Carnarvon has emerged as a potential new home for WA’s plantation sandalwood industry after a 15-year trial recorded better growth than experienced at its existing base in Kununurra.
The Forest Products Commission has published results of a 7.3 hectare irrigated sandalwood plantation trial started in 2006 at the state government-run Gascoyne Research Facility.
The FPC tested two species, one of which, santaleuca austrocaledonicum, produced high commercial wood content while the other, santaleuca album, produced a higher heartwood oil yield prized in the cosmetics and health industries.
“Overall, both S. album and S. austrocaledonicum appear to be well suited to the growing conditions near Carnarvon, if grown on suitable soil types and irrigated with a sufficient amount of relatively fresh water,” the report said.
The trial found sandalwood trees achieved slightly higher growth rates in Carnarvon than Kununurra, however, heartwood oil yield, while good quality, was significantly lower.
Carnarvon’s trial followed the success of sandalwood plantation trials in Kununurra in the 1990s, which led to a permanent plantation industry in the region.
The report noted good quality irrigation water could be a limiting factor, with the Carnarvon food bowl reliant on seasonal flows and groundwater from the Gascoyne River.
WA's sandalwood industry is valued at about $40 million, with wood harvested from a combination of plantation and wild timbers.
The wild harvest has been a source of friction, with conservationists questioning its sustainability and private operators criticising the FPC's for-profit operations.
