will either fall off or be removed by pruning to create the desirable clear bole that we talked about earlier. But please don't make the mistake of removing all branches - only remove or trim back those which are becoming too dominant.

PRUNING Pruning is another standard silvicultural input in tree plan tation which is aimed at producing trees without low heavy branches so that long clear boles are formed. The need for pruning depends entirely on the branch development on the lower bole. Well stocked, dense stands discourage early side branch formation and generally require no pruning (Evans 1982). There are two main considerations for pruning, i.e., silvicultural and technical considerations.

Silvicultural considerations In some species, dead branches soon fall off (natural pruning); in others they persist for many years. For example, Acacia auriculiformis has persistent branches, and pruning must be done if knot-free timber is desired, while such species as Terminalia superba and Neolamarckia cadamba, and most eucalypts have good natural self-pruning ability and rarely need artificial pruning. Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus caribaea are intermediate and have branches persisting for 2-3 years after dying. Self-pruning is, to some extent, influenced by stand density. Dense, unthinned stands, w ith trees close together, encourage earlier suppression and death of side branches while they are small. However, the effect on accelerating natural pruning is not much. Of greater importance is the increase in persistence of branches low down the stem in open stands. Where wide spacing and heavy thinning are practised, artificial pruning is essential for all but the most freely naturally selfpruning species if high quality timber is desired. Technical considerations The important technical consideration is whether clear, knot-free, and consequently high grade timber is required. For example, wood of such quality is of little importance in plantations grown for: · Firewood or fuelwood; · Pulpwood and particle board; · Low grade sawntimber for uses such as sh uttering, and packing cases; and · Protection purposes such as shelterbelts, erosion control, and stabilisation – in fact, persistent lower branches are often an advantage. In contrast, clear, knot-free timber is highly desirable or essential for: 1. Veneer production for decorative use, match making, and plywood; knot f ree timber is needed to ease peeling, improve appearance, and reduce blemishes; 2. High grade constructional timber where uniform strength, and good machining, finishing, and seasoning qualities are important; 3. Various types of poles, e.g. transmission, which need to be smooth for handling, and free of  surface snags or holes to prevent entry of fu ngi or termite into the heartwood which is often not penetrated by preservatives.

THINNING For most thinning regimes the total volume of timber removed in thinning during rotation amounts to about 40-60 per cent of total production (Evans, 1982). The effects of thinning are: 1. To stimulate diameter growth of the remaining trees; 2. To interrupt stand development by volume reduction, followed by recovery; 3. To redistribute future growth on fewer trees resulting in a stand with a few large trees as opposed to many small ones; and 4. To reduce natural mortality. Ahmad Zuhaidi and Weinland (2002) suggested that in general, 200 to 300 potential crop trees (PCTs) should be selected for final stand. The desired characteristics of potential crop trees are: 1. Dominant or co-dominant position in the stand; 2. 8 to 9 m bole height; 3. No big side branches; 4. No visible stem damage, disease or epicormic shoots; 5. A straight and vertical trunk; 6. A distinct dominant leader; and 7. No spiral grain or heavy forking. An even distribution of PCTs is desirable. The selection of small groups of u p to 3 trees is permissible. It is not a good practice to sacrifice PCTs for reasons of even distribution when the PCTs reserve does not contain sufficient number of trees. After this stand intervention, the average distance between trees should be 6 to 7 m. The thinning practice recommended by Ahmad Zuhaidi and Weinland (2002) comprises three main thinning interventions as follows: First thinning First thinning is carried out when the average top height of the main crop is about 15 m (preferably diameter at this stage should be around 10 cm). This thinning involves the following steps: 1. Selection and marking of a defined number of potential final crop trees; 2. Removal of trees hampering crown development of the PCTs which could be secondary trees; 3. Removal of wolf trees; 4. Climber control; and 5. Liberation of commercial species in the intervening areas. Second thinning Second thinning is carried out when the top height of t he main crop averages 20 to 25 m. Three

main steps are taken for this operation: 1. Reduction of main crop trees down to PCTs; 2. Climber control on PCTs; and 3. Removal of trees hampering crown development of the selected trees as well as secondary trees. Third thinning Third thinning takes place when the average height of the main crop is 30 to 35 m (a 20-year or more rotation is planned). This thinning has two purposes: 1. Reduction of PCTs to the final crop trees ; and 2. Regeneration and final harvest phase (for longer than 20-year rotation), e.g. in the Dryobalanops aromatica stand in FRIM if the next rotation is to be regenerated naturally. Once the regeneration has established itself in sufficient number, felling is carried out to harvest about 50% of the standing stock. The remaining standing stock can be removed when the young regeneration reaches a height of 1.5 m. Detailed information regarding pruning and thinning. Source: A Guide to Plantation Forestry In Sabah

Originally Posted by pakcik_ku 1. mcmmana dgn perkembangan pokok hangpa? 2. adakah nilai rm1000 sepokok masih releven pada masa skrg..coz ada blog yg aku baca tanam 1000 pokok blh dpt rm1 juta..(purata la) 3. pasaran mcmmana ?adakah ssh nak cari? 4.klu ada sesiapa pengusaha gaharu ni yg dah harvest pokok ni???..(yg buat secara komesial shj) 5.bhh bgtau berapa batang dan berapa nilainya? niat nak tanam dlm 2000 btg tp takut la pulak jadi lambakan dlm masa 7-8 akan dtg... (soalan ni aku tujukan pada otai2....ni wakil dari penanam yg baru nak start projek ni....)

salam pakcik ku, saya cuba jawab soalan2 ni sepengetahuan dan sepengelaman saya yg tak  seberapa 1. perkembangan pokok positif, dalam 20% yang tak berapa menjadi (bantut, mati, tumbang dsb) yang lain ok, and puasa ni kami start wat p enghasilan gaharu (kalau larat) hehe 2. nilai rm1000 sepokok ni sebnrnya dtg dari geng2 thailand sejak 2005 lagi, sorry to sa y kebanyakannya temberang je. tapi lepas berkali2 wat trial baik dgn gov agensi atau sendiri, nilai rm1000 sepokok tu mmg kita boleh dapat , cuma tidak sekali gus d an berperingkat. mende nih sbnrnya bergantung pada jenis/species anak pokok, genetik (keturunan) pokok, substance yg kita pakai utk hasilkan gaharu, kualiti kayu gaharu dan kebijakan kita menjual

kayu2 ni. 3. pasaran... ni mmg fav topik sa ya tiap kali seminar bersama sebuah agensi k'jaan kita. bagi saya senang, asalkan kita tau siapa pembeli sebenar kayu2 ni, samada pembeli terus,  pemborong, org tgh ataupun broker. lain pembeli lain harga, so kena pandai2 kita main harga.  pembeli2 sebetulnya tak byk, rata2nya kenal sesama sendiri. 4. ada tapi beliau tak mahu dikenali umum. 5. beliau minta info tak di hebahkan, cuma apa yg boleh saya kata, nila inya quite impressive, tapi tak juga keterlaluan. tmbahan: lambakan mmg boleh terjadi, kalau semua org menghasilkan kayu yg sama ke  pasaran. jadi gunala kebijaksanaan tuan-tuan cari kelainan supaya dapat mengelak dari masalah lambakan kelak. maksud saya sbg contoh, jika d ah terlalu ramai org tanam sub integra, saya pasti satu hari nanti kayu2 dari malaccensis akan melambung naik sebab t iada supply. *so far harga kayu tak pernah turu n, take example, 2 tahun dulu kayu c saya biasa b eli dgn harga rm3-4 sekilo, tapi sekarang dah melonjak ke rm6-8 per kg. itu je la yg mampu saya kongsi, jika ada silap harap tuan2 dapat beri info uyk kita kongsi  bersama

Nasihat: masa tanam, tanam dalam dalam. Kalau anak pokok 1.0m, tanam lebih dari 0.3m. Tanam 0.5m pun takpe. Pokok ni akar tak dalam, jadi bila pokok dah tinggi, akar tak cukup dalam untuk sokong pokok.Mari angin kuat,kena pula tanam kat bukit,habis la. Cara lain, sentiasa pasang topang, walaupun pokok da tinggi dan pangkal batang dah besar betis.Kena rajin la cara ni.

Adapun sepanjang mempelajari teori dan praktikalnya, saya dapati beberapa perkara asas yang membuatkan tanaman ni hidup subur atau sekadar atar kertas je untungnya. Pemilihan anak pokok dalah penentu segalanya. Tak kira dari jenis apa jua, anak pokok tu perlu kita tahu samada dari biji benih atau sulur air. Juga tentang kesesuaian umur dalam poli beg, mahupun tinggi dan besar batangnya. Untuk memana yang perlu disokong pokok tu, 90% saya berani katakan ianya adalah dari sulur air. Kerana pokok yang bertunjang memang tak perlu bertongkat. Disini saya sertakan contoh projek tepi rumah, juga kualiti anak pokok semaian cara saya. Bukan nak promote ke apa ya. Hanya untuk motivasi dan perkongsian maklumat berkenaan bagaimana untuk tidak merasakan potensi gaharu ini hanya satu yang atas kertas sahaja,

Setahun di tanah tempat tanam ni. Waktu beli hanya setinggi 5 kaki. Sekarang cecah 15 kaki.

Gaharu merupakan sejenis kayu dengan pelbagai bentuk jaluran warna khas serta memiliki kandungan damar wangian berupa aloe-resin yang akan mengeluarkan bau atau aroma khusus apabila dibakar. Ia sangat terkenal di negara-negara Arab dan sudah ala diperdagangkan kerana sering digunakan dalam industri pembuatan minyak wangi, produk perubatan dan majlis keagamaan. Berasal dari perkataan Sanskrit iaitu  Aguru yang bermaksud kayu berat (tenggelam) ia juga lebih dikenali dengan nama agarwood , aloeswood , eagleswood ,  Jin-ko (Jepun), oud (Arab). Gaharu diperoleh daripada sejenis pokok yang dikenali sebagai karas ( Aquilaria spp.) yang telah disenaraikan dalam Jadual CITES Appendix II sebagai spesies yang sedang diancam kepupusan berikutan penuaian melampau di habitat asalnya. Harga bagi gaharu gred tinggi mampu mencecah puluhan ribu ringgit dan kini ia menjadi satu fenomena di kalangan masyarakat apabila mereka mula menanamnya dengan harapan i a mampu memberi pulangan yang lumayan. Namun apa yang menjadi isu pada hari ini adalah pokok 'duit' yang dikatakan mampu menjadikan seseorang itu jutawan segera tidak memberikan hasil yang memberangsangkan. Ramai yang kecewa dan menganggap ia merupakan perusahaan yang sia-sia dan tidak mampu memberi keuntungan yang lumayan seperti diuar-uarkan. Namun, rata-rata pengusaha tanaman karas ini mempunyai pengalaman yang cetek atau tiada pengalaman langsung berkenaan penghasilan gaharu daripada pokok ini. Fenomena tersebut cuma berlegar di kalangan pengusaha dan hanya disampaikan dari mulut ke mulut tanpa melibatkan satu kajian terhadap proses penanaman serta tuaian secara mendalam terhadap sumber yang begitu berharga. Oleh itu, bagi pengusaha serta penanam gaharu yang benar-benar mahukan pulangan lumayan, mereka perlu mengkaji secara teliti segala prosedur sebelum melaburkan sejumlah wang terhadap perusahaan tersebut.

Terlalu banyak mitos dan pendapat mengenainya. Ada yang mengatakan ia lebih bernilai daripada emas kerana harganya yang mahal mampu mencecah ribuan ringgit telah membuatkan ramai orang tergila-gilakan hasil pokok ini. Hakikatnya, taburan pokok ini di dalam hutan di kategorikan berada di ambang kepupusan kerana penuaian secara berleluasa tanpa pengawalan yang rapi. Tanpa inisiatif dengan penanaman semula pokok ini, hasil gaharu negara tidak mampu lagi untuk dieksport ke negara-negara Asia Barat dan negara Asia lain yang meletakkan permintaan tinggi bagi hasil ini. Daripada segi perusahaan perladangan, Indonesia dan Thailand telah berada selangkah di hadapan kita namun kita masih teragak-agak dengan keupayaan hasil pokok ini. Kekurangan sumber maklumat tepat dan kekangan modal yang tinggi untuk dikormersialkan menyebabkan ia kurang mendapat perhatian usahawan di negara ini. Agensi kerajaan yang ada perlu memainkan peranan dalam menyalurkan fakta yang lengkap dan perkembangan teknologi dalam usaha menjadikan ia sebagai industri yang berkembang pesat. Penyelidikan dalam penghasilan gaharu melalui kaedah suntikan dan inokulasi juga sedang giat dijalankan. Antara yang agensi kerajaan yang sedang giat menjalankan kajian berkenaan penanaman serta penghasilan gaharu adalah Institut Penyelidikan Perhutanan Malaysia (FRIM). Bermula pada sejak awal 1990 di FRIM, bagaimanapun, kajian yang lebih sistematik dijalankan dalam tahun 1992. Komponen penyelidikan meliputi kajian seperti bahan tanaman, penanaman, pertumbuhan, suntikan tiruan, kimia, serta sosial ekonomi gaharu ke atas p enduduk tempatan. Sepanjang jangka masa ini, agensi usahasama lain yang terlibat adalah seperti Jabatan Perhutanan Semenanjung Malaysia, Jabatan Hutan Negeri Pahang dan swasta. Timbalan Ketua Pengarah (Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan) FRIM, Datuk Dr. A bd. Rashid Ab. Malik berkata, kini institut berkenaan berjaya menyediakan teknik menghasilkan gaharu dengan lebih cepat dengan kos yang rendah. "Jika penanaman gaharu secara biasa ia akan memakan masa yang panjang berbanding kaedah yang telah ditemui FRIM kini. "Pokok gaharu pada usia empat tahun sudah boleh melalui proses inokulasi dan setelah dua hingga tiga tahun hasilnya sudah boleh diperolehi. "Bagi yang berminat boleh mendapatkan khidmat nasihat daripada FRIM dan kita akan sentiasa membantu," katanya. Teknik inokulasi sebenarnya agak mahal, namun atas usaha yang bersungguh-sungguh, FRIM berjaya menghasilkan teknik menghasilkan gaharu dengan lebih murah dan berkesan. Jelas Abd. Rashid, pengusaha gaharu kini tidak perlu bimbang kerana negara memiliki teknologi terkini untuk menghasilkan gaharu setanding dengan negara-negara jiran. Walaupun penanaman gaharu di Malaysia masih pada skala yang agak kecil dan ketinggalan berbanding dengan negara jiran kita seperti Thailand, Kemboja, India dan Indonesia namun kita masih mempunyai peluang yang cerah un tuk perusahaan ini berikutan permintaan terhadapnya amat tinggi. "Di negara kita masih tiada badan khas bagi memantau serta membantu perusahaan ini, justeru semua pihak perlu memainkan peranan penting bagi menjayakannya," ujar beliau. Namun, kurangnya pendedahan dan pengumpulan maklumat menyebabkan perusahaan gaharu kurang memberi impak dalam pelaksanaannya.

Penghasilan Minyak Gaharu Untuk mendapat minyak dan berkualiti yang tinggi kualiti kayu gaharu perlu diambil berat. Terdapat tujuh kategori mutu gaharu namun, untuk mendapatkan kayu yang bermutu tinggi, terdapat lima ciri utama perlu diberi keutamaan dalam memastikan bahawa kayu gaharu tersebut mencapai tahap berkualiti yang dikehendaki atau tidak. Ia termasuklah corak atau warna pada kayu tersebut seperti warna coklat kehitaman, kandungan damar wangi tinggi, serat padat, berat dan menghasilkan aroma yang kuat apabila dibakar. Daripada ciri-ciri tersebut, gaharu digredkan kepada gred A, gred B, gred C, gred D, gred E, lain-lain gred dan gaharu racik (kayu racik). Penghasilan minyak gaharu boleh dilakukan dengan dua kaedah; iaitu kaedah penyulingan stim dan kaedah penyulingan air. Kaedah penyulingan stim adalah yang paling efektif dengan menghasilkan minyak yang banyak. Proses dimulakan dengan mengisarkan kayu gaharu sehingga halus kemudian direndam selama beberapa hari sehingga sel kayu (parenkima) dan kelenjar minyak hampir terasing. Kepingan gaharu ini kemudiannya akan disuling di dalam kelalang clavenger selama enam jam dan setiap peringkat penghasilan minyak yang berlainan warna akan diambil dan digredkan. Sementara itu, kaedah penyulingan air adalah paling mudah tetapi penghasilan minyak gaharu adalah pada tahap minimum. Kayu gaharu tersebut akan dimasak selama empat hingga lima hari sehingga minyak gaharu terhasil. Di Malaysia, perusahaan secara besar-besaran telah berubah menggunakan teknik penyulingan stim daripada penyulingan air kerana proses yang lebih mudah dan kos yang rendah. Rata-rata ramai pengusaha gaharu yang kurang berpengalaman didalam bidang ini namun tetap berminat untuk mempelajarinya.