Parasitism Ecology of Sandalwood ( Santalum album L.) for Commercial Production in the Semi-Arid Tropics

Successful establishment of a sandalwood plantation is rather difficult due to its complex parasitism ecology and unique silvics of the host species. The present study was therefore undertaken to understand the parasitism ecology of sandalwood under natural population in the semi-arid tropics, covering the northeastern dry zone of Karnataka, India. Sandalwood was found to parasitize on nine different tree species belonging to four families dominated by Leguminosae (six tree species), and the maximum associations occurred with Acacia nilotica. Sandalwood tree requires long-term suitable host not only for mineral nutrients replenishment, but also for water supplementation to maintain plant water potential and minimal composition in above-ground parts apart from sufficient sunlight. Therefore, selection of suitable host assumes significance. A. nilotica and C siamea are preferred hosts, particularly at planting distance of 2.5 m in the semi-arid tropics of India. A planting geometry of 6 m × 6 m or 5 m × 5 m with sandalwood between the host plants at 2.5 to 3.0 m is ideal.