Preparation of stimulant paste containing biological extract and applicaton in the resin tapping

Suitable species for resin production in our country, especially red pine (Pinus brutia Ten) and maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) naturally growing in the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Marmara regions, have a high resin content. Unfortunately, resin production in our country is extremely limited and related industries are dependent on imports in this regard. Turpentine, which stands out with its wide range of uses, is used to obtain numerous products ranging from disinfectant perfumes, adhesives, insecticides, varnishes, cleaning chemical additives, and textile additives. It is also used in industries such as rosin, paper, soap, detergents, cosmetics, paints, varnishes, rubber, and surface polishing. Due to inadequacies in planning, inability to develop production methods, inability to improve product quality, and high costs, resin production in our country cannot be carried out to the desired extent. Stimulant chemicals used in crude resin production are usually applied to increase productivity and delay wound healing. It is an undesirable situation in resin production when turpentine evaporates, causing open wounds to heal rapidly and resin flow to stop. In this case, the wounds need to be refreshed by workers, and the application of the stimulant chemical needs to be repeated, which naturally increases labor costs and hinders investment in this field. The acidic chemicals used in the acid paste method have harmful effects on worker and environmental health. Additionally, acidic components are known to damage resin channels, leading to resin accumulation (gummosis) in the channels and the formation of a dark red color. Gummosis adv In this study, adult individuals of bark beetles Orthotomicus erosus (Mediterranean pine bark beetle) and Ips sexdentatus (Twelve-spined pine bark beetle), which are harmful to red pine, were obtained from a study conducted by the Balıkesir Regional Directorate of Forestry. Bark beetles, which are harmful to needle trees, attack trees in their natural environments where they cause damage and trigger resin secretion. They are attracted to species-specific pheromone traps placed near the attacked trees and are collected, then quickly brought to the laboratory and turned into powder. A new biological paste was produced using bark beetles, and its effects on resin secretion were observed by applying it on open wounds on red pine trees. An extract prepared using bark beetles was prepared in three different concentrations with the addition of ethanol and glycerol to create a biologically enhanced stimulant. The resin and its components were chemically characterized in terms of yield, impurity, terpentine percentage, GC-MS analysis of terpentine, and FTIR analysis of rosin samples and the effects of stimulants on results were discussed. As a result of the studies, it was observed that the use of biological paste formulations did not cause significant damage to the wounded area or the formation of a dark red color, which are commonly seen in commercial acid paste samples. There were positive increases in resin yield results when biological paste was used. Glycerol used in the biological paste formulation yielded successful results. It was observed that areas for resin production should be prepared in accordance with the operational purpose for resin impurity. GC-MS analyses revealed that the most abundant components in the three different stimulant types were α-pinene, Delta3-carene, 2-β-pinene, limonene, alpha-terpineol, camphene, and caryophyllene. It is believed that the biological paste developed with bark beetles can be used as an alternative to traditional commercial acid paste. Collecting bark beetles in pheromone traps and turning them into a useful products can be counted as remarkable and inovative output of this study. It is also believed that this study may lead to numerous and detailed new studies on the subjects.