Spike Disease in Sandal

Abstract

SANDAL has long been a valuable forestry product in southern India and the mysterious disease termed ‘spike’ has been the subject of investigation during the past quarter of a century. Various bodies interested in sandal are collaborating, such as the Madras Forest Department, the Indian Institute of Science at Bangalore, the Forest Research Institute at Dehra Dun and others. A report on the progress made during the half-year ending September 30, 1932, entitled “Investigations on the Spike-Disease of Sandal” has been issued by the Institute of Science, Bangalore. The sporadic attacks of this pest have a strange parallel to those of foot and mouth disease in Great Britain. A recrudescence of the disease in an epidemic form has been noticed in the Beedamaruthupatti spike area. Pollarding, which has been carried out on a fairly large scale in the Galigattam and Manchi areas, has yielded significant data. So far, Manchi has the maximum percentage of disease-masking sandal plants. The entire freedom from infection of a few areas, Sanamavu and Thalli in North Salem and Chickabettakere in Coorg, has been established by pollarding. More detailed technical contributions will appear as scientific papers in the Journal of the Indian Institute of Science, Dehra Dun Forest Research Publications, and elsewhere. Meanwhile it is a valuable departure to issue progress reports so that the various investigators studying the pest, which causes so heavy a financial loss, should have early news of any results achieved.