2.3 Time Scale: 20–50 Years

Why Nature Is Slow

In the wild, agarwood forms without human help.
Everything happens by chance and very slowly.

Natural agarwood requires:

  • Random injury
  • Natural microbial invasion
  • Years of repeated stress
  • Long-term tree survival

👉 These conditions are rare and slow.

What Happens Over 20–50 Years (Simple Timeline)

Years 1–5

  • Tree is wounded (insects, wind, lightning)
  • Microbes enter
  • Tree begins defense reaction

Years 5–15

  • Resin starts forming slowly
  • Light discoloration appears
  • Immune response continues

Years 15–30

  • Resin spreads deeper into the wood
  • Fragrance develops
  • Resin begins to harden

Years 30–50+

  • Resin polymerizes
  • Wood becomes dark, heavy, and aromatic
  • Premium wild agarwood is formed

Why Resin Needs Long Time

  • Resin starts as soft chemicals
  • Over time, oxygen reacts with resin
  • Molecules join together (polymerization)
  • Fragrance deepens and stabilizes

Time = quality.

Why Trees Don’t Die Immediately

In nature:

  • Stress is slow and balanced
  • The tree adapts instead of collapsing
  • Resin forms without killing the tree

Too much stress at once = death.

Why Artificial Induction Is Faster

Humans shorten the time by:

  • Creating controlled wounds
  • Introducing selected microbes
  • Managing stress intensity

This reduces resin formation time to:
1–5 years (depending on method)

But:

  • Shorter time ≠ same quality as wild
  • Good induction still needs patience

Farmer Key Message

“Nature uses time to perfect agarwood.
Humans use knowledge to shorten the time—carefully.”

Practical Lesson for Farmers

✔ Do not rush harvest
✔ Allow resin to mature
✔ Understand that darker = older = better