General Information :

• Red sanders are a small to moderate-sized deciduous trees.
• Bark is blackish brown
• Leaves broadly ovate, clothed with grey hairs below.
• Flowers are yellow in color.
• Winged pods with one or two seeds reddish brown in color

Distribution :

• Endemic to India. It is most commonly found in southern parts of India notably in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Habitat : Tropical Dry Deciduous forest.

Soil : Wide range of soils and waste land.

Altitude :150-900m (MSL)

Rainfall :350 to 1350mm

Temperature : 11°C to 46°C

Terrain : Plains/gentle slopes.

Tree Characteristics :

• It is a light-demander and more resistant to fire
• It is an excellent coppicer.

Habit : Large deciduous tree

Growth : Moderate

Height : 25 m

Natural Regeneration :

• Regeneration by coppices

Artificial Regeneration :

• Propagated by Nursery raised seedlings.

Seed collection and Storage :

• The dry pods are collected from the trees in April-June.
• Seeds are dried and stored in gunny bags.
• The viability of can be retained up to 12 months.
• Dry pods weigh 900 to 1400 / kg.
• Germination percentage is 25-30%

Seed Treatment :

• Soaking of pods in cold water for 3 days or immerse in cow dung slurry for 48 hrs before

Nursery Technique :

• A well drained sandy loam is selected for mother beds of standard size 10m x 1 m.
• 10 – 15 kg of seeds are sown and covered with thin layer of soil covered with paddy straw.
• Two leaf seedlings are transplanted from mother bed to poly bag and raised in nursery under shade for 4 months.

Plantation technique :

• Plantation Season onset of monsoon
• Pit size –30 cm3 , Pits filled with 2:1:1 ratio of red earth, sand and FYM watering for settling down the mixture
• For block and border Plantation spacing adopted is  3 m X 3 m 

Care & Disease Control :

• Weeding, cleaning and pruning should be done once in a year.

   

Irrigation :

• Needs good irrigation in initial year.
• Cannot withstand water-logged conditions.
• Young plants require watering in summer months at 15-20 days interval till they are fully established.

Recommended Harvest :

• 10-25 years

Yield :

• Approximately 50 – 60 Kg/tree*

*Subject to varry according to site factors.  

Agro Forestory :

• No particular intercropping system has so far been studied in this crop.
• Herbaceous rhizomatous species may be grown as an intercrop in inter-row spaces.

Major uses :

• The red, fragrant heartwood is used for furniture, in cabinet making
• Used in red dye production, oil extraction, medicine preparation
• Used in traditional Ayurvedic, Sidha medicines.
• Traditional Tirupachi toys were made of it.
• It is  found to have been used for atomic energy projects instead and for making a Viagra-like drug.

Market details :

• Rs.40 to 50 lakhs / ton in International market.