Plantation Bamboo

Bamboos are giant, woody, tree-like grasses with a long history as an exceptionally versatile and widely used resource. Over 75 genera and 1,250 species have been identified. Bamboo is a cultural feature of south and southeast Asia. No country in the region is without an indigenous bamboo flora. Its plethora of essential uses has led to the use of terms such as the "poor man’s timber", the "Cradle to coffin plant", "green – gold", "bamboo friend of the people" and it still provides the material needed for existence. Het over – exploitation associated with growing human populations, destruction of tropical forests and new demands on the resources for industrial uses, especially by the pulp and paper industry, has resulted in wide scale decimation of bamboo stocks. Compared with the vast forest of bamboo found in south and southeast Asia at the beginning of this century, we are left with the current situation of acute scarcity. Efforts are therefore underway to research into cultural and agronomic techniques which will boost bamboo production so that raw material in sufficient quantity can be made available to farmers, rural households and large industries. The present crisis in sustained availability can be ensured only by raising extensive bamboo plantations. The present plantation techniques is based on experience rather than on scientific basis. Species which have attained a crop status in agriculture have long decades of directed endeavour behind them. Bamboo has not attained a similar status due to lack of sustained investigations. The need for an authentic but comprehensive and a broad based book on plantation bamboo has been long felt. Therefore, all available data is documented in a scientific manner for use as reference to farmers, foresters as well as bamboo researches. This publication is an effort in that direction.