• Introduction
• Requirement
  Climate
  Soil
• Propagation
• Irrigation
• Harvesting

Introduction

Sandal wood (Santalum album) is the source of world famous Indian sandal wood oil, which is extensively used in the perfumery industry. Both wood and oil are used in incense, perfumes and in medicine.sandalwood being closely grained and amicable to carving, the wood is suitable for making idols and boxes of exquisite beauty. Major portion of the sandal wood oil is produced by steam distillation of the pulverized heart wood and root. The yield of oil varies from 1.5-2.0%. The main constituents of sandal wood oil are a and b santalols which account for 90-03% of the oil. Sandal tree starts flowering from 3^rd or 4^th year and flowering season generally lasts from February to April while fruiting takes place between July to October.

Requirement

Climate :
The formation of heartwood is best between 600-900m, with an annual rainfall of 850-1200mm. A comparatively cool climate, moderate rainfall and sunshine are the ideal conditions for the development of the heartwood

Soil
It can grown in different types of soils like sandy, clay red soils, laterite loam and black cotton soils.sandalwood can grow under varying conditions of soil PH from 6.0 to 7.5. For good growth of sandal tree it requires good drainage, as it does not stand water logging.

Propagation :

The seeds of sandal wood germinate after monsoon under natural condition dispersed by birds. Artificial regeneration can be done by dibbling the seeds in the bushes and pits or sowing on mounds in the trench or raising the seedlings in the nursery in polybags. The seeds of host plants such as cassia siamea, calotropis gigantee, cajanus cajan are dibbled in the ratio 1:3. There is no fertilizer formulation for this tree but 12to 15 doses of commonly used fertilizers viz.; nitrogen, phosphorus and potash can be applied per year as in other medicinal and aromatic plants

Irrigation

Trees can grows vigorously in monsoon, but in summer it requires water. Irrigation dose not required year round but mostly for the post monsoon period i.e.from December to May.irrigation depends upon the soil moisture retention capacity and season.