Pathogenic diseases of Indian sandalwood (Santalum album L.), a review

Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), esteemed for its heartwood and oil is subjected to various important diseases which cause a lack of growth and consequently loss of the valuable heartwood and oil or may kill the trees. This can lead to a devastating economic loss to farmers. There is a pressing need to conserve health of sandalwood trees by determining disease prevention measures and to investigate pragmatic solutions to reduce losses caused by destructive diseases. The purpose of this review is mainly to inform the scientific community about so far reported deleterious pathogenic diseases in India, China, Australia, Bangladesh and their impact, thereby helping to facilitate development of a suitable suite of practices for combating the scourge of diseases affecting sandalwood, ultimately helping the sandalwood farming communities. A comprehensive review on the same is presented.