Abstract

The termites are known to cause extensive damage to forestry, agriculture, horticulture, and all kinds of wood work of buildings, etc. However, they have also been reported to nibble on the outer covering of the cables, and cause significant damage to adhesive coatings used at the joints of the cables. Two samples of armored optical fibre cable were received from Ministry of Railways, New Delhi for testing their durability against termites in the laboratory as well as in the field. In the laboratory, cable samples were tested against termite species, Microcerotermes beesoni Snyder and in the field, samples were exposed to a mound building termite, Odontotermes obesus (Rambur). The outer covering of the cable samples exhibited nibbling by the termites. However, under actual field conditions, cumulative effect of other factors such as fungal decay, weathering conditions and certain micro-organisms collectively make condition conducive for termite attack, which determines the service of the material.

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