A process applied to a freshly harvested timber before further processing/ treatment is called

Seasoning is the process of reducing the moisture content of freshly harvested ("green") timber to a level suitable for use. Freshly felled wood can contain 50-100% moisture relative to its dry weight; seasoning brings this down to around 12-15%, which is necessary before the wood can be used in construction, furniture-making, or other applications.

Seasoning can be carried out in two ways:

• Natural (air) seasoning - timber is stacked in open air with spacers between planks to allow air circulation. This is slow (months to years) but inexpensive.
• Artificial (kiln) seasoning - timber is placed in a heated, humidity-controlled chamber. This is faster (days to weeks) but more costly.

Unseasoned wood warps, cracks, and shrinks as it dries, so seasoning must come before any further processing or treatment.

Spraying and dipping are methods of applying chemical preservatives to already-seasoned wood. Charring (burning the surface layer) is a preservation technique that makes the outer wood resistant to insects and decay, but it is applied after the timber is ready for use, not as the first post-harvest step.