Sandalwood can help farmers tide over cash problem

Ludhiana, November 19

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Cultivation of sandalwood (chandan) can not only help tide over the financial crisis of farmers, but forestry involving these trees can actually be a profitable venture.

Arun Khurmi, who has been growing sandalwood trees, and now runs its nursery said this, adding that after a pilot project of the state Forest Department that ran for around four years, the government was now giving a subsidy for the cultivation and plantation of sandalwood trees.

Khurmi said among the states where trees have been planted for research, it was found that the oil content of sandalwood trees growing in Punjab is the third highest. He said the oil content in the sandalwood trees growing in Punjab is 2.5 per cent to 4 per cent, which is only after Kerala and Karnataka, where these trees grow naturally.

Responding to a query that sandalwood trees remain surrounded by snakes, Khurmi said even if snakes cling to sandalwood trees in jungles, it is because its wood is cool. But no such case has been reported in trees cultivated for the purpose of agro-forestry, he said. He says the actual sandalwood starts growing in the middle of the tree trunk two years after its plantation and gradually keeps becoming bigger unless the outer layer gets completely worn off. But this happens after around 40 years. But in agro-forestry, sandalwood trees are generally cut when the wood base becomes around 60 per cent, which generally happens when the tree becomes 13 to 15-year-old, so snakes don’t cling to these growing trees, as there still is an outer layer, he said.

“Most conditions in India are congenial for growing sandalwood, except where the land is waterlogged. In fact, research has found that sandalwood trees growing in dry lands needing less water have more oil content,” he said, adding that not only the wood, there is a great demand for its roots, branches in cosmetics, medicine. All parts of the tree sell, making it a viable option for economic growth.

He said when the wood base becomes around 60 per cent, each tree gives around 12 to 15 kg of sandalwood so can be very profitable.

As sandalwood tree is haema parasite species, it needs the support of other trees for initial two-three years. So, in an acre, around 828 trees can grow, in which 225 would be that of sandalwood. For the cultivation, the cost per acre is around Rs1.33 lakh, of which Rs35,000 is given as subsidy. The subsidy covers host plants, including Amla or lemon, in addition to a plantation of a species of neem tree. One can also get trees enlisted with the Forest Department so there is no objection on cutting these trees. One tree gives around 15-20 kg of sandalwood and one can fetch Rs12,000 from 1 kg wood.

Khurmi said to start with, trees can be planted by farmers on walkways in fields.

Khushwinder Singh, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Phillaur said while the pilot project for growing sandalwood trees in Punjab was almost done, tree saplings would be made available in nurseries of the Forest Department as well, he said. — TNS