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Mr. Thirupillappa Reddy
(Rtd. IWST) Forest Consultant.

Chandana Siri Nursery, Mr. N. Thirupillappa Reddy (Retd. IWST) Technical Officer who is a forestry consultant for sandal wood nursery and plantations and treatment of sandal wood plantation.

Mr. N.Thirupillappa Reddy who worked for 30 years in the Sandal wood nursery, in Institute of Wood Science & Technology Malleshwaram, Bangalore -03, along with Dr. H. S. Anantha Padmanabha International Sandal Wood Consultant. And Dr.T.S. Rathore Ex Director of AFRI and IWST a famous scientist. He had done so many plantations & nursery in all over India almost 60 lakhs of plantations had done and also he consultant for other state like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Maharastra, Gujarath, Rajasthan, Odissa, Kolkata, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkand, UP, MP and Jammu Kashmir.

Chandana specializes in growing sandalwood saplings in a hygienic space and environment in Bangalore. As we understand the importance and value of sandalwood, we excel as nursery servers, consultants & plantation management. Utmost care and attention is given by our experienced personnel for growing every saplings.

Care for Sandalwood Saplings

Sandalwood (santalum album) is a semi-parasitic plant, as a result natural regeneration is difficult. “A sandalwood seedling, right from a small sprout needs a host plant for effective growth. Like any other sapling, it requires the perfect mix of farm yard manure, sand and soil. However, we need to plant a primary host plant in a feet's radius. The most tedious work is the host plant management as it dominates if allowed to grow higher than sandal. We don’t recommend any external chemicals to be added,” says Mr. G. K. Reddy .

Primary host needs to be a leguminous plant that can fix atmospheric nitrogen that is essential for sandalwood’s effective growth. We suggest Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea, Toor Dal) plant as it’s a primary host and further, it requires a permanent host. This depends on the area and ambiance in which sandal is being grown.

  Sandal Wood Plantation As A Horticulture Crop nbsp;

Introduction :

The question arises - why should we plant sandalwood? The answer, sandalwood and its products have the finest of fragrance, one that lasts for years. The demand for srigandha is increasing amongst our clients' everyday. Since there is scarcity and industries are affected, we use alternates similar to Indian sandalwood that is procured from different countries. Sandalwood (Chandan) and its products are used widely from birth to incineration and also in temples and in prasadam. The oil of the wood is used for varied applications because of its unique chemical and physical properties. Further, it has gained a special place in aroma therapy, perfumery, agarbatti soaps and detergents, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and allied industries.

Santalum Album Line (Sandalwood) is commonly known as Chandan or Srigandha. Naturally grown sandal wood can be found in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Kerala, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, U.P and Manipur. Chandan is a well-known as East Indian wood and it is priced high for its oil and heart wood across the world. These woods are used as medicinal agents on a large scale in the manufacture of ayurvedic medicines.

Apart from this, these woods are recognized by the National Medicinal Plant Board, and Govt. of India as a medicinal and aromatic plant. Moreover, there are varied types of species too and the best variety known until now is (Santalum Album line). It attains a height of 12 to 15 meters and girth of 100 to 200 cms. It is a semi-root parasite plant found in association with other plant.

But, all of the above plants are not quite competitive like the Indian Sandalwood and the Indian Sandalwood Chandan is in two different colors, White and Red.

Legal Aspects :

The Govt. of Gujarat Forest Department, GR Dated 17th March. 2003, "Every occupant or holder of land shall be legally entitled to sandalwood weeds in their land"

Govt. Subsidy :

National medicinal plants board (Dept. of I.S.M and H.) Govt. Of India giving subsidy as per Operational Guidelines to sandalwood cultivators.

Loan Facilities :

Nationalized Banks and co — op banks are financing the Sandalwood plantation projects.

  Information & Details For Sandalwood Plantation

Organic Farming Of Sandalwood :
Sandalwood can be cultivated in different soils and climatic conditions or temperatures, without restricting any region or area. The sapling, grown with intensive care in an organic manner, gives good results than the natural once. The naturally grown Chandan tree requires more than 30 years for harvesting, where as intensively cultivated plants start formation of scented heart wood around 10 to 25 kgs, with a width of 30 cm and 65 cm. in 10 to 15 years. These results are based on existing plantations in nearby places and the management practices, irrigation, fertilization and soil working etc, are the major criteria for early growth. Yearly growth is around 2 cm to 5 cm and its is clear that sandalwood prefers a well drained, moderately fertile land and the heart wood or oil content in the wood seems to be better under dry conditions.

Saplings For Plantation :

Seeds collected from August to March have to be from plants of the age of 15 to 25 years. Further, dried and treated seeds are used for sowing by indigiones or scientific methods. Matured healthy seedlings of 6 to 8 months are best for planting in a farm and July to September is the right time to plant.

Costing and Profit :

Sandalwood is a semi root parasite sapling which depends on a host plant. So, we provide toor dal plant for its support in the initial stage. In a one acre land, total plants will be around 435. the distance between plant to plant is 10 ft (10 ' * 10' ). The pits size 45cms x 45cm x 45cm. Water should not stay stagnant in the pit and in summertime, we should water twice a week (2 Iiters for each sapling) and adding a bio-fertilizer, removal of weeds is essential. After 3 to 4 years of cultivation, it starts flowering, by that time the formation of heart wood take place. After 12 years, each plant yields 10 to 25 kg of heart wood depending on the growth of the tree. If we cultivate and grow it with proper care, by 12 years the girth may be around 60 cm. The oil content in the root is 4% to 6% each year and the growth will be 5cm.