The natural production of agarwood may take a decade or more, if it takes place at all. Therefore, techniques have been developed to induce the development of agarwood and speed its production.
Small-scale farmers typically induce the development of agarwood by using low-cost tools and methods such as screws, knives, nails and drills to repeatedly wound the tree, starting when the trees are about 6 years old and have reached 10 cm dbh. Studies in Viet Nam suggest that drilling a hole and keeping it open with a small tube can improve results. After 3 to 5 years of repeated nailing or drilling, the agarwood may be sufficiently developed for harvesting, although some indicated that farmers usually wait 5 to 10 years before harvesting and that the best production is from trees that are at least 50 years old. These mechanical induction methods, however, usually result in inferior quality and an uncertain yield of agarwood compared to natural production. Agarwood is formed only in the injured areas, suggesting that the amount of agarwood produced depends on the number and magnitude of injuries.
To further improve the production of agarwood, researchers have developed techniques that are now used on most plantations. Exceptions are plantations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and some areas of Bangladesh, where physical wounding remains the main technique. These techniques include inoculation with various fungi combined with aeration, and chemical induction. Both techniques have been found to enhance production of cultivated agarwood that is similar to natural agarwood. However, some studies have indicated that the chemical compounds found in cultivated and natural agarwood are distinguishable, although information was limited especially for agarwood produced using chemical inducement. Other studies have shown that different production methods result in different amounts of the chemicals that give agarwood its aromatic properties and suggested that more research is required to determine the best method for the various tree species and the locations where they are planted.