Influence of Neem Seed Oil-Treatment on Static Bending Strength Properties of Wild Grown Split-Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris Schrad.) in South-West Nigeria

this paper intends to contribute to the efforts aimed at achieving sustainable environmentally benign methods of treating and preserving lignocellulosic materials. for this study, split-bamboo samples, with mean specific gravity of 0.89 and conditioned in the laboratory to 11.76% moisture content were treated, at two different temperature regimes, with mechanically extracted neem seed oil. selected mechanical properties for the oil-treated and untreated bamboo samples were determined in conformity with modified astm d 143-83. results showed that mean values for moduli of rupture and elasticity (mor and moe) for static bending strength test were lowest in samples soaked in hot oil at 60oc for 4 hours but higher in samples soaked in oil at room temperature of 25±2oc for 24 hours, with control samples possessing higher values than those for the oil-treated samples. one way analysis of variance also revealed statistical significant variation in the data obtained for mor and moe at 5% significance level. fishers least significant difference was used as a follow-up test to compare means, also at 5% significance level.