Pacific Southwest

Title: Status and cultivation of Sandalwood in India

Author: Rai, Shobha N.

Date: 1990

Source: In: Hamilton, Lawrence; Conrad, C. Eugene, technical coordinators. Proceedings of the Symposium on Sandalwood in the Pacific; April 9-11, 1990; Honolulu, Hawaii. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-122. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: p. 66-71

Station ID: GTR-PSW-122

Description: Sandalwood (Santalum album) has been part of Indian culture and heritage for thousands of years, and was one of the first items traded with other countries. The heartwood yields fragrant oil, which is used mainly in the perfume industry but also has medicinal properties. The wood is used for carving and manufacturing incense. Generally S. album is found in the dry deciduous forests of Deccan Plateau, mostly in the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, The evergreen tree regenerates naturally when conditions are favorable and has been spreading in its distribution. Lack of understanding of the dynamics of hemiparasitism by sandalwood has caused failure of pure plantations in the past; haustorial connections with its hosts supply sandalwood with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Plantable seedlings can now be raised in the nursery in 6-8 months with the protection of a nematicide and fungicide. Several techniques for planting seeds directly in the field have also been developed. A tree that is growing well can put on an annual increment of 1 kg per year. The sandalwood resource in India is currently threatened by four factors: fire, browsing by livestock, spike (little leaf) disease, and smuggling.

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Citation

Rai, Shobha N.  1990.  Status and cultivation of Sandalwood in India.   In: Hamilton, Lawrence; Conrad, C. Eugene, technical coordinators. Proceedings of the Symposium on Sandalwood in the Pacific; April 9-11, 1990; Honolulu, Hawaii. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-122. Berkeley, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: p. 66-71.