Influence of Soil Nutrients, Tree Age, and Sandalwood Provenances on Sandalwood Oil Yield and Quality

Abstract

East African Sandalwood (Osyris laceolata) is an important tree species used in perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. In Kenya, the tree is illegally poached and smuggled mostly to India as a substitute for Asian sandalwood. Therefore, there is a need to domesticate E. A. sandalwood to ease pressure on natural stands. The aim of this study is to determine ecological factors influencing Osyris oil yield and quality to guide the selection of provenances for on-farm domestication. Soil and woody samples were obtained from 12 provenances and used for soil and oil analysis, respectively. The results showed that only tree age significantly influenced the oil yield (r = 0.31, p = 0.04 ). The GC-MS quality results recorded nine common and most abundant compounds across the study sites. These were Z-alpha-trans-bergamotol, alpha bisabolol, lanceol cis, beta bisabolene, alpha santalol, beta santalol, cis-alpha-copaene-8-ol, isopropyl myristate, and isopropyl palmitate. Baringo and Mbooni provenances had the highest number of compounds (8), followed by Homabay (7) while the majority (Chyulu, Kitui, Loita, Maralal, Marsabit, Muranga, and Narosura) had six and Ol Donyo Sabuk and Namanga had the least (5). The species diversity is therefore important for breeding, domestication, and conservation purposes.

Identification and variation analysis of the composition and content of essential oil and fragrance compounds in Phoebe zhennan wood at different tree ages

“…Trees grow and develop at the physiological, morphological, and molecular levels as they age. Similar to previous findings on the EOs of O. lanceolata (Fajar et al, 2019) and C. burmannii (Gathara et al, 2022), tree age had a significant effect on the content of EOs in P. zhennan wood. As the tree ages, the width and volume of its timber will also increase, which will increase the accumulation of EOs within the wood.…”

“…The optimal yield and composition will vary with differences in the physiological age of the tree. In their reports, Gathara et al (2022) determined that tree age but not soil nutrients and agro-ecological factors significantly influenced the oil yield in Osyris lanceolata. Tree age affects the components of EOs in the leaves, branch bark, and stem bark of Cinnamomum burmannii (Fajar et al, 2019).…”