Sandal (Santalum album L.) is one of the most economically important tree species indigenous to peninsular India. The species is extracted for its heartwood and oil. The sandal genetic resources in the country are threatened by a variety of factors including logging of the trees, poaching and due to large scale changes in land use. Analyzing long-term records of extraction, in Kamataka, India, Meera et al. (2000) and Nageswara Rao et al. (1999) showed a substantial decline in the total quantity of sandalwood extracted over the years. The decrease in availability of sandal is also mirrored in the reduction of sandalwood supplied to the factories (Meera et aI., 2000). It is feared that unless these losses are checked, it could lead to an irreversible loss of the sandal genetic resources from the country (Nageswara Rao et al., 1999; Uma Shaanker et al., 2000).