ISBN 9971-84-732-9

Copyright 1987
The Chinese Academy of Forestry, People's Republic of China
International Development Research Centre. Canada

The Chinese Academy of Forestry was established in 1958.

It is an agency of the Ministry of Forestry, People's
Republic of China. The Academy now comprises of eight
research institutes. namely, the Research Institutes of
Forestry. Subtropical Forestry. Tropical Forestry, Lac.
Wood Industry. Chemical Processing and Utilization of
Forest Products. Forest Economics. and Scientific and
Technical Information on Forestry In addition to these
facilities the Academy also maintains a library and three
forestry experimental stations (the Deng Kou Experimental
Bureau. Da Gang Shan Experimental Bureau and Da Oing Shan
Experimental Bure2u) All of these are located
in Beijing Nanjing. Zhejiang, Yunnan. Guangdong
Provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang and Jhe Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Regions.

CANADA

The International Development Research Centre is a public

corporation created by the Parliament of Canada in 1970
to support research designed to adapt science and
technology to the needs of developing countries. The
Centre's activities are concentrated in five sectors:
agriculture. food and nutrition sciences; health
sciences; information sciences: social sciences and
communications. IDRC is financed solely by the Parliament
of Canada: its policies, however, are set by an
international Board of Governors. The Centre's headquarters
are in Ottawa. Canada Regional Offices are located in
Africa, Asia. Latin America. and the Middle East.
Recent Research on
Bamboos
Proceedings of the International Bamboo Workshop
October 6-14, 1985
Hangzhou, Peoples Republic of China

Organised jointly by:

Ministry of Forestry, Peoples Republic of China
International Development Research Centre, Canada
International Union of Forestry Research Organisations

Editors:
A.N. Rao, G. Dhanarajan, C.B. Sastry

Proceedings published jointly by:

The Chinese Academy of Forestry, Peoples Republic of China
International Development Research Centre, Canada
 CONTENTS
Page
Foreword 1

Dedication 2

A. Bamboo Resources and Country Reports

Y.M.L. Sharma Inventory and resource of bamboos 4
Wu Bo and Ma Naixun Bamboo research in China 18
Zhu Jifan Bamboo development in China 24
R.C. Gaur Bamboo research in India 26
Haryonto Yudodibroto Bamboo research in Indonesia 33
Salleh Mohd. Nor and The bamboo resource in Malaysia: Strategies 45
K.M. Wong for development
CeIso B. Lantican, Bamboo research in Philippines 50
Armando M. Palijon
and Carmen G. SaIudo
R. Vivekanandan Bamboo research in Sri Lanka 61
Sakomsak Ramyarangsi Bamboo research in Thailand 67

B. Cultivation and Production

Li Guoging Improved cultivation techniques of bamboos 71
in North China
Sun Tienren, Fan Lijun, Biomass structure of Phyllostachys heteroclada 79
Wang Xirong, Jhang Dehei
and Liu Niangui
Shi Quantai, Bian Yaorong Study on the application of chemical fertiliser 87
and Wang Yongxi to the timber and paper-pulp stands of
Phyllostachys pubescens
Leuvina M. Tandung Mensurational attributes of five Philippine erect 91
and Fermin G. Torres bamboos
Huang Paihui A study on the mineral nutrition of Phyllostachys 99
pubescens
Chen Youdi, Qin Wenlong, The chemical composition of ten bamboo species 110
Li XiuIing, Gong Jianping
and Nimanna
Qiou Fugeng and Fertiiiser application and growth of Phyllostachys 114
Fu Maoyi pubescens

Etsuzo Uchimura Effects of photoperiod and temperature on the 121

growth of Mosochiku Phyllostachys pubescens
seedlings

ii
C. Growth and Propagation
Hsiung Wenyue, Din Jhufu, Studies on branching pattern of monopodial 128
Li Youfen and Lu Ping bamboos
Anan Anantachote Flowering and seed characteristics of bamboos in 136
Thailand
C.M.A. Stapleton Studies on vegetative propagation of Bambusa and 146
Dendrocalamus species by culm cuttings
Yat Ying Cheung, Research on the raising of Phyllostachys 154
Stanley Gibson Cooper, pubescens seedlings
Timothy James Hansken
and Yat Chan Cheung
Ratanlal Banik Techniques of bamboo propagation with special 160
reference to prerooted and prerhizomed branch
cuttings and tissue culture
A.J. Dekkers, A.N. Rao In vitro callus in bamboos Shfzostachyum and 170
and C.S. Loh Thyrsostachys species
Zhang Guangzhu Studies on the chromosome number of bamboo 175
species with clump rhizomes
Zhang Guangzhu and Studies on bamboo hybridisation 179
Chen Fuqiu
Hiroshi Usui Morphological studies on the prophylls and their 185
systematic significance
Wen Taihui Three genera of Bambusoideae from China 192

D. Structure and Properties

W. Liese Anatomy and properties of bamboo 196
A.N. Rao Anatomicalstudies on certain bamboos growing 209
in Singapore
Jiang Xin and Li Qion Observations on vascubr bundles of bamboos 227
native to China
Wen Taihui and A study on the anatomy of vascular bundles of 230
Chou Wenwei bamboos from China
Elizabeth A. Widjaja Anatomical properties of some bamboos utilised 244
and Zulaida Risyad in Indonesia
Sun Chengzhi and Fibre morphology and crystallinity of Phyllostachys 247
Xie Guoen pubescens with-reference to age
Jules J.A. Janssen The mechanical properties of bamboo 250
Zenita B. Espiloy Physico-mechanical properties and anatomical 257
relationships of some Philippine bamboos
E. Diseases
Mohammed Abdur Rahman Bamboo blight in the village groves of Bnagladesh
Eric R. Boa Fungal diseases of bamboo: A preliminary and 271
provisional list
Eric R. Boa The occurrence of bamboo blight in Bangladesh 280
with reference to Sarocladium oryzae

F . Utilisation
Kamol Visupakha The role of bamboo as a potential food source in 301
Thailand
Hu Chaozong The changes in nutrient composition of bamboo 303
shoots at different ages
T. Higuchi, M. Tanahashi Characterisation of steam-exploded bamboos for 309
and Y. Togamura cattle feed
T . N . Lipangile The use of bamboo as water pipes 315
J.W. Slob, P.F. Nangawe, CCA impregnation of bamboo - leaching and 321
E. de Leer and fixation characteristics
J. Donker
Chen Guisheng Bamboo plywood - a new product of structural 337
material with high strength properties
Li Qihuang, Li Dezhao A brief introduction to the bamboo tower in 339
and Song Changkun Zurich, Switzerland
Liu Yurong, Chen Yiming, A study on bamboo cellulose triacetate (B-CTA) 342
Lang Kangmin and ultrafiltration membranes
Bao Zhiguo
Achmad Sulthoni Traditional preservation of bamboo in Java, 349
Indonesia

G. Socio-Economics
Songkram Thammincha Role of bamboos in rural development and socio- 359
economics: A case study in Thailand
T.A. Thomas, R.K. Arora Genetic diversity and socio-economic importance 366
Ranbir Singh of bamboos in India
C.W. MacCormac Economics for bamboo forestry research: Some 370
suggested approaches

H. Reports on Sessions
Reports on Technical Sessions 379
Research Needs and Priorities 384
List of Participants 386
 FOREWORD
In early 1980, IDRC organized the first ever workshop on Bamboo Research in
Asia in Singapore. About 22 forestry scientists participated in the meeting where 19
papers were presented for discussion. That ground-breaking meeting had the
following objectives:
! To review the existing knowledge on the cultivation and utilization of bamboo in
Asia;
! To consider the most important problem and constraints preventing the greater
use of the bamboo resource in the region; and,
! To identify regional research needs and priorities on bamboo cultivation.

We in IDRC are happy that five years later we are able to convene this second
workshop on Bamboo Research in Asia in Hangzhou, China, in collaboration with the
Ministry of Forestry, China, the Chinese Academy of Forestry, The Nanjing University
of Forestry, and the IUFRO. The world of bamboo reserach has changed much since
1980. This is largely reflected in the papers presented. In this second meeting some 80
scientists from various parts of the world participated and over 50 papers were
presented for discussion. Of these at least 15 papers are the results of research sup-
ported jointly by IDRC and national research institutes; over 20 papers come from the
Peoples Republic of China reflecting the long tradition and interest this great nation
has in Bamboo. We will not be surprised if this is not the first meeting in Forestry in
which so many Chinese scientists have participated.

The papers themselves reflect both the progress and the degree of comprehension
we have achieved in understanding bamboo production and utilization. The problems
identified in 1980 have not all been resolved, but it is heartening to note that many
solutions and innovative approches to improve the lot of bamboo growers, manufac-
turers and users have been worked out. Even more heartening is to note the
awakening of interest on Bamboo Research in Asia.

On behalf of IDRC, the Ministry of Forestry and the Academy of Forestry, Peoples
Republic of China, we wish to express our gratitude to all the people who ensured the
success of this workshop. We are specially grateful to the enthusiastic team of
organizers from the Chinese Academy of Forestrys Subtropical Forestry Research
Institute in Zhejiang Province who devoted so much of their time and effort for making
the workshop into such a lively and productive forum. Finally our thanks are also due
to all of the participants who have come from all over the world to contribute to the
second workshop on Bamboo Research in Asia.

IDRC is hopeful that much good will result from this workshop. The Centre will
continue to give serious consideration to any request from the developing nations of
the world for support to conduct bamboo research. We, like the great Chinese poet,
believe a meal should have meat, but a house must have a bamboo. Without meat
we become thin; without bamboo we loose serenity and culture in itself (Su Dong PO
- 10th Century Chinese Poet).

CHERLA B SASTRY
DEREK WEBB
Senior Program Officer (Forestry)
Associate Director (Forestry)
Agriculture, Food & Nutrition
Sciences Division Agriculture, Food & Nutrition
Sciences Division

V
 Preface to the Second Edition

INBAR/IDRC has been at the forefront of the research and development in bamboo since the eariy eighties.
tDRC organized the first ever workshop on Bamboo Research in Asia in 1980. In 1985 in collaboration
with the Chinese Ministry of Forestry, The Chinese Academy of Forestry, the Nanjing University of Forestry,
and the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO). the second Intemational Bamboo
Research Workshop was organized in Hangzhou, China. This workshop was the largest gathering of
bamboo scientists in the world up to that date and provided a forum for wide-ranging exchanges of the
latest information and ideas on bamboo research in Asia.

Since then, the IDRC Bamboo and Rattan Network(predecessor of INBAR) and after 1993, INBAR, have been
involved in organizing the third, fourth, and fifth international meetings, held in Cochin, India; Chiangmal,
Thailand; and Bali, Indonesia in 1988, 1991 and 1995, respectively. Proceedings of these workshops, two
of them in reprints, have been published jointly by INESAR, IDRC and FORSPA. They continue to be great
demand by bamboo enthusiasts around the globe.

The Hangzhou proceedings has been a very informative and path breaktng document in its content and
presentations and scientists, field workers, and general bamboo lovers continue to request it. Responding
to this popular interest, we are happy fo bring out a section edition of the Hangzhou proceedings Recent
Research on Bamboos, together with the Chinese Academy of Forestry, China. We are confident that a large
number of readers will now have easy access to this wealth of information of meet their growing interest in
bamboo.

1.V. Ramanuja Rao Cherla B. Sastry

Principal Scientist, INBAR Director, INBAR
 It is with deep regret that we record the sudden tragic death of Mr Haryanto Yudodibroto
who was involved in a car accident on May 19, 1986. He was an Associate Professor in the
Faculty of Forestry of Gadja Madah University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, His contribution to
bamboo research in Indonesia was considerable and he was an active participant in the
Workshop. The demise of an experienced colleague in bamboo research is deeply regretted and
this volume is dedicated to cherish his memory.
Bamboo Resources and
Country Reports

3
 Inventory and Resource of Bamboos
Y. M. L. Sharma
International Forestry Consultant
Bangalore, India

Abstract bamboos has been created during the last

decade, though work was done earlier on the
After detailing the general importance of scientific aspects of bamboos by several scien-
bamboos in the Asia Pacific Region the occur- tists. Bamboos continue to hold their impor-
rence and importance of bamboos in different tant place in the rural economy of the devel-
contries are discussed. Assessment of bam- oping countries especially in the Asia Pacific
boos is made only in such countries where region. The usage of bamboos in rural and
pulp and paper mills are established and one cottage industries is far more than their use. in
recent example is cited. The bamboos in the the pulp and paper industry. Its high calorific
villuges of Bangladesh has been assessed. In value of 4600 to 5400 Cal/kg makes it eligible
view of the likelihood of gregarious flowering as an energy crop, except that it burns
of bamboo and death of clumps, whether a quickly. If a device could be found to make it
total country wise assessment of bamboos is burn slow, its use as an energy resource
necessary and would be useful is an aspect to would be immense especially due to its fast
be considered. Assessment of bamboo growth. Bamboos are also used in the cera-
resources in the rural sector is, however, desir- mic industry (FAO, 1978; Sharma. 1982).
able as bamboos form cm important com-
ponent in the rural sector for establishment of
cottage and rural industries. Further recom- Country Wise Occurrence
mendations are made to enrich bamboo plan-
tations and resources. It is reported that over 75 genera and
1250 species of bamboos occur in the world
(FAO, 1978). The tropical belt is character-
istic of a large number of species. The occurr-
General ence of species in some of the countries in the
Asia Pacific Region is given below. The species
Bamboos form the single most important item of bamboo that figure prominently and used
of forest produce used by the rural commu- both by the people and paper industry are:
nities in Asia and the Pacific, from the.cradIe
to the coffin. Though once called the poor Species of Melocanna, Bambusa and
mans, timber it is no longer so. Its use as a Dendrocalamus in India, Melocanna and
long fibre raw material in the pulp and paper Bambusa species in Bangladesh, species of
industry is well known and is one of the much Bambusa and Dendrocalamus in Burma,
sought after raw material in the tropics. Its use T h y r s o s t a c h y s , B a m b u s a a n d Dendro-
in housing, agricultural, horticultural pursuits, calamus species in Thailand,, Dendrocalamus
fishing industry, basket making, transport and Gigantochloa species in Indonesia, Schi-
system both on land and water, handicrafts zostachyum, Gigantochloa, Bambusa species
and production of edible shoots warrant in Philippines, Phyllostachys species in
reconsideration of the classification of bam- China, Japan and Korea.
boos as a Minor Forest Produce in some India (About 130 species): Bamboos
countries and in others as non commercial have a wide range of distribution forming an
species. It deserves an improved status in the understorey in several forest types, except in
forestry parlour and greater study in depth. Jammu and Kashmir. The tropical moist
Significant awareness on the importance of deciduous forests of North and South India,

4
the deciduous and semi-evergreen regions of
North Eastern India are the home of bam-
boos. The forest area over which bamboos
occur in India, on a conservative estimate, is
9.57 million hectares. This is about 12.8
percent of the total forest area of the country
(Bahadur and Verma, 1980; Sharma, 1980).
Out of the total estimated production of
nearly 5 miilion tonnes about 3.5 million
tonnes are required by the pulp and paper
industry. only a few species like Bambusa
arundinacea, B, tulda, Dendrocalamus
hamiltonii, D, strictus a r e c o m m e r c i a l l y . J i ..,, ,,

utilised for pulp and paper though other

species are used for cottage/rural industries. Dendrocalamus hamiitonii with new shoots japo-Naga-
One of the disturbing factors contributing to- land, India
wards wholesale destruction of bamboo
wealth is shifting cukivation * (Jhum is the they are surrounded by agricultural lands
term used for slash and burn technique for all round. Shifting cultivation also has contri-
temporary agricultural pursuits by landless buted towards the depletion of bamboo
people) in the N. E. hill regions. resources.
Bangladesh (33 species):The hill Thailand (50 species): Bamboos occur
forests contain most of the species of bam- as associates of the deciduous forests of the
boos. The bamboos in Chittagong hill tracts north and as undergrowth in the evergreen
committed to Karnaphuli Paper Mills at Chan- and mixed deciduous forests, Sometimes
dagona are heavily depleted, with the result bamboos occur as pure stands. Though barn
the mills are now augmenting their supplies boos are not exploited by Government
from the bamboos growing in village groves. agencies, people are allowed to remove bam-
A large number of villages in Bangladesh con- boos freely from forests without any regula-
tain several important species of bamboos. tions in cutting. Over 50 million bamboo
According to the National Statistics of village culms are extracted annually. This system
trees and bamboos of Bangladesh (1980-81) would lend to depletion of bamboo resources
there were nearly 190 million mature or older in the long run, Thyrsostachys siamensis is
bamboos and 558 million immature or young grown in homesteads and is the main source
bamboos, in homestead blocks. Even in these for the cottage and rural industries. No assess-
rural areas and homesteads, trees and bam- ment of the bamboo resources has been
boos are being cleared due to fragmentation made either in Government Forests or in the
of holdings, The village cannot expand as homestead areas.

5
 Burning of forest containing bamboo for Jhum Nagaland,
lndia

the Southern region. Bamboos occur over an

area of 7924 hectares which is 0.03 percent
of the land area. A survey carried out during
1981 in the forest areas revealed that there
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Jaoo Naga-
were 353 million clumps of bamboos (Source
Large clumps
land, India
- Bureau of Forest Department). This does
not include bamboos on private lands and
Malaysia (12 species): Bamboos occur they are considerable. The consumption of
gregariously or in isolated patches, along bamboos in the cottage/rural industries
stream and river banks, heavily worked out sectors and for fish pen industry is on the
forests in low lands, hill sides, and tops of increase, but resources have dwindled, There
ridges. The complete opening up of the is no control over the removal of bamboos by
canopy of forests and fires induce their devel- people as they are free to remove them for
opment. About 2.5 tonnes of bone dry bam- their local needs.
boos per acre is reported to be available from Indonesia (31 species): Bamboos
the Malaysian forests. Little attempt has been occur in forests which have been opened up
made to cultivate bamboos, as they are freely as a result of heavy exploitation. The climbing
available in natural forests. Bamboos are species like Dinochold is very rampant in such
extracted on the strength of licenses issued by areas. More than 90 percent of bamboos are
Forest Department and the revenue collected in village lands and homesteads, mostly culti-
is relatively small. Besides bamboos are gen- vated by people. Bamboo groves are con-
erally regarded as a weed interfering with the verted into Agathis/Pine plantations. No
normal regeneration and development of the assessment of the growing stock of bamboos
timber species. Assessment has not been either in the Government owned forests or in
made of the bamboo resources of the the village lands or in homesteads have b e e n
country. made.
Philippines (55 species): Large tracts Papua New Guinea (26 species):
of bamboos occur in the northern provinces, Bamboos occur generally in savannahs of the
confining themselves to the marginal lands, Western Provinces. People plant thick walled
courses of streams and rivers. Several climb- bamboos for housing and other needs, in the
ing species of bamboos like Dinochola sp. villages, in low lands and high lands. Assess-
form dense tangles, in the forest especially in ment of bamboo resources either in forests or

6
viliage lands or on farm lands has not been
made. Nearly 144000 hectares are private bamboo species occurs, their density/
forests owned mostly by farmers and 13 stocking and their extent and proportion, total
genera, 670 species are reported. No assess- availability. have not been made in any
ment is made of the total quantity of bamboo country, except when their availability has to
available. be known for establishing paper and pulp
China (300 specie s): Bamboos occur industries. The assessment is either done by
over 2.9 million hectares. No information is ground or serial survey. Being an understorey
available of the total assessment. Intensive in the natural forest, it is difficult to obtain a
work has been done in various parts of China clear picture by aerial survey. The density has
on cultivation and management of bamboos to be determined only by ground surveys and
and the papers in this volume provide plenty sample enumerations. This is how surveys
of information . have been carried out in India, Bangladesh
and Burma over specific forest areas where
Assessment Of Bamboo bamboos are leased/proposed to be leased to
Resources a pulp industry. In Bangladesh UNIP recently
Bamboo generally forms an understorey/ assisted in the determination of the extent of
mixture with other tree species in the tropical bamboos in the villages (Sharma, 1980;
natural forests. There are no pure natural Hammer Master, 1981). It was found to con-
bamboo stands except the dense Phyllosta tain 190 million mature and 558 millions of
chys sp. in the temperate countries. Bamboos immature or young bamboos. This again
occur as a pure crop (a successional species) appears to have been necessitated by the
as a result of clear felling of natural forest of shortage of bamboos experienced by the Kar-
mixed species - either for regeneration pur- haphuli Paper Mills in the Chittagong Hill
poses or in abandoned areas where shifting tracts.
cultivation has been practiced in a large In many states in India bamboo wealth
number of tropical countries. has been assessed either as an independent
Assessment of bamboos ie., involving in- programme or at the time of preparation of
formation on the extent of area over which working plans specifically when such informa-

7
Jhum cultivated and abandoned area taken for bamboo Bamhusa tulda rhizomes planted at amidst
planting with intervening paddy by Nagaland Pulp and paddy cultivation. Nagaland, India.
Paper Co, India.

tion is needed for feeding a paper mill. These tories has also not been standardised
assessments have, however, been upset by especially when we are dealing with
subsequent gregarious flowering and subse- sympodial species of bamboos.
quent death of bamboo clumps following
seeding. The resulting regeneration takes
v) The sympodial species of bamboos pre-
sent difficulties due to very close or dense
time to establish and has to face factors like collection of culms in the clumps, some-
grazing and fires and need for tending the times congested. Thorny species like
regeneration for further development. Bambusa arundinaced a n d Bambusa
Thus the extent of availability of bamboo blumeana pose additional difficulties in
resources has to be determined more pre- approaching the clumps due to thorns
cisely in the countries of the Asia Pacific and a thorough clearing of side branches
region. is needed to get near the culms.
The possible reasons why country wise
inventories of bamboos have not been
initiated could be
A total inventory of bamboo wealth may
indicate only the extent of availability of
all species and the assessment of the util-
isable species has also to be part of total
inventory.
ii) Bamboo occurs as an understorey in the
forest. The inventories made hitherto by
Forest- Departments generally concen-
trate on the tree species only, unless an
assessment is needed for supply to pulp
industry and such assessments are done
over areas leased to the industry. Planting of rhizome in
Nagaland, India.
iii) In countries like India, Bangladesh,
Burma the figures of inventories made at In view of these difficulties and since
considerable expense are. upset by gre- many of the countries in the region rarely use
garious flowering and seeding resulting in bamboo for pulping is it really necessary, to
the death of bamboo clumps (sympodial attempt a total inventory o f bamboo
bamboo) upsetting all industrial planning resources? These assessments o f bamboo
and supplies to rural and cottage indus- become necessary when a pulp and paper
tries. industry is planned. However detailed sur-
iv) The methodology for conducting inven- veys do become useful when planning has to

8
I m diameter pit. 1/2 m deep for Bambusa tulda between Wind belt of Bambusa tulda around a farm Assam. India
paddy crop (Agroforestry) Nagaland Pulp and Paper Co.
Nagaiand India.
In India the gregarious flowering followed
be done by Forest Department Extension bv seeding has completely jeoparadiesed the
workers for distribution of seedlings and plann- planning of sustained supplies of bamboos to
ing of bamboo based rural or cottage indus- the pulp and paper industry and supplies to
tries. the rural and cottage industries. The same is
the case in Burma, where bamboo resources
are dwindling though there are not many
paper mills in that country. The free removal
of bamboos from the forests by the people in
Thailand has already created shortage of
bamboo and this position is likely to be aggra-
vated soon. The regenerations development
of the bamboo resources is left in the hands
of the people. There is need, however. for an
intensified technological guidance to the
people to grow bamboos on private lands,
The depletion of resources even in the
reserve forests as a result of free, removal of
bamboos has to be guarded against and aug-
mentation of the bamboo resources is a
necessity if sustained supply is to be ensured.
In Malaysia since bamboo is considered as a
nuisance interfering with the regeneration of
main timber species not much work is done in
the field of development of bamboo
resources. In Indonesia, except for the private
farmers raising bamboo, no serious effort has
been made in the forestry sector to develop
bamboo resources. The raising of Agathis is
prefered t o t h e development of bamboo

9
resources. In the Philippines the bamboo which are flowering at frequent intervals all
resources have dwindled to a considerable over India/Banladesh/Burma. The devel-
degree partly due to the utilisation of bam- opment of the seedling regeneration into
boos in the fish pen and cottage industries. clump stage takes 6 to 10 years and depends
These industries are virtually threatened so far how well they are protected from grasing and
as the raw material needs are considered. fire, In all these natural regeneration areas it is
Natural regeneration of bamboos by necessary to adopt soil and moisture conser-
means of seed consequent on gregarious vation measures and fertilizer treatment to the
flowering is evident in the case of Bambusa promising and selected seedlings of a speci-
arundinacea and Dendrocalamus strictus fied number per hectare. To enable the seed-
lings to develop into clump stage, it is neces-
sary to keep the culms spaced out. This will
also prevent congestion and provide adequate
space for the free use of implements while
working.
Great strides have been made in India on
the artificial regeneration of bamboo by differ-
ent methods compelled by circumstances
arising out of infrequent flowering and seed-
ing and acute demand for bamboo in the
industrial and rural sectors. The cultivation of
bamboos by farmers generates increased
resources, with small inputs, reduced after
care, low technology and reduced pest control
measures. It is already being done in
Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia
China and Japan. It is time that the devel-
oping countries intensify cultivation of bam-
boos by the small and marginal farmers. Plan-
tations of bamboos have not been attempted
so far in Burma except on an experimental
s c a l e . B u t Dendrocalamus longispathus,
Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus calosta-
chys, Dendrocalamus giganteus and Thyrso-
stachys siamensis have been planted by
villagers in the country side for domestic uses.
In the context of development of rural eco-
nomies bamboo should be one of the species
which should be given adequate importance
in the Social Forestry/Ago Forestry practices
as well as in waste land development. There
are over 160,000 hectares of bamboo pianta-
tions in India. The areas cleared for shifting
cultivation in the hill regions could b e
reclaimed by planting bamboo at frequent in-
tervals along the slopes and permitting culti-
vation in the intervening space with either
agricultural/horticultural/forestry crops, This
type of agroforestry with bamboos can be
used not only to protect the hillsides from ero-
sion but also to increase the resources
(Hammer Master, 198 1).
Bamboo resources should, however, be
Well maintained clump of developed at village level. People in North
Nagaland, India. Eastern India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philip-
pines and Indonesia raise large quantities of 8. Bamboos should be the principa1 species
bamboos of different species in and around to be planted in the foreshore areas of
their homesteads for their local requirements reservoirs between the high flood level
and to serve as a wind belt. If planting of bam- and mean flood level.
boos by farmers along the fringes of their 9. Intensive planting of bamboos should be
farms, aIong water courses and homesteads is encouraged in the agricultural sector and
encouraged it would lead to the creation of in homesteads, by providing the planting
enormous bamboo resource/raw materiaf in materials and technology to the farmers
the rural sector of all the countries. by Forestry Extension Service.
10. Bamboo,should be one of the principal
Suggestions For Increasing species for peripheral and contour strip
Bamboo Resources planting in shifting cultivation areas as
they would act as good wind belts and
arrest soil erosion. (Figs. 5 & 6).
1. In the case of sympodial bamboo species
felling should be regulated by Culm 11 There is considerable scope for work con-
Selection System. nected with the classification and identifi-
cation of bamboos. distribution and up
2. A certain proportion of older culms to the dating their nomenclature.
number of new culms shoutd be retained
in the clump to provide stability to the 12. International funding should be made
new culms. available to the poor countries taking up
the development of bamboo resources.
3. Peripheral cuttings or cutting of top por-
tions of culms only in the case of thorny
species like Bambusa arundinacea and References
Bambusa blumeana would make the
clumps congested. Two methods of cut- Bamboo - Forest News for Asia and the
tings of congested clumps/dense over- Pacific (FAO - Bangkok) Vol. II No. 4
crowded clumps are indicated. (Figs. l- Nov. 1978.
3) Sharma Y.M.L. 1982. Some aspects of bam-
4. The culms in a clump should be thinned boos in Asia and the Pacific. FAO RAPA
out from the very inception and culms 57 Bangkok 1982.
spaced. This prevents congestion, pro- Bahadur K.N. & Verma J. 1980. Country Re-
vides for space for working and allows port India. 19-46. In Proc. Workshop on
adequate space for new shoots to come Bamboo Research in Asia, Singapore
UP. (Eds) G . Lessard and A. Chorinard IDRC ,
5. Moisture conservation techniques (vide Ottawa, Canada.
diagram) followed by fertilizer application Sharma Y.M.L. 1980. Bamboo in the Asia
should be adopted in the case of new Pacific Region. 99-120. In Proc. Work-
regenerations consequent to flowering. shop on Bamboo Research in Asia, Singa-
6. In the older clumps, cultural operations pore (Eds) G. Lessard and A. Chorinard
like removal of dead and crooked stems, IDRC. Ottawa, Canada.
spacing of clumps, moisture conservation Hammer Master. 1981. Village forest In-
methods and fertilizer application have ventory in Bangladesh. FAO/UNDP
to be resorted to (Fig. 4). 1981.
7. In view of the dwindling resources of Sharma Y.M.L. 1985. Project Report for
bamboos, captive plantations should be Forest Working and Captive Plantations
planned to meet the needs of the rural - Nagaland Pulp and Paper Co. Ltd.
and cottage industries with appropriate 1985.
planting technique, after care and ferti-
lizer treatment.

11
12
 CROSS SECTION SHOWIHG AN
UNTHINNED BAMB00 CLUMp

WORKING OF BAMBOO CLUMP

HORSE SHOE M E T H O D

Fig. 3: Methods of cutting clumps.

14
Fig, 4: Spacing of Bamboo clumps.
15
Fig. 5: Contour strip planting.

16
Fig. 6: Contour strip planting.
 Bamboo Research in China
Wu Bo and Ma Naixun
Sub Tropical Forest Research Institute
China

Abstract acteristics and long history. According to

the records of the Zhou Dynasty (11th - 3rd
Bamboo research in China is discussed century B.C.) alone, there are over 70 varie-
with reference to resource and production. ties of musical instruments, including seven
The authors further describe current research types of bamboo musical instruments, such as
activities and chart future directions. xiao (Chinese vertica), sheng (Chinese wind
pipe), dizi (8-holed Chinese bamboo flute)
and other ancient wind instruments. Bamboo
has played great indelible role in Chinas
China is one of the most important bam- historical and cultural development. Su
boo producers in the world and bamboo is Dongpo, the famous poet of the Song
cIoseIy bound with the life of the Chinese Dynasty, said: There are bamboo tiles for
people throughout history. In the ruins of shelter, bamboo hats for shading, bamboo
Zhejiangs Hemudu which was built more paper for writing, bamboo rafts for carrying,
than 4,800-5,200 years ago during the New bamboo skin for clothing, bamboo shoes for
Stone Age and in the ruins of Zhejiangs wearing, bamboo shoots for eating and bam-
Shishan of 4,200-5,300 years ago, bamboo boo fuel for fires. Indeed, we cannot live
without bamboos for a single day. This is a
mats, baskets and other bamboo-weaving
articles have been unearthed. And in the Yin succinct summary of the close relationship
between bamboos and people.
Dynasty ruins in Henans Anyang (16th -
11th century B.C.), there are six bamboo
articles with (bamboo brush) written records Bamboo Resources
among the excavated inscriptions on bones
and tortoise shells. In Shijing, a collection of
China has about 400 out of 1,300 or
poems from early years of the Western Zhou
more bamboos known in the world. Over
Dynasty to the spring and autumn period 1,000 years ago (317 - 420 A.D.), in the
(11th - 5th century B.C.), records of people
eating bamboo shoots can be found. Historical Jin Dynasty, Dai Kaizhi recorded in his
Zhupu (bamboo manual), the first mono-
and cultural events were already being record-
graph of bamboos in the world - 61 types
ed mainly on *bamboo slips as early as the
of Chinese bamboos. Later on, there is
spring and autumn period (770 - 476 B.C.).
Since the Western Jin Dynasty of more than further description of bamboo varieties,
distributions, shapes, characteristics, habits
1,700 years ago (256 A. D.) , people started to
make paper with bamboo saplings and such and cultivation techniques in Jia Sixies
Qiminyaoshu (530 A.D.), Zan Nings
bamboo-made paper became world-famous
by the. Tang Dynasty. The bamboo-made Zhupu (the late 10th century) of the Song
bows and arrows used to be important wea- Dynasty, Li Kans Zhupuxianglu (1312
A.D.) of the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Xiangjins
pons in ancient wars. In Zhouli written in the
Qunfangpu (1621 A.D.) and Xu Guangqis
3rd century B.C., there are records of many.
types of bows and arrows, such as Round Nongzhengquanshu (1639 A.D.) of the
Ming Dynasty and Wang Yings Guangqun-
Bow, Six Bow, Wang Bow, Pincer
Bow, Inclosure Bow, Tang Bow and fangpu of the Qing Dynasty.
Large Bow. China has a rich array of tradi- The contemporary classified research
tional musical instruments with national char- work by the Chinese scholars started in

18
the 1930s. In 1940, Professor Geng Changli 2. Increasingly intensive bamboo man-
published an article concerning two new types agement and growth of per unit bamboo
of bamboo originating from China - Brachy- output - In the early days after liberation,
stachyum. However, the wide ranging and Chinas bamboo forest mostly lay waste.
systematic investigation and classified People cut bamboo without planting. Later
research on Chinas bamboo resources extensive cultivation was practised, causing
started from the mid 1970s. Through the old bamboo plants to fill the forest with an
efforts of the Chinese researchers in bamboo extremely high output. With the rejuvenation
classification, 266 new species (including and progress in the national development,
varieties and forms) and four new genera have bamboo has become an important raw
been discovered in addition to the other material in Chinas industrial and agricultural
genera. production as well as in peoples life and the
management of bamboo forest has become
increasingly intensive. The managerial level
Current Situation of Bamboo of bamboo forest can be shown from three
Production main aspects. The first concerns the bamboo
forest with high output, high level of intensive
According to statistics, Chinas present management and practice of appropriate
total *area of bamboo forest has reached 3.4 cultivation and felling, prevention and control
million hectares, making up nearly 3% of of plant diseases and elimination of pests,
Chinas total area of forest and one quarter of scarifying and applying fertilizer to the soil
the worlds total area of bamboo forest. etc. The per hectare annual output can reach
Chinas bamboo is mainly distributed along l0-12 tons or more. The second concerns the
the Changjiang (Yangtze) River basin and in bamboo forest with comparatively high level
hilly area, downland and plain of torrid and of intensive management and fairly general
subtropical zones, 3,000 m above sea level practice of appropriate cultivation and felling,
south of the Changjiang River. The annual levelling off hilltops and weeding, prevention
bamboo output is about 6-7 million tons. and control of plant diseases and elimination
The primary species is Phyl/ostuchys hetero- of pests etc. The per hectare annual output is
cycla var. pubescens which makes up 2/3 around 7.5 tons. The third concerns the bam-
or more of Chinas total area of bamboo boo forest with extensive management and
forest. Other major species are Ph. glauca, very low density or the problem of going out
Ph. bambusoides, Ph. viridis, Ph. nigra var. of cultivation. The per hectare annual output
Henonis, Bambusa textilis, B. rigida, B. per- is only 1.5-3 tons. In the early days after
variabilis, B. multiplex, Sinocalamus lati- liberation, the first and second kind of
florus, Neosinocalamus affiis, Pleioblastus bamboo forest only amounted to less than
amabilis, Pseudosasa amarus, etc. 3% of the total bamboo forest area and now it
is making up l/3 of the total. Owing to the
Since the founding of the Peoples scientific management of bamboo forest, the
Republic of China, thanks to the great atten- per unit bamboo output has increased (Tables
tion paid by the Party and State to the bam- 1,2)
boo production, continuous progress has
been made in this field: 3. Bamboo shoot production and com-
prehensive utilization of bamboo by-
1 . Increased bamboo resources and out- product - In China, over a hundred kinds of
put - Table 1. shows the development bamboo shoots are eaten as delicacies.
and change in Chinas bamboo forest area, Following species are planted mainly for the
storage and annual production from 1950, u s a g e o f b a m b o o s h o o t s : Phyllostachys
the year after liberation, to 1980. During
heterocycla var. pubescens, Ph. praecox, Ph.
these 30 years, the total area of bamboo dulcis, Ph. iridescens, Sinocalamus latijlorus,
forest increased 70% or more with an annual Dendrocalamopsis oldhami, D. beecheyana
average increase of 1.78%) among which the var. pubescens, Oreocalamus szechuanensis
forest of Phyllostachys heterocycla var. etc. Apart from fresh ones, bamboo shoots can
pubescens increased 81.4% with a yearly be processed into dried bamboo shoots and
average increase of 2%. preserved. In recent.years, the bamboo shoot

19
 Table 1. Development of Bamboo Resources.

Year Total Ph. heterocycla var. pubescens

Area Storage Area Annual Storage

(10,000/ (10,000/ (10,000/ Felling
hectare) ton) hectare) t10,000/ Number Weight
pole) (10,000/ (10,000/
plant) ton)
1950 about about
200 133.33
1957 4,563.30 149.44 16,052.l 237,533 3,563.3
1965 230.55 5.501.12 161.29 13,975.0 292,148 4,382.22
1975 270.47 6.369.31 199.62 l8,309.3 354,274 5,314.11
1980 340.18 7.168.84 241.87 24,800 379,589 5,693.84,

Note: The average weight of each Ph. heterocycla var. pubescens culm is 15 kg.

Table 2. Quantitative Output of Main Bamboo Species.

Name Producing Area Density Average Storage output of

(plant/mu) Diameter New Bamboo

Gangkou Farm under Lingfengsi

var. pubescens Forestry Centre, Zhejiang 411 11.96 15,895 1,816
Fenghua, Zhejiang 332 14.2 18,007 1,801
Moganshan, Deqing, Zhejiang 504 10.8 16,013 1,610

Ph. Xinghua Bamboo Garden,

Loning, 6.18 27,860 5,572
Huaiji. Guangdong 1,886 3.7

Liqianping, Zhenba,
Shaanxi 2.615 2.6 4,855 1,306
321 3,806 1,901
Si. 1,035 5,589 2,795
wenchouensis Mabu, Zhejiang 1,026 6.9 2,520
(18 thickets)

Note: One hectare = 15 mu.

production has achieved a very rapid devel- per hectare a year. According to the statistics
opment as there is a sharp increase of i n 1 9 8 1 , FuJian, J i a n g x i , Hunan a n d
demand for bamboo shoots in peoples life Zhejiang four provinces alone produced
and foreign trade. Farmers in many places 9,692 tons of dried Phyllostachys heterocycla
have grown large areas of bamboo for var. pubescens shoots and 115, 398 tons of
bamboo shoots, and large areas of Phyllo- fresh bamboo shoots. According to the pre-
stachys heterocycla var. pubescens forest for liminary estimates, Chinas annual bamboo
construction materials have been changed for shoot output can reach about 1 million tons.
bamboo shoots or dual-purpose of bamboo Since bamboo has many uses and is easy
materials and bamboo shoots. The per unit to process, it is used by a great number of
bamboo shoot output has raised very rapidly departments and through many channels. It
with, the emergence of such high-yielding is, therefore, difficult to make accurate
varieties as Ph. praecox fdrest and Phyllo- estimation of its range of usage and propor-
stachys heterocycla var. pubescens forest, tion. However, its continued economic contri-
producing 20-30 tons of fresh bamboo shoots bution to China is undeniable.

20
 With the development of the bamboo pro- Iectively set up by the Institute of Subtropical
cessing industry there has been a propor- Forestry under the Chinese Academy of
tionate increase in the utilization of bamboo as Forestry Sciences, Lingfengsi Forestry Centre
pulp and veneer board and a decrease in its of Anji County and the Forestry Bureau of
use in the raw (culm) form. Judging from the Anji County, Hangzhou Botanical Garden,
present trend of development, one may con- Bamboo Sample Garden of Nanjing Forestry
clude that bamboo pulp and paper-making in College, Bamboo Garden of Guangxi Insti-
particular will develop into an important tute of Forestry Sciences and Wangjiang Park
industry in China. in Chengdu. At the same time, observations,
experiments and research have been carried
out to find out the growing pattern, biological
Research Work characteristics and ecological habits of some
of the fine Chinese economic bamboo plants,
The bamboo researches constitute s u c h a s Phyllostachys heterocycla var.
an important force in the contingent of pubescens, Ph. praecox, Pseudosasa amabilis,
forestry sciences and technologies. The Ph. nuda, Ph. viridis, Ph. glauca, Bashania
Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences, fargesii, Neosinocalamus affinis etc., in order
Nanjing Forestry College, Zhejiang Forestry to provide theoretical basis for their fast growth
College, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of and high-yield breeding. Furthermore, obser-
Forestry Sciences and some other research vations, experiments and research have been
institutes of forestry sciences and forestry col- carried out on the bloom of bamboo plant and
leges have all set up bamboo research divi- certain regular patterns of blooming and
sions. Also, there are special bamboo re- yielding of bamboo have been discovered and
searchers in almost all the important bamboo records made.
producing-provinces, district forestry research Since 197Os, Bamboo Research Division
centres and forestry colleges. Under the of Nanjian Forestry College and some other
leadership of the Party, research was centred research institutes have conducted researches
on ways to explore, expand, protect and on the relationship between production and
comprehensively use the bamboo resources. colony formation of bamboo forest, probed
A great deal of experiments have been carried into the close link between production and
out and demonstrations, have been held to index of bamboo leaf area, started observa-
popularise, bamboo production and multiple tions and researches on permanent sample
uses. plot on the material circulation of ecological
1. Research on basic aspects- System- system and energy transformation of bamboo
atic investigations have been carried out to find forest and determined various organs com-
out various resources of bamboo plants in bustion value of some of the major bamboo
China and fairly in-depth research work has plants in China.
been done in the field of bamboo classifica- 2. Research on technology of breeding
tion, which has helped us to sort out, on a and fast-growth and high-yield cultiva-
preliminary basis, the data on Chinese bam- tion - In the early 1950s, systematic research
boo classification, discover and name a large work was carried out in Guangxi and Guang-
number of new bamboo genera and species. dong Institutes of Forestry Sciences on the
Preparations are being made for the publica- techniques of pole and node burying and
tion of the special volume of bamboo section of secondary branch insertion and other breeding
the Chinese flora. techniques of asexual reproduction concern-
Efforts have also been made to collect ing such thick-growing bamboo as Bambusa
widely various kinds of bamboo present in textilis, B . pervariabilis a n d L i n g n a n i a
China and set up a number of bamboo chungii. The experience has helped us to
gardens so as to let them play a role in pro- develop exclusively thick-g&wing bamboo in
tecting and expanding Chinese bamboo the south. In the early 1960s. t h e P h .
resources and promoting work in bamboo heterocycla var. pubescens forest witnessed
scientific research, education, production and large area ot blooming and yielding which led
academic exchanges. Following are those to the successful research work in many
gardens with a fairly large and wide collection places on the breeding technique in the same
of bamboo plants: Anji Bamboo Garden col- species. As far as the research on high-

21
yielding technique is concerned, there are Dendroculamus giganteus and Melocanna
fairly successful results in various bambusoides, have also been successfully
bamboo-producing regions, with more inten- introduced to China. Because of the experi-
sive research work on Ph. heterocycla var. ments in this field, there has been greater
pubescens. As for Ph. heterocycla var. understanding of the theory of introduction of
pubescens, cultivation density and felling, new bamboo varieties and ecological habits of
technique of dispersing bamboo shoots, soil- some bamboo varieties, more technical pro-
loosening and weeding,. research and manu- gress in this aspect and plenty of successful
facture of compound fertilizer and the system experiences.
of fertilizer-applying in bamboo forest and Research on bamboo breeding was
systematic researches have been or are started in China in the early 1970s. The lnsti-
being conducted and many useful results tute of Forestry Sciences in Guangdong
have been obtained. Through the experi- Province has taken the lead in conducting
ments and researches on high-yielding bam- experiments to improve thick-growing
boo techniques, a number of high-yielding varieties of B. pervariabilis, Sinocalamus lati-
bamboo forests have been established. florus, B. sino spinosa, D. beecheyanus,
Experience has been gained in breeding high- Bambusa textilis and scattered Ph. heterocycla
yielding varieties in different counties. On var. pubescens through hybridization and has
Huaiji County, Guangdong Province, selected some promising hybrids,
progress has been made in breeding Pseu-
dosasa amabilis. In Guangning County, 4. Researches on the prevention and
Guangdong Province, there have been useful control of plant diseases and elimina-
experiments in breeding Bambusa texti/is. tion of pests - The main pests in the bam-
And in Loning County and Boai County, boo forests of China are Ceracris kiangsu,
Henan Province, results have been achieved Atrachea vulgaris, Otidognathus davidis, Pan-
in breeding Ph. glauca and the high-yielding t u n a sinica, Artona funeralis, Algedonia
Sinocalamus latiflorus. coclesalis, etc. There used to be serious plague
of insects in some bamboo producing areas at
various times. Through researches and
3 . Experiments and researches on intro- studies, the history, occurrence and develop-
duction of new varieties and breeding-
ment pattern of these pests have been learnt,
China has a great number of fine economic
and fairly effective methods of controlling the
bamboo varieties and many have fairly good
pests have been followed bringing them under
adaptability. However, a few of the fine eco-
control.
nomic varieties are distributed very narrowly.
In order to widen their distribution, experi- The most serious bamboo disease is
ments have been carried out in the past few Ceraptosphaeria phyllostachydis Zhang sp.
decades on introduction of new varieties. In nov. This disease was first discovered in the
some provinces and regions in the North early 1960s along the coastline in the south-
where the bamboo varieties are comparatively east part of Zhejiang Province. The disease
fewer, experiments have been conducted to became serious in the 1970s in northwest Zhe-
introduce the bamboo varieties in the south to jiang and spread rapidly to Shanghai, Jiangsu
the north and certain results have been and Jiangxi Provinces and other districts.
achieved. For example, Ph. uiridis and Ph. Owing to concerted efforts on prevention and
glauca have started to grow along Beijing and control the disease was under control within a
Dalian and Ph. heterocycla var. pubescens has very short period of time _
gradually adapted itself in Laoshan and Wen- The problem of moulding and moth-
deng of Shandong Province. The breeding eating of bamboo materials and bamboo-
zone of Pseudosasa amabilis which originated made products has seriously lowered the
in the south of China has expanded to the value and length of bamboo usage and may
broad area along the Changjiang River basin. cause great economic losses. The main
The range of distribution of some of the fine insects threatening bamboo materials are
thick-growing bamboo varieties, such as Bam- Dinoderus minutus and powder-post beetle.
busa textilis, B. multiplex, B. pervariabilis, B. At present many institutions have achieved
rigida, Neosinocalamus affinis (Rendle) Keng fairly successful results in the treatment of
f. etc., are also moving to the north. Some of bamboo-made products against moulding
the fine foreign bamboo varieties, such as and insects.

22
5. Research on the comprehensive utili- of fiber. This data will be useful in paper-
zation of bamboo materials and bamboo making industry. The technique of bamboo
by-products - Analysis has been made to paper-making is improving arid a number of
determine the various nutrients, including bamboo pulp and paper-making factories are
sugar, protein, fat, vitamin, various mineral under construction which will increase the
nutrients and 17 free amino acids, and their usage of bamboo materials
proportion in bamboo shoots of Ph hetero-
cycla var. pubescens, Ph. iridenscens, Ph. Thus, in the last few years, China has
praecox, Ph. nuda, Sinocalamus latiflorus, made great strides in bamboo research and
Dendrocalamospsis beecheyanus var. production. Though our efforts are still low
pubescens, D. oldhami and D. beecheyanus. compared to others, Chinas foresters have
This helps the further usage of bamboo shoots. accorded a high priority to this.plant and we
Researches have been carried out to anticipate further and rapid development in
determine the fiber content, length and width the years to come.

23
 Bamboo Development in China
Zhu difan
Adviser to Chinese Forestry Society
Honorary President of Chinese Bamboo Association

Abstract cause of external aggression, internal bureau-

cracy and backward economy. Since 1949,
The recent advances made in China with the Chinese government has paid more atten-
regard to bamboo cultivation, establishment of tion to bamboo development as indicated by a
industries, bamboo research, the cooperative 70% increase in bamboo area under cultiva-
efforts of the government and the scientists ure tion. Particularly appreciable advancement of
briefly outlined. the bamboo industry has been recorded in
recent years. Bamboo production has grad-
Bamboos are an important part of forest ually changed with many improvements.
resources. In China there are about 300 bam- About 10% of bamboo plantations are
boo species belonging to more than 30 under intensive management with increased
genera. The total area of bamboo land is production. For instance, bamboo plantations
about 5.5 million hectares, 3.5 million ha. for in Moganshan is one of the best, where
commerical bamboo stands and 2.0 million culm yield reaches over 30 tons per hectare
ha. for alpine bamboo thickets. Annual pro- annually. Similarly, processing of bamboo
duction of culms amounts to more than 5.0 culms has also improved from hand work
million tons. As an important material, bam- to industrial practices. We now have more
boos are widely used in fisheries, industry, than 100 factories all over the country
construction, paper making, handicrafts and engaged in the production of various bam-
daily items. Tender shoots of bamboo species boo plywoods or bamboo particle boards.
are nutritious and used as delicious vegetable. Their capacity is relatively small, not more
With colourful culms and evergreen leaves than ten thousand tons mostly. Sub-
bamboos are beautiful plants for landscaping. stituting bamboos for timber wood becomes
Their extensive rhizome-root system is very more interesting and practical in China
useful for soil conservation. because of our poor forest resources.
The Central Government has recently
Chinese civilization is closely associated financed the establishment of four bamboo
with bamboos. Several thousand years ago paper mills, each with a production capacity
our ancestors knew how to use bamboo of thirty thousand tons annually. Bamboo
material. Bamboos were split into slices for shoot production has increased over one
recording and writing. Bows and arrows million tons in recent years. More scientists
made of bamboos were highly effective are now engaged in different aspects of
weapons for fighting wars. Bamboos have bamboo research and have made valuable
been used to make cheap and handy contributions to bamboo development. A
agricultural implements for long time. Paper national organization for bamboo workers
making from bamboo pulp has been reputed known as the Chinese Bamboo Association
for more than 1700 years. So many items of (CBA) was established with the approval of
Chinese daily life are still made of bamboos the Forestry Ministry in 1984 and had its first
even today. Chinese people are proud of national congress in Yixing, Jiangsu, in May
their historical association with production 1985. We are going to have branch organiza-
and utilization of bamboos. tions in seventeen provinces including muni-
cipalities and autonomous regions where
Unfortunately, bamboo development did bamboo production constitutes a part of
not progress much in the past 100 years be- forestry economics. Three branch associa-

24
 tions have already been established in greatly emphasized. We did some work on
Chejiang, Jiangsu and Sichuang recently. bamboo properties, bamboo mechanical pro-
More lower branches can be expected in bam- cessing, bamboo plywoods, bamboo particle
boo counties or districts. Membership of the boards and bamboo sheets which can be
Chinese Bamboo Association is now over used for building floors, walls, ceilings,
four thousand and increasing rapidly. The interior decoration, furniture and so on. Bam-
Forestry Ministry has recently decided to boo woven articles are Chinese traditional
expand its Bamboo Research Laboratories products which win high reputation all over
into the Bamboo Research Institute attached the world. All of these mentioned above need
to Nanjing Forestry University which is the more research and improvement technically.
first institute of this kind in China. An official We face the great challenge of our moderni-
announcement will be made next week in zation so far as bamboo development is con-
Nanjing. The Chinese Bamboo Association cerned.
and the Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing
Forestry University will work together to orga- In order to promote the scientific and
nize national bamboo refresher course classes
technical level of bamboo production and uti-
for bamboo workers, national coordination of
lization the Chinese Bamboo Association
bamboo research activities and international
through its appropriate channels plans to do
symposia on bamboo research. In addition,
some work for technical training and consul-
two periodicals, Bamboo Research and
tation, research cooperation and coordina-
Bamboo Information are published by a
tion, information communication and market-
joint editorial board of these two organizations
ing on a national scale. At the same time the
for bamboo workers in China and abroad.
Chinese Bamboo Association will keep con-
Articles and information concerning bamboo
tacts with bamboo workers and bamboo orga-
research and production are always welcome,
nizations all over the world. We will follow the
from all bamboo scientists.
open policy of our government and welcome
According to the national economic
international cooperation, information ex-
development designed by the Central
change and friendship development on the
Government, the Chinese Bamboo Associa-
basis of mutual benefits.
tion will encourage its members to make great
efforts to reach the goal of doubling the area
of bamboo land and increasing the present We have a long historical background and
bamboo production by four times. We have a glorious civilization that our ancestors have
proposed to the government to exploit bam- created for us. We will follow and regenerate
boo resource for timber wood substitution and this great traditional spirit to develop our
for paper making material. We also encour- bamboo science, production and utilization.
age farmers to establish and develop different Similarly we welcome all foreign colleagues to
bamboo plantations to meet the increasing jpin us in our common goal, development of
needs such as timber bamboos, shoot produc- bamboo production and utilization. Coopera-
tion, ornamental bamboos, soil conservation tion is force. Cooperation means progress. Let
bamboos, etc. On the other hand, multiple us work together for future prosperity of
utilization of bamboo materials should be bamboo business.

25
 Bamboo Researchin India
R. C. Gaur
Systematic Botany Branch
Forest Research Institute & College,
Debra D u n - 2 4 8 0 0 6
India

o
Abstract governed by rainfall, temperature (8 C to
O
36 C), altitude and soil. A minimum of 100
Bamboos are the tallest and largest ofthe cm annual rainfall and a high atmospheric
grasses distributed both in the hills and plains humidity promote luxuriant growth. In
of Zndia. There arefour exotic genera in addi- well drained parts of tropical and sub-tropical
tion to the twenty three indigenous ones. The habitats going up to 3700 m of altitude in the
flowering in bamboosrange from constant Himalayas, these often form rich belts of
flowering to regular sterility. Propagation is vegetation. The main genera in India are:
done mostly vegetatiuely using various tech- Arundinaria, Bambusa, Cephalostachyum,
niques. Bamboo resources in lndia are Chimonobambusa, Dendrocalamus, Dino-
abundant but they are not fully utilised. Oof ut chloa, Gigantochloa, lndocalamus,
100 native species only ten are commercially Melocanna, Naohouseaua, Ochlandia,
exploited. In the absence of reproductive Oxytenanthera, Plaioblastus, Phyllostachys,
structures bamboos can be identified at Pseudostachyum, Schizostachyum, Semi-
generic and specificlevel only on the basisof arundinaria, Sinobambusa, Teinostachyum,
the morphology of culm sheath and juuenile and Thamnocalamus. The exotic genera
shoots, microscopicand ultramicroscopicfea- Guadua, Pseudosasa and Thyrsostachys are
tures of epidermal peels of culms and leaues also in cultivation.
and other fine structures. The distribution is in general the genera Bambusa and Den-
briefly discussed. Growthof naturally regen- drocalamus occur under the tropical condi-
erated bamboo, yield, sourceof supply, tions, while Arundinaria occurs in the tem-
cytology, traditional and other uses are perate region. The most important bamboo of
briefly reviewed. Further research on physi- the semi-evergreen forests of the Andamans
ology of flowering, cytology and tissue culture is Oxytananthera nigrociliata. In the eastern
techniques needto be intensified. region comprising of Assam, West Bengal,
and North-East Himalayas, the commercially
Habit and Distribution important bamboos are Bambusa tulda, Den-
drocalamus hamiltonii and Melocanna
The bamboos are widely distributed in baccifera. Recently two new species of bam-
India and abundantly occur in Andhra boos viz. Dendrocalamus sahnii Naithani &
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bahadur and Pleoblastus simonii (carr .) Nakai
Manipur, Meghalaya, N . E . Misoram, have been discovered from Arunachal
NagaIand, Sikkim, Tripura, Orissa, West Pradesh; these two are rare species.
Bengal and Madhya Pradesh States. A
few species are also found scattered in Phenology
other parts of the country both in the
hills and the plains. The bamboos may Bamboos have characteristic flowering
occur as either an under storey or in and fruiting cycles. These range from con-
pure form in all other parts except the stant flowering to constant sterlity as repre-
Kashmir Valley. Their natural distribution is sented by Bambusa atra and B. vulgaris

26
 respectively. The majority of bamboos falls 6 . B. tulda 30 - 60 Years
between these two extremes and the flower-
7 . Chimonobambusa falcata 28 - 30 Years
ing cycle ranges from a few to 120 years. On
the basis of their flowering behaviour, bam- 8, C. launsaransia 45 55 Years
boos can be classified into those that flower 9 . Dendrocalamus hamiltonii 30 - 40 Years
annually or so but nongregariously, those that 10, D. strictus 20 - 60 Years
flower periodically but gregariously and those
that flower sporadically or irregularly. In most 1 1 . Melocanna baccifara 30 - 45 Years
cases the culms of bamboos die after flower- 12. Ochlandra travancorica 7 Years
ing, but the flowering culms of a few species 13. Oxytenanthera abyssinica 30 Years
like Bambusa atra do not die and remain 14. Phyllostachys bambusoides 60 Years
healthy and green even after flowering. In
species with long flowering intervals, the culm 1 5 . Tbamnocalamus falcoreri 23 - 30 Years
reaches a maximum age of 15 years and then 1 6 . T. spathiflorus 16 - 17 Years
dies, but the whole bamboo clump is a con- 1 7 . Thyrsostachys olioeri 48 - 50 Years
tinuous colony that dates back to the original So far flowering
1 8 . Bambusa vulgaris
seed. It is well known that populations of a not recorded.
given bamboo species belonging to the same
provenance would flower simultaneously irre-
spective of their planting locations. A few In 1983 a clump of Bambusa spinosa
recorded examples are cited here. Seeds of flowered in New Forest Estate. There are no
Thyrsostachys oliveri that flowered in Burma earlier records of its flowering. In addition, the
in 1891, were planted in Calcutta and at species which flowered this year in Meghalya
Dehra Dun which are 1500 km apart and the are Bambusa nutans, Chimonobambusa
clumps at both places flowered synchronously khasiana, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and D.
in 1940. The synchronised flowering of Melo- hookeri.
canna beccifera was observed in Garo Hills
(Assam) and Dehra Dun. Bambusa arun-
cfinacea flowered almost throughout India in Propagation
1970-71 after a lapse of 45 years. Thus the
period between two gregarious flowering of a Propagation of bamboos is done by seeds
species over the same area seems to be con- or vegetatively. The seeds and the seedlings
stant and cyclic. Dendrocalamus strictus was are reared and transplanted in the field; but as
introduced in Cuba, probably in 1912 from seeding years are scarce and unpredictable
seeds from Garhwal (India} and it flowered in and having short viability, vegetative pro-
Cuba in 1956 after 44 years, (Clement pagation is the common practice. The seeds
1956). Wang and Chen (1971) reported that of Dendrocalamus strictus normally retain
a plantation of D. strictus raised in 1912 in their viability for a period of one year. Storage
Taiwan from the material sent from Bihar of seeds of D. strictus over silica gel. or
province, (India) flowered in 1969 - a cycle anhydrous calcium chloride or at low tem-
O
of 47 years. peratures (3 - 5 C) after reducing the
moisture . content of the seeds to 8%
From the published records the flowering increased the period of viability and after 34
cycle of some of the bamboo species found months, the recorded germination percen-
either wild or cultivated in India are given tage was 51, 54 and 59 respectively, (Gupta
below: and Sood 1978).
Bamboo species Flowering Vegetative Propagation: The vegeta-
cycle tive propagation is generally done by rhi-
1. Bambusa atra Annual zomes or offset planting just before the onset
of rainy season. One year old culm with its
2. Ochlandra acriptoria Annual rhizome and roots is dug up and the culm is
(0. rheedii)
cut to about a meter high and the whole thing
3. Bambusa arundinacea 30 - 45 Years is planted in summer months and during the
4. B. copalandii 48 Years period of physiological inactivity. During rainy
5. B. polymorpha 35 - 60 Years
season these establish successfully. Other

27
propagation techniques followed in bamboo Biological Research
planting are layering, nodal cutting, mar-
totting. and culm cutting. Hormonal treatment It has been established that for specific
promotes rooting. Bambusa balcooa when end-uses, correct identification of bamboos is
treated with Coumarin, NAA or a mixture of essential, as the physical and other properties
Coumarin and IAA gave the highest percen- differ from species to species. However,
tage of rooting and survival after transplanting absence of flowers during collection poses an
in the field (Seetha Lakshmi et al. 1983). intractable problem in establishing the correct
identity. Recently it has been observed that
certain vegetative structures such as cull-
Growth and Yield sheaths and young cone like shoots can be
successfully used in the identification of dif-
Age of Culm: The age of the culms of ferent species of bamboos. Keys for field iden-
Dendrocalamus strictus recorded from 1932 tification of important Indian bamboos using
to 1950, in Balaghat Forest Division, Madhya these characters have already been published
Pradesh has been presented in Tables 1 & 2. (Bahadur, 1979; Varmah and Bahadur,
Maximum number of culms died between the 1980). In the absence of culm-sheaths,
age of 9 - 12 years (Sharma & Tomar external morphology of the young culm
1963). shoots is highly useful. So far this study has
Growth of naturally regenerated been completed for 39 species which are
bamboo: After gregarious flowering, the growing in New Forest Estate, Dehra Dun
seedlings develop singly, and it takes about 6 and Indian Botanic Garden, Calcutta. A
years to form small clumps, each having 5 - bamboo guide atlas based on vegetative char-
6 culms with an average height of 7 m and acters is under print and is likely to be
average culm girth of 7.5 cm which are released in early 1986. The diagnostic
scattered irregularly 2 - 3 m apart. In 10 characters for 25 species were described by
years, the best clump had culms of 12 m and Varmah and Bahadur (1980).
a girth of 10 cm at breast height. The clump
had sufficient number of normal commercial
sized culms only after 12 years, (Pande & Anatomy and Cytology
Lohani 1962).
Based on anatomical structure of epi-
The bamboo areas could roughly be dermal peels of the culms and ultra structure
classified into the following 4 categories of epidermal peels and leaves, bamboos can
according to the stocking. be separated at both genericand specific level
(Ghosh and Negi 1960, Pattanath and Rao
1. .Dense areas having more than 125 1969). Scanning electron microscopical
mature and well developed clumps per s t u d i e s o f the following 21 species
h e c t a r e ( 2 5 0 - 300. clumps/hectare, 1. Arundinaria mailing, 2. A. racemosa,
(Kondas 1982)). 2. Predominant areas hav- 3. A. pantlingii, 4. Bambusa balcooa, 5, B.
ing 50 - 125 mature clumps per hectare. b u r m a n i c a , 6 . B. coplandii, 7. B.
3. Sparse areas having 25 - 50 clumps per nana, 8 . B . n u t a n s , 9 . B. oliveriana,
hectare, and 4. Poor or Scattered area having 10. B. pallida, 11. B. tulda, 12. B. ven-
less than 25 clumps per hectare. India has tricosa, 15. B. vulgaris, 14. Dendrocalamus
abundant bamboo resources, which are not brandisi, 15. D. calostachys, 1 6 . D.
being utilised to the maximum. Out of 100 giganteus, 17. D. hamiltonii, 18. D. longis-
native bamboos only about 10 species are pathus, 19. D. membranaceus, 20. D.
commercially exploited. The total bamboo strictus, 21. Melocanna baccifera, show that
area in the country is about 9.57 million ha and stomata1 morphology and pattern of shoot
its annual potential yield is about 4.5 million cells and silica, besides three types of
tonnes (Tiwari, 1981). The statewise bamboo pubescence viz. i) - unicellular long, ii)
area and the annual potential availability of bicellular having equal and unequal length
bamboo are given in Table No. 1. of apical and basal cells; iii) shape of

28
trichomes and spines, could form the basis for Garden. Howrah, from where it has recently
the identification of different species of bam- been introduced at F.R.l., Dehra Dun.
boos (Bisen 1985 Personal communication). Enquiries made recently from Bangla Desh
The cytology of most Indian bamboos is and Burma (probable native homes) have
not adequately known, but chromosomes of revealed that this taxon has not been observed
species so far studied are tetraploids. Dendro- there in recent years. 5) lndocalamus walker-
calamus and asiatic species of Bambusa are ianus (Munro) Nakai: This frequently
hexaploids. Amongst bamboos X = 12 is flowering shrubby bamboo looks very beautiful
considered as the basic chromosome number because of its purple panicles and large, thick
and species with 48, 54, 70 and 72 somatic leaves. It is found in Pulney Hills in South
chromosomes have been recorded. B- India, localised only at one place.
chromosome has also been detected in 6) Ochlandra beddomii Gamble: It is known
certain species. However meiotic studies on by a few collections from Wynaad, South India
bamboos has not been done in India and this and from western slopes of the Nilgiris below
is essential for understanding of seed fertility. Sispara between 1 2 0 0 a n d 1 3 5 0 m .
Karyotype of 25 Indian bamboos both wild 7) Ochlandra abracteata Raizada &
and cultivated have been investigated Chatterjee: This shrubby reed-like bamboo is
(Varmah and Bahadur 1980). confined to the hilly districts of Kerala occur-
ring along streams and in the valleys. It is good
raw material for paper. It is becoming uncom-
Rare/Endangered Bamboos m o n o n account of over exploitation.
Degree of Abundance 8) Ochlandra satigara Gamble: This is a small
erect or straggling reed-like bamboo found on
Another important activity relates to the the western slopes of the Niligiri Hills in ravines
conservation of rare/endangered Indian above Gudalur at a height of 900 m. It appears
bamboos (Bahadur and Jain, 1981). They that it has been collected only once since
have mentioned that about 25 per cent of Gambles time (ca 1896) and therefore it is cer-
bamboo taxa in the country are rare. Twenty tainly rare. 9) Ochlandra siuagiriana Camus:
eight species have been classified in the, fol- This shrubby bamboo is found in Sivagiri and
lowing three categories: Pulney Hills between 1200 - 2400 m. It has
been collected only two or three times and
I. Those restricted to a very few localities considered as a rare Indian bamboo.
or single locality but found in fairly large num- 10) Ochlandra talbotii Brandis: This graceful,
bers, II. those found in small number, but reed-!ike bamboo grows in dense clumps in
occurring in several areas; III. those occurring North Canara along the banks of rivers. Due to
as very few individuals over a small geographic
large scale extraction for different uses, it has
area.
become rather uncommon in the area of its
Bamboos under Category-1 - occurrence. 1 1 ) Phyllostachya assamica
1) Arundinaria manni Gamble: This is a Gamble ex Brandis: This is a caespitose,
slender, graceful, tufted climbing bamboo. It is graceful, thin yellow bamboo, which was
known only from its type locality, Amkasur earlier confused with the Chinese/Japanese
from Jaintia hills, Meghalaya. 2) Arundinaria P. bambusoides Sieb. & Zucc. It is found in
rolloana Gamble: This is a shrubby bamboo patches in Arunachal Pradesh at about
with distant culms and with very broad leaves. 2400 m, collected recently after a lapse of
It is known only from the type locality, Jullah more than 50 years and appears to be rare.
Valley in Nagaland. 3) Bambusa atra Lindl. :
Unlike most other bamboos it is a constant Category - II - 1) Arundinariahirsuta
flowering species and the flowering culms do Munro: Rare bamboo, found in Meghalaya
not die. This rare bamboo is found only in only. 2) Bambusa arundinacea Rets. var.
marshy areas of Rutland Island of the gigantea Bahadur: This is a thorny bamboo of
Andamans. Although it has been planted in India, which is one of the commonest bamboo
Calcutta and at Dehra Dun, it is growing suc- in the plains. It is a complex species with lot of
cessfully in Calcutta only. 4) Dinochloa variations. One of its element is the tall, beauti-
maclellandii (Munro) Kurz: It is an erect zigzag ful, large culmed variety frequently found in
bamboo growing at the Indian Botanic patches in the valleys in South India. It differs

29
 from the typical species both in height and Pradesh, curiously the flower and fruits of this
girth. This has been planted at New Forest bamboo have been well described, but not the
Estate., Dehra Dun. 3) Chimonobambusa culms, cuim-sheaths and leaves. It is
densifolia (Munro) Nakai: This is the smallest extremely rare. 4 ) Dendroculamus sahnii
bamboo (15 - 90 x 0.5 - 0.8 cm) which is Naithani & Bahadur: This bamboo with pale
occassionally found in patches in South India green culms has been described recently from
(rare) and Sri Lanka. 4) Chimonobambusa Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. This
iaunsarensis (Gamble) Bahadur & Naithani: new species is localised at one place and in all
This graceful, reed-like bamboo is found probability endemic to the area. 5) Gigan-
sporadically in North West and Central tochloa takseruh Camus: Large evergreen
Himalaya between 1800 3300 m. This bamboo with broad culm-sheaths and
species which is becoming scarce gradually, membranous blades. It is confined to Garo
needs to be reared in Botanical Garden in tem- Hills from where it was collected by Gustav
perate areas. 5) Chimonobambusa khasiana Mann in 1889. It is known only by its type col-
(Munro) Nakai: A stiffer and stronger bamboo lection. 6) Ploblastus simonii (Carr.) Nakai:
found in Meghalaya. 6) Dendrocalumus Monopodial hollow green glabrous bamboo,
strictus (Roxb.) Nees var. argentea Mcclure ex found in Tale Valley 3000 m, Subansiri
Bahadur. This is silvery white in colour and is district, Arunachal Pradesh. This species is
found intermixed with the typical D. strictus in also known from China and Japan. It is neces-
plantations. 7) Oxytenanthera bourdillonii sary that these rare taxa are protected by
Gamble: This is a moderate sized, straggling means of in situ and exsitu conservation. In
bamboo with long internodes forming open order to achieve this objective, the Forest
clumps. It grows on steep precipitous places Research Institute has developed a live
and wet rocks between 900 and 1550 m in the bamboo collection of nearly 40 species in
Ghat region of Kerala only. 8) Phyllostachya arboreta and Botanical Garden. Bambusa
mannii Gamble: This is a very pretty khasiana, Cephalostachyum canitatum. Den-
caespitose shrub with yellow culms. In wild, it is drocalamus sikkimensis, Phyllostachys nigra
confined to Naga Hills, but is cultivated in and Teinostachyum friffithii will be introduced
Khasi Hills around 1500 m. for enriching the germ-plasm in Forest
9) Semiarundinaria pantlingii Gamble: This is Research Institute, Dehra Dun.
an erect shrub with thin, hairy or spinous culms
(at the nodes). It was collected from Sikkim
and Arunachal Pradesh. Very few collections Utilisation
of this bamboo have been made and it appears
that this is rare. 10) Sinobambusa elegans Due to its fast growth, easy propagation,
(Kurz) Nakai: This is a slender, shrubby soil binding properties, and short rotation,
bamboo chiefly occurring in the Hills of bamboo is an ideal plant for use in
Eastern Burma and extending northwards into aff orestation, soil conservation and social
the Naga Hills where it is localised and is used forestry programme. Various aspects of
for making huts. research on utilisation carried out on bamboos
Category - III - 1) Bambusa mastersii
in India have been summarised by Varmah
Munro: This is a reed-like, climbing bamboo. It and Bahadur 1980, The traditional and other
has been collected only once by Masters from uses in India are summarised below:
Dibrugarh, Assam and hence is very rare.
2) Gephalostachyum canitatum Munro var. Traditional Uses: The strength of
decomposita Gamble: This semi-scandent bamboo culms, their straightness, lightness,
bamboo with yellow culms has been collected combined with hardness, range in sizes,
only twice from Sikkim. It differs from typical hollowness, long fibre and easy working qua-
C. canitatum which is characterised by having lities, make them suitable for a variety of pur-
capitate flowers and is common in the hills of poses In the humid tropics houses are built
. North-East India in possessing paniculate entirely of bamboo without using a single iron
flowers. 3) Dendrocalamus hookeri Munro nail. Large suspension bridges are made solely
var. parishii (Munro) Blatter: This is an imper- of canes/bamboos by the tribals. Among the
fectly known bamboo which has been col- sophisticated uses, the manufacture of variety
lected only once by Lt. Parish from Himachal of writing and other paper, charcoal for electric

30
batteries, liquid diesal fuel obtained by distil- Bisen, S. S. 1985. Scanning electron micro-
lation, enzymes and media from shoot extracts scopic studies of epidermis of culm and
used for culturing pathogenic bacteria are leaves of Indian Bamboos (Personal com-
important. The white powder produced on the munication) .
outer surface of young culms for the isolation Clement, I. D. 1956. Flowering of Dendro-
of a crystalline compound is medicinally use- calamus strictus at Atkias Garden, Solo-
ful. Tabasheer or Banslochan, is a popular dad. Coinfueges, Cuba Sciences, 124 -
medicine which is a silicious secretion found in 129.
the culms of some species. It occurs in either
Ghosh, S. S. and Negi, B. S. 1960. Anatomy
fragments or in masses (2 cm thick) chalky, of Indian Bamboos. Part 1 - Epidermal
translucent or transparent and tasteless and is features of Bambusa arundinacea, B.
used as a cooling tonic and aphrodisiac and in polymorpha, B. vulgaris, Dendrocalamus
asthama, cough and other debilitating diseases membranaceus, D. strictus a n d Melo-
(Raizada et al, 1936). canna bambusoides. Indian Forester 86:
Bamboos are also commonly used as agri- 719 - 727.
cultural implements for afforestation of river Gupta, B. N. and Sood, 0. P. 1978. Storage
banks, anchors, arrows, boats, bows, broom, of Dendrocalamus strictus Nees, seed for
brushes, chairs, chicks, containers, cooking maintenance of viability and vigour.
utensils, cordages, dustbins, fishing rods, Indian Forester 104: 688 - 695.
flutes, flower pots, fuel, furniture, fish traps,
Nondas, S. 1982. Biology of two Indian
hedges, hats, kit frames, ladders, lamps,
Bamboos, their culm potential and prob-
mallets, musical instruments, paper, pens, lems of cultivation. Indian Forester 106:
poles, pulp rafts, rayons, roofing, ropes, scaf-
179 - 188.
folding, tobacco pipes, toys, tool handles,
table mats, tubs, umbrella handles, walking Naithani, H. B. and Bahadur, K. N. 1982. A
sticks, water pipes and wrappers. new species of Bamboo from India.
Indian Forester 106: 212 - 214.
Notwithstanding the status report men- Naithand, H. B. and Bennett, S. S. R. 1985.
tioned above, certain areas like cytology, Pleioblastus simonii (Carr.) Hakai - A
physiology of flowering, tissue culture and Bamboo new to India from Arunachal
revision of their taxonomic position etc., need Pradesh. (ln edit. )
accelerated research in India.
Pande, D. C. and Lohani, D. N. 1963. Bam-
boos in Uttar Pradesh - Proceedings. All
Acknowledgements India Bamboo Symposium, Dehra Dun.
Pattanath, P. G. and Rao, K. R. 1969. Epi-
I am grateful to Dr R. V. Singh, IFS, dermal and internodal structure of the
President, Forest Research Institute & culms as an aid to identification and clas-
Colleges, Dehra Dun and Dr P. K. Sen Sarma, sification of bamboos. In Recent
Director, Biological Research, for their Adyances in the Anatomy of Tropical
valuable suggestions and going through the Seed Plants (Edited by K. A. Choud-
manuscript. My thanks are also due to Shri P. hury), Hindustan Pub. Corp. Delhi. 179
C. Gupta, Officer-in-Charge , Systematic - 196.
Botany Branch and Dr Veena Chandra for Raizada, M. B. and Chatterjee, R. N. 1956.
helpful discussions. World distribution of Bamboos, with
special reference to the Indian species
References and their more important uses. Indian
Forester 82: 215.
Bahadur, K. N. 1979. Taxonomy of bam- Secthalakahmi, K. K., Venkatesh, C. S. and
boos. Indian J. Forester 2: 222 - 241. Sunderan, T. 1983. Vegetative propaga-
Bahadur, K. N, and Jain, S. S. 1981. Rare tion of bamboos using growth promoting
bamboos of India. In An Assessment of substances - I, Bambusa balcoca Romb.
Threatened Plants of India (ed. S. K. Indian J. For., 6: 98 - 103.
Jain &R.R. Rao). BSI, Howrah. Sharma, N. K. and Tomar, M. S. 1963, Bam-

31
 boo Forest of Madhya Pradesh - Proc. Bulletin, Experimental Forests, Taiwan
All India Bamboo Symposium, Dehra University, 87. 27 pp.
Dun, Varmah, J. C. and Bahadur, K. N. 1980.
Tiwari, D. N. 198 1. State Trading in Forest Country report and status of research on
Produce, Jugal Kishore and Company, bamboos in India - India Forester
Raipur Road. Dehra Dun. Record (New Series) (Bot.), 6, Manager
of Publication, Delhi.
Wang, T. T. and Chen, M. I. 1971. Studies in
bamboo flowering in Taiwan - Technical

Table 1
Statewise bamboo bearing area and potential annual yield
(after Tiwari 1981)

Serial Name of State Bamboo area Potential annual

number (Sq. Km.) availability
(Million tonnes)
1. Andhra Pradesh 19,790 0.255
2. Arunachal Pradesh 7,779 0.200
3. Assam 10,000 1,210
4. Bihar 5,296 0.200
5. Gujarat 1,936 0.046
6. Himachal Pradesh 104 0.003
7. Jammu & Kashmir negligible -
8. Karnataka 5,000 0.475
9. Kerala 631 0.108
10. Madhya Pradesh 14,864 0.800
11. Maharastra 8,500 0.300
12. Manipur 2,500 0.200
13. Orissa 10,500 0.489
14. Punjab negligible 0.009
15. Tamil Nadu 5,368 -
16. Tripura 2,849 0.215
17. Uttar Pradesh 4,000 0.041
18. West Bengal 164 0.008
Total 1,00299 4.559
However, the annual yield per hectare is the maximum in Assam i.e. the 3.12 and 4.0 tonnes (dry)/ha
of Bambusa tulda and Melocanna baccifera respectively.

32
 Bamboo Research In Indonesia
Haryanto Yudodibroto
Faculty of Forestry Gadjah Mada University
Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta
Indonesia

Abstract Though many species are grown in the

country only a few are cultivated by people
Bamboo is found in natural forests, plan- living in the villages of Java (99.2 million
tation forests and in unique types of agro- population), Bali (2.7 million population),
forests called pekarangan in many villages of Sumatra (31.3 million) and South Sulawesi
Indonesia. There are 35 species belonging (7.4 million). Most of the bamboo is converted
to 11 genera, but only 13 species are econom- into finished products by mechanical or
ically valuable. Some of these species have manual means for such purposes as construc-
been cultivated by people for hundreds of tion, household articles, furniture and other
years while the forest services started the culti- products. A certain quantity is processed
vation in 1903 to meet the demand for specific chemically to produce paper. Other industrial
purposes. Bamboo is mostly used for products, though relatively very small in
construction in Java and Bali. The bulk of sup- quantity, are laminated bamboo articles like
plies comes from millions of small pekaran- plates, trays etc. Practically all products
gans. The annual consumption estimated for manufactured are consumed domestically.
the farmers sector is about 29-146 million However, substitutes like plastics, are slowly
culms, and for paper miils 3.5 million culms. taking over the functions of bamboo. There-
Bamboo is produced in approximately 50,000 fore, though some research has been carried
ha of forests and in more than 30.616 ha of out, further efforts are needed to give bam-
pekarangan areas. boo a better position in terms of its resource
potential and utilization possibilities for the
benefit of people who will be living in the
twenty-first century.
Introduction
Extent of Bamboo Resources
There is ample evidence that bamboo
plays an important role in Indonesia espe-
ciaIly in village life, It is one of the three Most of the native bamboo species grow-
multipurpose plants cultivated in thousands of ing in Indonesia are sympodial which multiply
large and small villages; the other two being mostly through rhizomes and very rarely by
banana and coconut (the so-called BBC seeds. The shoots of some species emerge in
group). The importance of bamboo in the beginning of the wet season, others
Indonesia is similar to that of Indochina, during the season and still other species at
China and Japan. the end of it (Heyne, 1950). The size of the
stem varies considerably ranging from 12 mm
Bamboos are planted on the edges of in B a m b u s a muitiplex t o 2 0 0 m m i n
home gardens called pekarangan and inter- Dendrocalamus asper. T h e n o d e s a n d
mixed with other wood-producing and food- the internodes vary from 12-16 cm in Phyl-
producing plants. Besides people use it as
lostachys aurea t o 70-120 cm in Schizo-
village boundary and to control erosion along stachyum blumei. The wall thickness at inter-
the banks of rivers.

33
nodes ranges from 3-6 mm in Bambusa atra, almost throughout the country. However,
Bambusa multiplex and Gigantocholoa nigro- natural stands of bamboo species grow in dif-
ciliata, 25-41 mm in Dendrocalamus asper. ferent habitats. A total of 26,000 ha of
The colors of fresh stems vary from dark bamboo forest is found in Banyuwangi, East
green, greyish green, plain yellow with green Java, of which only 7,700 ha is reported
stripes, green with yellow stripes or dark economically productive to supply a paper
purple. It changes into shades of straw yellow- mill (Soenjoto, 1970). A second bamboo
ish nuances which sometimes have brown forest complex located in Gowa, South
spots while others have plain purple marks. Sulawesi, also managed by a state paper mill
There are 11 genera and 35 species (Table 1) over an area of 24,000 ha (Hindrarto, 1985).
(Heyne, 1950; Reilingh, 1921; Sastrapradja, A total of 15 species are found; however,
1977; Karsono, 1981). These species are dis- their composition varies in different forest
tributed almost in every island of the archi- complexes. For example a stand in Wonosari
pelago depending on its soil conditions, complex consists of 20% broad leaved trees,
climate and geographical aspects. 1% Dendrocalamus flagellifer, 3%
Oxytenanthera nigrociliaiu, 6% surat
bambu (similar to Oxytenanthera), 2 0 %
Phytogeography and extent of bam- Gigantochloa atter, 3 0 % Gigantochloa
boo resource: The species which are known apus, 10% Melocanna humiiis, 2% Schizo-
growing on many islands of Indonesia is stachyum brachycladum, and 8% Bambusa
shown in Table 1 (Reilingh, 1921; Heyne, vulgaris. In contrast only one species is
1950; Sastrapradja, 1977; Karsono, 1981). recorded in Gayam-Manggar-Petut complex,
It is clear that bamboo is practically found namely Bambusa spinosa amidst

Table 1. Bamboo species growing in Indonesia.

No. Latin name Local name Island
1. Arundinaria japonica Sieb. - Java
& Zucc. ex steud.
2. Bambusa atra Lindl. buluh luleba, ute au1 Maluku, Sulawesi
3. Bambusa arundinacea (Retz) bambu duri, ori Java
Wild.
4. Bambusa balcoa Roxb. - Java
5. Bambusa bambos Becker trieng meduroi, aor Java
duri, pring ori
6. Bambusa blumeana B1. ex bambu duri Java
Schult. f.
7. Bambusa gluucescens (Willd.) barn bu pagar Java
Sieb. ex Munro
8. Bambusa horsfieldii Munro b a m b u embong Java
9. Bambusa multiplex Raeusch pring cendani, awi krisik Java
10. Bambusa polymorpha Munro - Java
11. Bambuso spinosa Bl. bambu duri kecil, pring Java
12. Bambusa tulda Munro - Java
13. Bambusa vulgaris Schrad trieng gading, pring ampel, tiing Java, Bali,
ampel, tahaki, bambu tutul Sumatra,
Sulawesi. Maluku

34
14. Dendrocalamus asper oloh otong, betong, pring Sumatra,
Backer petung, tiing petung Kalimantan, Java,
Bali, Sulawesi
1 5 . Dendrocalamus giganteus Bambu sembilang Java
Munro
1 6 . Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.) bambu batu, pring peting Java
Nees
1 7 . Dinochloa scandens O.K. pring kadalan, cangkoreh Java
1 8 . Gigantochioa apus Kurz awi tali, pring apus, tiing tali Java, Bali
1 9 . Gigantochloa atter (Hassk .) bambu ater, bambu hitam, Java
Kurz ex Munro pring wulung
2 0 . Gigantochloa hasskariiana awi lengka tali Java
Backer
21. Gigantochloa kurzii Gambel b a m b u ulet Java
22. Gigantochloa nigrociliata Kurz awi lengka Java
23. Gigantochloa vertcillata Munro awi andong, .pring surat Java
24. Melocanna humulis Kurz. bambu wulu, bulu Java
25. Melocanna baccifera (Roxb.) - Java
Kurz
26. Nastus elegantissimus (Hassk.) bambu eul-eul Java
Holtt.
27. Oxytenanthera nigrociliata bambu watu, benel Java
Munro
28. Phyllostachys aurea A: & C. b a m b u uncue Java
Riviera
29. Schizostachyum blumei Nees bulu tamiang, awi bunar, Sumatra, Java,
pring wuluh, hamia, ute lauit Kalimantan,
West Nusa
Tenggara,
Sulawesi, Maluku
buluh nehe, awi buluh, Sumatra, Java,
ute wanat, tomula Maluku, Sulawesi
buluh bungkok Sumatra

32. Schizostachyum Iima (Bianco) bambu toi Sulawesi, Maluku,

Merr . Irian
33. Schizostachyum longispiculatum b a m b u jalur Java, Sumatra;
Kurz Kalimantan
34. Schizostachyum zollingeri Kurz b u l u h jalar, awi cakeutreuk Sumatra, Java
35. -Thyrsostachys siamensis Gamble Java
broad leaved trees. The species found are regions are not included since no data are
Gigantochloa apus, Bambusa blumeana, available whether they cultivate bamboo in
Bambusa spinosa, Schizostachyum brachy- their pekarangans or not.
cladum, Gigantochloa atter, Bambusa Results of surveys on pekarangans carried
vulgaris, Oxytenanthera nigrociliata Melo-
out in the province of Yogyakarta showed
canna humilis, Gigantochloa Kurzii, Bambusa
that 83.5% of 840 samples in 7 1 villages
affinis, Dendrocalamus flagellifer, Dendro-
were planted with bamboo intermixed with
calamus strictus, Bambu rampai, bambu
other plants like coconut, banana etc. Besides
surat, and bambu serit bupat. These are
95.7% of them planted coconut and 85.7%
found up to 1,500 m above sea level on ter-
planted banana inside their small holdings
tiary and secondary soil formations. The
(Harsono et al., 1980a, 1979a; Hartono et al.,
stand density varies from sparsely distributed
1979b, 1980b; Nasruiiah et al., 1980, 1981;
suppresed individuals among other trees to
Siswandono et al., 1979, 1981; Soenoeadji
dense forest complexes exclusively of bam-
et al., 1980; Wiryono et al., 1980). The num-
boo. Drees (1938) mentioned about a bam-
ber of bamboo cuims in 159 pekarangans and
boo forest in Tanah Bumbu South Kaii- enumerated in 15 villages was 114.9 cuims
mantan b u t n o d a t a o n t h i s i s k n o w n .
per pekarangan, 22.0 coconut tress and 22.8
Another location of Dendrocalamus asper banana clumps per pekarangan.
forests is on the banks of Amandit river, Huiu
Stingai Seiatan, South Kaiimantan (Kar- The size of pekarangan is on the average
tasirang, 1985). About 30 km along the river about 0.36 ha. Though relatively small, its
sides, from the city of Kandangan to Lok function is significant and can be measured
Sado, this bamboo species is growing vigor- from the definition of pekarangan as follows
ously. This stretch of bamboo grove, (Anonymous, 1978) :
approximately 120 ha, is said to be planted by A piece of land with certain boundaries
a local tribe of Dayaks hundreds of years ago. where there is a dwelling place on it and
Bamboo grew naturally in the forests of has a functional relation with the dweller
Sumatra as reported by Rappard (1937) who either economically, biophysicaily, or
observed secondary growth of bamboo socio-culturally.
species in the northern part of Bengkuiu pro-
The figures presented earlier are used to
vince. Also patches of bamboo are found
estimate the extent of pekarangans with
around Ongkak Doemoega, Boiaang
Mongondow in the province of North bamboos, throughout the four regions indi-
Suiawesi as reported by Verhoef (1929). cated as bamboo centres. 115 culms per
pekarangan cover 5 x 5 meters because
Besides the naturally occurring forests, their diameters range from 2.5 - 20 cm.
people in Java, Sumatra, Bali and South There are 17,468,560 households of farmers
Suiawesi seem to have planted it on their in the country (Anonymous, 1981) and in the
lands. Different species are cultivated by them 4 regions, the total farmers households are
depending on soil and climatic conditions of a r o u n d 14,665,656. Further more than
the different places. In relatively dry areas 83.5% of them, (as indicated by a survey in
Bambusa bamboo and Bambusa arundinacea the special province of Yogyakarta) plant
are the main species planted while in wetter bamboo in their pekarangans; the total
conditions Gigantochloa apus or Dendro- is 12,246,582 pekarangans. Accordingly the
calamus asper are preferred. The total area of area grown by bamboo is approximately 5 x
patches of bamboo grooves on the pekaran- 5 x 12,246,582 m2 or equal to 30,616 ha.
gans have never been enumerated; however, But this does not mean that bamboo is con-
an illustration of the huge bamboo resource in fined to these because other agricultural lands
the villages in Java, Sumatra, Bali and South are also planted with it. Unfortunately local
Sulawesi can be estimated by the number of governments of many villages in Java have
farmer households which depend on agri- instructed people to remove the bamboo
cultural activities in general. According to the plants especially from places nearby main
national population census in 1980 there roads. Their intentions are to make room for
were 14,665,656 household of farmers and electric line poles to be erected which is out-
the like in the four regions mentioned lined in the Indonesian village modernization
(Anonymous, 1981). Households in other programs. In addition it is also intended to

36
plant more food crops intead in the pekaran- 4 x 4 m. Holes are first prepared 0.5 x 0.5
gans. x 0.3 m in size for the cuttings to be planted
O

Nevertheless, the figures presented straight or leaning with an angle of 45 . After

showed the significance of BBC-plants four to six weeks shoots come up and in three
(Banana, Bamboo, Coconut) in rural villages. or four years some culms can be harvested.
Accordingly it can be understood that these However, after six or seven years the culms
plants have some socio-cultural and socio- reach their normal size. A historical account
economic roles to play in the daily life of the on the cultivation of bamboo in forest areas
people. was reported by Reilingh (1921) who stated
that in 1903 the forest district of Besuki
planted 10 ha of bamboo at Sumberkeneh.
Socio-economic Aspects Further activities reported were the total of
plantation made up until 1916 which reached
Some economic species, trade an area of 165.5 ha. On the other hand
names and grades: Of the 35 species only a farmers living in rural areas have planted
few are of economic significance mainly bamboo for hundreds of years.
because of their properties. In Java, Supplies and utilization: A scheme of
Gigantochloa apus, Dendrocalamus asper, bamboo utilization can be outlined as follows:
and Bambusa arundinaceae are mostly sold
1. Based on form of bamboo used as
in trading places. Other species like Gigan-
material: a. Round bamboo: village houses,
tochloa atter, Bambusa vulgaris and a few
tobacco drying sheds, musical instruments
others form the second group in trade. Native
etc. b. Split bamboo: walls, mats, basketry,
names of bamboo vary from one place to
household utensils, screens, musical instru-
another though they are botanically of the
ments, bird cages. c. Round & split bam-
same species. Gigantochloa apus is known as
boo: furniture, ladders etc. d. Defiberized
bambu apus, pring tali (Java), pereng tali
bamboo: pulp, paper.
(Madura) and tiing tlantan (Bali). Another
example is Dendrocalamus asper which. is 2. Based on end use: a. Constructions:
known as trieng betong (Aceh), oloh otong village houses, tobacco drying sheds, bridges.
(Gayo), bambu batueng (Minangkabau), bulo b. Non constructions: Furniture: chairs,
lotung (South East Kalimantan), Awi bitung tables, racks, partitions. Non furniture:
(Sunda), pring petung (Java), bulo patong Containers: baskets, bags, tobacco boxes,
(Makasar) and tabadiko jawa (Ternate). water containers, food containers, Agricul-
tural implements: tool handles, carrying rods,
The culms of these economic species are
fences etc. Hunting & fishing tools: fishing
purchased based on more or less clearly
rods, fish traps, blowpipes, arrows etc. House-
defined grades. The tobacco state corpora-
hold & kitchen utensils: frying scoops, trays,
tions, which need fairly large quantity of bam-
bamboo screens, hand-fans, birds cages.
boo for the construction of drying sheds, dif-
Food: snacks (lumpia), dinner dish (Lodeh),
ferentiate 4 grades of Dendrocalamus asper
pickles. Fodder: cow fodder. Musical instru-
(grades A, I, II, III) and Gigantochloa apus
ments: flutes, xylophones, angklungs. Miscel-
(grades A, 1, 2, 3). The grades are baded on
laneous: ornaments, special knives, medicine
length of culm, diameter and age. On the
etc. Paper: writing paper, printing paper and
other hand no clearly defined grades are
Fuel.
available for bamboo intended for basketry
manufacture, though some species are culti- It is easy to split bamboo radially, length-
vated for it wise or tangentially using machettes o r
Cultivation: Usually bamboo is planted knives. Its strength in round form is adequate
by means of rhizome cuttings in Indonesia. for construction purposes. In split form
Rhizome cuttings grow better (59.1%) when bamboo can be woven easily into different
compared with stem cuttings (40.0%) commodities depending on its thickness and
(Verhoef, 1929) and culms should at least be width. It has a relatively low specific gravity
l-year old (Sindoesoewarno, 1963). The and therefore finished products are easy to be
period of planting is the begining of the wet handled. Woven articles are adequately
season and spacings in forest plantations vary sturdy for several kitchen utensils or house-
from 3 x 2 m, 3 x 3 m and for large species hold stationaries. Accordingly rural popula-

37
tion in many regions use bamboo quite methods.
intensively and therefore the amount of sup-
plies runs to millions of culms. Collection and harvesting:To use
Amount of supplies: The bulk of sup- bamboo for construction farmers cut the culms
plies of bamboo comes from pekarangans in at predetermined times. Traditionally villagers
the villages and also from some forest areas. in Central Java harvest during the 1 lth
Two groups of consumers utilize them, month of the Javanese calender. They
namely private individuals and various indus- believe, by experience, that even the most
trial agencies. It is difficult to estimate the con- durable bamboo species will be susceptible
sumption of millions of urban and rural to borer attack if it is not cut in the proper
farmers accurately. A very rough estimate month. Some observations by Suithoni
may fall around 29 to 146 million culms in the (1984) showed that at that particular time the
four regions mentioned with the assumption starch content in bamboo is minimal. Log-
t h a t 2-10 culms/family/year a r e u s e d t o ically they will be relatively resistant to borer
make fences, remove rafters etc. These attack since insects do not bore culms that
figures are based on the fact that in 1980 have no food and therefore harvesting in that
there were about 14.6 million farmer house particular month is recommended.
holds in the four regions, They harvest bamboo selectively, choos-
The paper industry, tabacco estates and ing cuims of 3-4 years old in the central parts
the handicraft small indusries use fairly large of the groove. Relatively young culms are left
quantities of bamboo. The first consumes to grow further and for new shoots to come up.
Results of some experiments suggest that 3-4
approximately 3.5 miilion cuims per year
years old cuims are ready for harvest.
(Hindrarto, 1985; Soenjoto, 1970). How-
ever, the supply is ever decreasing because (Sindoesoewarno, 1963). In the first year
felling of 5 culms/clump is recommended but
many bamboo forests have been converted
into other types of forests, as state corpora- with the increase in age, 10 to 20 culms/
tions in charge of reforestation consider these clump/year can be harvested. In many cases,
people prefer to cut in every 3 years rather
more economical to manage. The tobacco
than annually.
estates are mostly located in Besuki and
Bojonegoro in East Java, and in Kiaten, Conversion and manufacture: There
Central Java. Yearly, the consumption of are several methods to process bamboo from
bamboo for them is estimated to be about 10 its original form and condition into finished
million culms in Besuki (Reiiingh, 1921), products. However, in general there are two
2.32 million culms in Bojonegoro and 0.54 main types of processing namely mechanical
millions in Klaten. The cottage industry pro- and chemical processing. Besides, the
duces baskets, containers, bamboo trays, hats methods also depend on the type of finished
and other items. These are strewn throughout products. For construction purposes and the
many counties and villages in the country and like, bamboo is mostly used in whole or round
their number is not known accurately. form. For basketry, woven handicraft, cuims
Some data on the supply of bamboo of bamboo will be split into several assort-
from the forests were collected from records ments depending on the quality of the final
of the former Besuki forest district. It revealed product to be made. Similar ways of handling
that during the period of 1907-1920 around is applied in the production of plybamboo to
2,840,872 culms were cut (Reilingh, 1921) manufacture plates and the like with addi-
annually. This decreased to 1,593,500 tional gluing. However, to prepare bamboo
cuims yearly during 1933-1936 (Fluyt, for paper production, whole bamboo cuims
1937). More recent statistical data indicates are chipped into small parts and treated
that the production of bamboo during the chemically.
y e a r s of 1969-1975 was on average House and building construction
135,975 smb annually (4,18 smb = 1 ton) components: Green bamboo culms are air-
and further during the period of 1981-1983 dried for three months by end-stacking them in
the average figure was 14,384 smb open air. In several cases villagers soak culms
(Suwongso, 1985). These amounts of culms in running or stagnant water for a certain
were collected and harvested by specific period as a simple preservative treatment prior

38
to air-drying. They cut them into appropriate for the cooking liquor with 19%--20% of
sizes before or after air-drying, Kiln drying is active alkaline and a 19% sulfidicity . One ton
not applicable for bamboos used for construc- pulp needs approximately 378 bamboo culms,
tion. Knives or saws are used to cut the round each of 5 meter length. For making pulp.
bamboo culms. Gigantochloa apus, Dendro- 55% bamboo and 45% wood materials are
calamus asper and sometimes also Giganto- used.
chloa utter, Bambusa bambos or Bambusa To harvest bamboo people use ladders to
arundinacea are used. An example is the stan- cut the dense thorned branches from the
dard tobacco drying shed, 20 m x - 100 m in upper part to the bottom first and then the
size. It needs 412 culms of Dendrocalamus culm itself. The daily production is about
asper and 5,415 culms of Gigantochloa apus 3,600 culms which are transported by trucks to
and 22,000 culms of small diametered the bamboo yard.
bamboo (Sudarsono, 1985).
The mill in Banyuwangi, East Java, has a
A survey of wood consumption in Bali, capacity of 30 tons of pulp/day and bamboo is
East and Central Java indicate that 28.3% of supplied from West Banyuwangi forest district.
11.5 million houses are of bamboo, 32,2% of Some of it are harvested from natural forests
teak, 5.0% of Kalimantan wood, 26.5% of while others are cut from plantations. The
other broad leaved trees, 7.8 % of coconut fatter has been cultivated since 1903 and up to
wood and the remainder are of other materials 1927 there were 391 ha planted with two
(Anonymous, 1978). species. Several species are available as dis-
Furniture: Air-dry bamboo is mostly used cussed earlier and all are used as raw material
for furniture. Some parts consist of round for pulp. In 1969 the raw material was 100%
bamboo, especially the frame of chairs, tables bamboo (Tjahjaputra, 1970) but in 1974 it
and other furniture, while the other parts are of consisted of 70% bamboo and 30% Sesbania
split bamboo with the bark still on. grandijjora (Wijono, 1974), however, fater in
Basketry, mats and other woven arti- 1975 the proportion was 60% bamboo, 30%
cles: To manufacture woven articles bamboo Sesbania gradiflora, and 10% Pinus merkusii.
is split into thick and thin split material, In 1985 the bamboo proportion is decreased
debarked or with bark on, wide and narrow down to 20% -25% (Hindrarto, 1985). To
material, artificially or naturally colored. Nor- produce 1 ton of paper an amount of 1,943 kg
mally people split bamboo tangentially and of bone dry chips are needed.
rarely in radial directions. Later they weave Musical instruments: Many traditional
them according to traditional designs and may musical instruments are made of air dried bam-
consist of only de-barked or not-debarked split boo. Widjaja (1980) divided them into three
material, or a combination of both. For parti- groups based on the way the sounds were
cufar products like traditional farmers field produced namely idiophones which were
hats, two layers of thin bamboo woven sheets grating or percussion instruments (angklung,
are assembled. cafung, gambang etc.), aerophones or aero
Plybamboo: pulp and paper. The plate instruments (suling, hatong, taleot etc.), and
and trays of woven bamboo are produced in chordophones or string instruments
factories. Three layers of airdry woven bam- (cefempung). Gigantochloa utter and some-
boo sheets are glued together by the use of a times Gigantochloa apus are used. for
hot press to allow urea-formaldehyde adhe- angklung or gambang manufacture while
sives to cure. Unfortunately the domestic Schizostachyum blumei is used for flutes or
market for this type of product is low. There sufing.
are two papermills using bamboo as raw Bamboo is sold either in round form or in
materiaf; one is in Gowa, South Sufawesi with
processed products. The second category may
a capacity of 30-40 tons of pulp/day and
have the form of split material of various sizes
another located in Banyuwangi, East Java. to be manufactured into other products, and
The Gowa paper mill owns a relatively large
also completely finished products is included
bamboo forest, 50% of which is economically in this category.
exploitable (Hindrarto. 1985) and the main
species is Bambusa arundinacea. Kraft process The supply of bamboo to meet peoples
using NaOH and Na2S as chemicals is allowed demand in Jakarta is done by floating bam-

39
boo rafts from Bogor to the capital along the 1985). A saying originated from Sumatra tells
river of Ciliwung (Saputro, 1985). Everyday about Her voice is so charming like the
8-10 collones of rafts pass the river carrying sound of a bamboo flute longing for a lover
3,200 culms - 4,000 culms of bamboo. One
raft consists of 50 culms and one collone con-
tains 8 rafts tied to each other. Therefore it Bamboo Research
can be estimated that Jakarta consumes at
least 1 ,000,000 culms transported through Some researches have been made on
the Ciliwung river worth around Rp. bamboo utilization and cultivation.
250,000,000 - (1 US$ = Rp. 1.120). Cultivation research: Hasanbahri
Socio-cultural practices use the bamboos (1984) has studied the growth and morpho-
for many purposes. In the past, midwives logical change of stem cuttings of some bam-
severed umbilical cords of newborns using the boo species in WANAGAMA I. He concluded
sharp edge of a freshly split bamboo (Widjaja, that the parent plant age has an influence on
1980) called welat by the Javanese. the average bud growth of Dendrocalamus
The term sedular nunggal welat,means asper and on the number of shoots growing
kin of the same bamboo umbilical knife on Gigantochloa atter but not on
when someone was born brother or sister the Gigantochloa apus. Application of IAA pro-
same bamboo knife was used again to motes (4000 ppm) rhizome shoot growth of
cut the umbilical cord. Dendrocalamus asper but not in the other two
species. Location of stem cuttings on the
Bamboo is referred as a symbol of unity. bamboo stem has no effect on the three
Nasi kopau, A bulo sipappa, A lemo species investigated, The technique of
sibatu meaning It is agreed (to have one planting {straight or leaning) affected the
aim), to be like one bamboo culm (though it number of rhizomes growing in stem cuttings
has many internodes, nonetheless, it is one), of Dendrocalamus asper and has no effect on
{United) like one orange (though it has many the other two species. Sindoesoewarno
seeds inside, nonetheless, it is one) (Usop, (1963) cultivated several bamboo species by
1978). Another evidence comes from the using rhizome cuttings. On an average one
famous Mahabarata epic in which a place cutting of Bambusa vulgaris produces 10
called Pringgendani, presumably called living culms, 51 living shoots in 3 years.
after the local name of Bambusa multiplex, is During the same period Gigantochloa verti-
the residence of prince Gatotkaca, son of cillata produced 6 living culms, 3 dead culms,
prince Werkudara. a gallant knight, who fights 3 dead shoots. Gigantochloa apus produced
for the glory of the Pandawas until his death. 42 living culms and 66 living shoots. Dendro-
A cultural tradition still exists in calamus asper produced 9 living culms, 1
Buluspesan - tren, Kebumen, Central Java. dead culm, 5 living shoots and 10 dead
When someone is going to have a wedding shoots.
party, circumcision ceremony or to build a
house, he invites his relatives or close Utilization research: Bamboo with
acquaintances for a ngepring - day. Then starch is susceptible to borer attack. Soenardi
everyone gives him one or two bamboo culms et al. (1979) found the average starch content
as a gift on that particular day. In return they in Dendrocalamus asper about 1.4% of its
kiln dry weight. Starch leaching was highest
get snacks and specially made rice called
when samples were soaked in stagnant water.
tumpeng to bring back home (Abdulroch
- man, 1985). In the island of thousand Average starch contents vary in bamboo
temples of Bali, where tradition and modern species after kiln treatment: Gigantochloa
living are intermixed, where magic and fight apus 0.287%, Bambusa vulgar-is 2.159%,
for daily survival exist side by side, the yellow Dendrocalamus asper 1.564% and Giganto-
bamboo, Bambusa vulgaris, plays a special chloa atter 0.273% (Sarwono, 1983) He also
role. Planted as an ornamental feature, a found on an average per unit area 9.2 borer
piece of the stem mixed with animal bones holes on samples of Bambusa vulgaris, 7.8
and accompanied with certain mantra or holes on Dendrocalamus asper, 1.9 holes on
prayers, is said to be a tool in the practice of Gigantochloa apus and 1.4 holes on Giganto-
black magic to harm somebody (Tantra, chloa atter.

40
 The absorption and retention of preserva- Ongoing and Future Research
tives vary depending on the treatment and
concentrations used. Higher concentration Some research is currently being under-
resulted in less absorption. Both copper taken b y the Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah
sulphate and Wolmanit CB were used in case Mada University on mechanical properties of
of B. vulgaris and D. asper. The latter was several bamboo species, preservation charac-
more toxic to Dinoderus beetle. The rate of teristics, bacterial degradation of starch in
penetration was variable with other bamboo bamboo, and resistance of treated bamboo
species (Abdurrachim, 1982; Widoyoko, against pests. Funds are being provided by
1983). IDRC, *Canada and the government of
Indonesia. Other agencies like Regional
Salt was not a good preservative against Housing Center in Bandung, Forest Research
Dinoderus minutus since an average un- and Development Center and Forest Products
preserved Bambusa vulgaris had 9.2 holes Research and Development Center are also
on sample surfaces compared with 6.9 holes in interested in Bamboo research.
salt preserved samples. (Sunaryo, 1983).
Some aspects of bamboo to be investi-
Wuryanto (1982) observed that the green gated in future are 1) inventory of stocking
moisture content of Gigantochloa apus, potential in village plantations of Java,
Gigantochloa uerticilata, and Dendrocalamus Sumatra, Bali, South Sulawesi and South
asper increased from the bottom of the culm Kalimantan. 2) economic significance to
to the top. The hot-and-cold bath method rural farmers and manufacture. 3) Bamboo
increased penetration though the hot bath cultivation in newly opened transmigration
was only for four hours and the cold bath was areas may be of primary priority.
for three days. 4) Properties and possible application of pre-
servatives and preservation methods on bam-
Measurements on mechanical properties boo may be carried out besides looking for
of Dendrocahmus asper and Gigantochloa new technologies for construction purposes.
apus compression strength parallel to grain
was 602 kg/cm2, and 419 kg/cm2 respec- Another worthwhile investigation is in
tively (Wardoyo, 1983). Values of their relation with bamboo cultivation knowhow for
bending strength were 2655 kg/cm2, and large scale application in new opened trans-
2003 kg/cm2 These values were obtained migration areas scatterred throughout the
from tests using split bamboo, 10 x 2.5 x country. In 1979- 1983 approximately
0.4 cm for the first property and 30 x 2.5 x 500.00 families have been transmigrated and
0.4 cm samples for the second property. in 1984-1988 another 750.000 families will
Moisture content affected these properties: be transmigrated. They get 2 ha of land each
the higher the moisture content the lower the and accordingly a total of 2.5 million ha of
strength properties. forests will be cleared for them. If popular
cultivation techniques are practised, with 100
Kasmudjo (1981, 1982) measured the
square meters per family, an addition of
bonding strength of strips of Gigantochloa
12.500 ha of bamboo plantation can result.
apus a n d Gigantochloa utter glued with
This is very attractive as these transmigrants
caesin. It decreased from the bottom to the
are familiar with bamboo usage. In three to
top of the culm of G. apus while the average seven years between 2,000 - 10,000 culms/
2
was 9.1 kg/cm . It increased in G. utter and
ha/pa can be produced by these people.
its average was 28.7 kg/cm2. When the strips, However, problems of seedling preparation,
of bamboo were treated with borax, all the
transportation etc. has to be solved. To enable
bonding strength decreased; the higher the better utilization basic properties of different
concentration of borax solution the lower the species of bamboo are going to be investi-
strength. Average bonding strengths of G. gated.
apus which has been treated with a l%, 3%
and 5% borax solution was 8.6 kg/cm2, 7.4
kg/cm2, and 6.5 kg/cm2 respectively. In case
of G. atter the bonding strengths decreased to References
15.6 kg/cm2 and 9.9 kg/cm2 after being
treated with a 5% and 10% borax solution. Abdulrochman, 1. 1985. Personal communi-

41
 cation. Faculty of Forestry. Gadjah Mada tro. 1979b. Laporan survey pekarangan
University. Yogyakarta . kecamatan Turi (Survey report on peka-
Abdurrachim, A. 1982. Kayu dan bubuk rangan in kecamatan Turi). Dinas Per-
dalam bahan kerajinan (Wood and borer tanian dan Pekarangan D.I.Y. & Fakultas
in handicraft material). LPHH. Bogor. Pertanian UGM. Yogyakarta.
Anonymous. 1981. Penduduk Indonesia Hartono, S., Harjono Danoesastro, SamsuI
menurut Propinsi (Population of Indone- Iskandar. 1980b. Laporan survey
sia in province). Seri: L no. 3 Biro Pusat pekarangan kecamatan Samigalu h.
Statistik. Jakarta. (Survey report on pekarangan in
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pulau Jawa dan Bali (Report on a feasi- tanian UGM. Yogyakarta.
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UGM. Yogyakarta. (Growth study and morphological
Drees, M. 1938. Plantensociologie (Plant- changes of stem cuttings of some bamboo
sociology). Tectona dl. XXX1, 1938. species in Wanagama I). Fakultas Kehu-
VHBINUI. Archipel Drukkery. Buiten- tanan UGM. Yogyakarta.
zorg . Heyne, K. 1950. De nuttige planten van Indo-
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Fluyt, P.C.M. 1938. De houtvoorziening van N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeves Graven-
de tabaksindustries in Besoeki (Supply of hage. Bandung.
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Tectona dl. XXX1, 1938. VHABINOI. Hindrarto, E. 1985. Personal communication.
Archipel Drukkerij. Buitenzorg. Gowa State Paper Mill. Ujungpandang.
Hadisumarto, S. 1974. Laporan praktek Karsono, E. 1981. Manfaat beberapa jenis
pabrik kertas Basuki Rachmat Banyu- bambu (Benefits of some bamboo
wangi (Report on Basuki Rachmat paper species). Gema Rimba 65-66, VII: 94-
mill in Banyuwangi). Fakultas Kehutanan 109. Perum Perhutani. Jakarta.
UGM. Yogyakarta. Kartasirang. 1985. Personal communication.
Harsono, S., Haryono Danusastro, Samsul Lambung Mangkurat University. Banjar-
Iskandar . 1980a. Laporan survey baru.
pekarangan kecamatan Minggir (Survey Kasmudjo. 1981. Pengaruh perlakuan penga-
report on pekarangan in kecamatan wetan dengan boraks terhadap nilai kete-
Minggir) . Dinas Pertanian dan Perikanan guhan rekat kayu Sengon dan bambu
D.I.Y. & Fakultas Pertanian UGM. apus (Effects of preservative treatment
Y ogyakarta. with borax on bonding strength of Sengon
Harsono, S., Siswandono, Slamet Hartono, w o o d a n d apus bamboo). Fakultas
Soenoeadji, Harjono Danusastro. 1979. Kehutanan UGM, Yogyakarta.
Laporan survey pekarangan kecamatan Kasmudjo. 1982. Pengaruh berbagai konsen-
Banguntapan (Survey report on pekaran- trasi bahan pengawet boraks terhadap
gan in kecamatan Banguntapan) Dinas nilai keteguhan rekat kayu mahoni dan
Pertanian D.I.Y. & Fakultas Pertanian bambu hitam yang direkat dengan kasein
UGM. Yogyakarta. (Effects of several concentrations of borax
Harsono, S., Harjono Danusastro, Samsui preservative on the bonding strength of
Iskandar . 1980: Laporan survey mahogany wood and hitam bamboo
pekarangan kecamatan Gamping. glued with casein). Fakultas Kehutanan
(Survey report on pekarangan in UGM. Yogyakarta.
kecamatan Gamping) . Dinas Pertanian Nasrullah, S.T., Harjono Danoesastro,
dan Perikanan D.I.Y. & Fakultas Per- Samsul Iskandar. 1980. Laporan survey
tanian UGM. Yogyakarta. pekarangan kecamatan Berbah. (Survey
Hartono, S., Soenoeadji, Siswandono, report on pekarangan kecamatan Berbah)
Soebianti Harsono, Harjono Danoesas- Dinas Pertanian dan Perikanan D.I.Y. &

42
 Fakultas Pertanian UGM . Yogyakarta. Karangmojo). Dinas Pertanian dan Peri-
Nasrullah, S.T., Harjono Danusastro, Samsul kanan D.I.Y. & Fakultas Pertanian UGM.
Iskandar .198 1. Laporan survey pekaran- Yogyakarta.
gan kecamatan Wates (Survey report on Smith, J.P. 1977. Vascular plant families.
pekarangan in kecamatan Wates). Dinas Mad River Press Inc. Eureka, California.
Pertanian dan Perikanan D.I.Y. & Fakul- USA.
tas Pertanian UGM. Yogyakarta. Soedarsono, H.S. 1985. Personal communi-
Purwanto, B.E. 1975, Laporan praktek pabrik cation. State Tobacco Corporation PNP
kertas Basuki Rachmat Banyuwangi XIX. Klaten.
(Report on Basuki Rachmat paper mill in Soenardi, P.B. Siagian, Soeparno. 1979.
Banyuwangi) . Fakultas Kehutanan UGM. Pengurangan kadaramilum dalam kayu
Yogyakarta. mahoni dan bambu petung sebagai usaha
Rappard, F.W. 1937. Damar in Benkoelen. menghindari serangan kumbang bubuk
Tectona dl. XXX, 1937 VHABINOI. (Reduction of amylum content in maho-
Archipel Drukkerij. Buitenzorg. gany wood and petung bamboo as an
effort to prevent powderbeetle attack).
Reilingh, A. 1921. De bamboebosschen en de
Fakultas Kehutanan UGM. Yogyakarta.
exploitatie daarvan in het boschdistrict
Besoeki (The bamboo forests and its expli- Soenjoto, R. 1970. Laporan praktek pabrik
tation in Besoeki forest district). Tectona kertas Banyuwangi -(Report on Banyu-
XIV, 1921. VHABINOI. Archipel wangi paper mill). Fakultas Kehutanan
Drukkerij. Buitenzorg. UGM. Yogyakarta.
Saputro, Heryus. 1985. Seminggu menyusur Soenoeadji, Harjono Danoesastro, Samsul
Ciliwung. (1) (A week floating along the Iskandar. 1980. Laporan survey pekaran-
Ciliwung) . Femina, 24/X111, 18 Juni gan kecamatan Nanggulan (Survey report
1985, him. 82-89. P.T. Gaya Favorit on pekarangan in kecamatan Nang-
Press. Jakarta gulan). Dinas Pertanian dan Perikanan
D.I.Y. & Fakultas Pertanian UGM.
Sarwono, E. 1983. Hubungan antara kan-
Yogyakarta.
dungan pati pada bambu dengan tingkat
serangan kumbang bubuk (Relationship Sulthoni, A. 1983. Petunjuk ilmiah penga-
of starch content in bamboo and rate of wetan bambu tradisional dengan peren-
powderbeetle attack). Skripsi. Fakultas daman dalam air (Scientific information
Kehutanan UGM. Yogyakarta. on traditional bamboo preservation using
Sastrapradja, S. et al. 1977. Beberapa jenis soaking methods in water). International
bambu (Some bamboo species). Development Research Center. Ottawa,
Lembaga Biologi National LIPI. Bogor. Canada.
Sindoesoewarno, R.D. 1963. Penanaman Sunaryo, 1983. Pengaruh konsentrasi bahan
dan penebangan dalam hutan bambu pengawet borax dan garam dapur pada
Kalisetail (Planting and harvesting in pengawetan dua jenis bambu dengan
Kalisetail bamboo forest). Laporan no. metode pengawetan perendaman panas
90. Lembaga Penelitian Kehutanan. dingin terhadap retensi dan serangan
Bogor. kumbang bubuk (The effect of borax pre-
Siswandono, Slamet Hartono, Soebianti servative concentration and salt concen-
Harsono, Soenoeadji, Harjono tration used to treat two bamboo species
Danoesastro. 1979. Laporan survey by the application of the hot-and-cold-
pekarangan kecamatan Kretek (Survey bath method on retention and rate of
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Kretek) . Dinas Pertanian dan Perikanan Kehutanan UGM. Yogyakarta.
D.I.Y. & Fakultas Pertanian UGM. Suwongso, 1985. Personal communication.
Yogyakarta. Perum Perhutani. Surabaya.
Siswandono, Harjono Danusastro, Samsul Tantra, N. 1985 Personal communication.
Iskandar. 1981, Laporan survey pekaran- BEPEKA. Yogyakarta.
gan kecamatan Karangmojo (Survey
report on pekarangan in kecamatan Tjahjaputra. 1970. Laporan praktek pabrik

43
 kertas Banyuwangi (Report on Banyu- Widoyoko, L. 1983. Pengaru h konsentrasi
wangi paper mill). Fakultas Kehutanan dua jenis bahan pengawet; pada penga-
UGM. Yogyakarta. wetan dua jenis bambu dengan metode
perendaman dingin ter hadap besarnya
Usop, K.M.A.M. 1978. Pasang ri kajang.
absorpsi, retensi dan ketahanannya terha-
Kajian sistem nilai di Benteng Hitam
dap serangan kumbang bubuk. {Effect of
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Ilmu Sosial. Ujungpandang.
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strength parallel to grain and maximum UGM. Yogyakarta.
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Kehutanan. Fakultas Kehutanan UGM. fusi dengan persenyawaan bor terhadap
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West Javanese bamboo musical instru- of three bamboo species of Indonesia).
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Canada.

(Note: More precise details with regand to page no, volume etc. could not be obtained for the references cited in
this paper - Eds).

44
 The Bamboo Resource in Malaysia:
Strategies for Development
Salleh Mohd. Nor and K. M. Wong
Forest Research Institute, Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract in which attempts are made to prevent or

control its growth.
The bamboo resources in Malaysia are In the few instances where bamboo has
discussed. So jar Bamboos have not been been considered as a resource, licences or
used as an industrial resource on a commer- permits are issued for their extraction, in
cial scale. The strategies for further devel- which case a nominal amount of royalty is
opment of bamboos are examined and cer- collected. Similar to other so-called minor
tain suggestions are offered. forest produce, bamboo received compara-
tively little attention from foresters in Malaysia
Introduction until recently, when the Forest Research Insti-
tute embarked upon a concerted effort at revis-
ing and documenting the taxonomy and
As is the case with many Southeast Asian biology of Malaysian bamboos and initiating
countries, Malaysia has a long tradition in the research into various aspects of their utilization
use of bamboo. However, this use has not
and silviculture.
reached the level of sophistication like other
agricultural resources. Whilst many interest-
ing traditional uses of bamboo have been The bamboo resources of
documented {viz., Burton 1979; Wong Malaysia
1982, there is no quantitative assessment of
the extent of utilisation of bamboos in the There has never been an attempt to com-
rural communities, including uses like fences
pletely inventorise bamboo resources in this
for rice-fields, housing construction and country as a whole. Nevertheless, during
baskets. Bamboos play an important part in
forest inventories, the occurrence of bamboo
rural Malaysian life-style and many sayings has been routinely noted but not quantified.
in the Malay language reflect this affinity. For It has not been possible, therefore, to analyse
example, with reference to the upbringing of the abundance of bamboo as recorded in
children, their early stage of development, these inventories. Despite this, information
which is the formative period of character from past forest inventories for the country
development, is likened to the bamboo shoot may be reviewed to provide more definite
stage, which is an amendable to moulding. conclusions regarding the presence and distri-
Similarly, there is wisdom in an old Malay bution of bamboo.
saying that recognizes the interdependence
between two close allies, in the expression An attempt was made in 1981 at quantify-
like bamboo clumps and a river-bank. ing the stocking of bamboo and rattan in the
northwestern Peninsular Malaysian state of
Forest management in Malaysia has for a Kedah in conjunction with further develop-
long time not given due emphasis to bam- ment of the rural industries there (Anon.
boo as a resource to be exploited more 1982). In the inventory for Kedah, the same
systematically. Traditionally, bamboo has clusters of randomly distributed plots used for
been considered as a weed in forestry practice the routine National Forestry Inventory
(Watson & Wyatt-Smith 1961; Chin 1979), (emphasizing trees) were used for sampling

45
the abundance and sizes of clumps of rattan bamboo respectively, in logged-over areas
and bamboo. Nineteen clusters, each of 12 than undisturbed areas.
plots, were inventorised for Kedah, covering
areas that have been logged over, as well as This fact is a reflection of bamboo
those that have not been disturbed. The main developing profusely in logged forests which
species of bamboo identified included the become more open. Whilst some bamboo
Buluh Betong group (Gigantochloa spp.), growth does exist within natural forests, it can
which represented the most common useful be assumed that logging creates a more light-
species found there as determined by earlier abundant environment conducive to the
ground-checks (Wong & Abdul Rauf 1981), plants rigorous growth.
and species other than the Betong group. A We do not have similar data for the other
total of 512 clumps were recorded during this 12 states. However, bamboos are substantially
inventory. Estimating that the average culm common in habitats such as the foothills of the
density was 20 per clump and that culms had Peninsulas Main Range, forest fringes and
average harvestable lengths of 6m, the inven- along some river courses, They dominate the
tory indicated that for the state of Kedah, a landscape in logged-over areas and on waste
resource abundance in the region of 27 land (Holttum 1958; Wong 1985 a). Whilst
million pieces of Buluh Betong, each of b- no specific figures can be quoted, the abun-
meter length, could be expected. This, trans- dance of the bamboo resource must be consi-
lated into air-dried tonnage (at a conversion dered in the context of its intended manner of
of ,150 pieces equivalent to 1 tonne), would exploitation. Although McGrath (1970) came
amount to over 179,000 metric tons of air- to the conclusion that the 50,000 acres
dried bamboo. In the case of species other (20,250 hectares) of land in Peninsular
than those of the Betong group, the estimated Malaysia that he estimated to hold varying
average culm density was 40 per clump with densities of bamboo was insufficient to
an average harvestable lengths of 3m, giving serve as a sole source of fibre for a pulp mill of
an estimate of 152 million pieces equivalent to minimum economic size, they seem abundant
a total of over 185,000 metric tons (at a con- enough to support several cottage and
version of 820 pieces per tonne) of air-dried factory-line industries (Wong 1982). Studies
bamboo. The inventory in Kedah confirmed are now under way to revise the identification
earlier notions that bamboo occurred signifi- and classification of these bamboos and to
Candy more within logged-over areas than provide a comprehensive field key to their
within undisturbed forests. Table 1. compares identification. It is now known that 45 species
the .resource abundance within undisturbed of various sizes and growth habits, of bamboo
and logged-over areas as estimated through are found in Peninsular Malaysia, including
this inventory; the resource represented at the 25 that are indigenous (Wong 1985 b).
time of inventory was about 16 times and In terms of everyday rural life, cultivated
about 47 times more, in the case of Betong- bamboos are of considerable significance as
type (Gigantochloa) bamboo and non-Betong well, although there are no plantations in

Table 1. The abundance of bamboos in undisturbed and logged-over forest areas

in the state of Kedah (source: Anon.1982)
Betong-type bamboo Bamboo of other species
(Gigantochloa spp.)
Forest Type Area No. of 6-m Dry weight No. of 3-m Dry weight
(ha) lengths (tonne) lengths (tonne)
harvestable harvestable

Undisturbed 126,829 1,585,000 10,500 3,171,000 3,900

Logged-over 173,776 25,371,000 169,100 148,752,000 181,400
Total 300,605 26,956,000 179,600 151,923,000 185,300

46
Malaysia as yet, to supply raw material for are harvested from natural populations of
mechanised industries. In the agricultural Schizostachyum zollingeri for manufacturing
areas, along the rice-fields and in villages, baskets and plaiting wall-panels for houses.
cultivated bamboos are easily observable Apart from these established industries, there
along streams as well as in clusters planted is a factory in Kedah manufacturing bamboo
around country homes. This cultivated blinds on a limited scale, employing the use of
resource, albeit on an uncoordinated scale, is electrically operated looms that thread thin
important in sustaining the traditional life- strips of bamboo together; this industry also
styles within village communities. uses G. scortechinjj bamboo as its main raw
material and occasionally also G. wrayi, a
closely related species. Likewise, there is also
Bamboo as an industrial a strong tradition of using bamboos of the
resource: now and the future genera Gigantochloa and Schizostachyum in
the East Malaysian states of Sabah and
Malaysia has not had a significant tradition Sarawak.
in the use of bamboo as an industrial resource It is also pertinent to note that the Malay-
on a commercial scale. This is reflected in sian handicraft industry, essentially rural-
popular reference to resources such as bam- based and cottage-scale and perhaps best
boo and rattan as minor forest produce. developed in the states of Kelantan, Kedah,
Although this has been true in the past, the Perak (in Peninsular Malaysia) and Sarawak
potential role of rattan and bamboo within the (in East Malaysia), is increasingly developing
framework of economic development of the more effective uses of raw plant materials
country has not been realised. Fresh consi- such as cane and bamboo. Again, the bam-
derations should be given to these resources boo that features prominently is G. scort-
by building and managing on a scale echinii collected from the wild, as well as
large enough to support feasible indus- some cultivated G. wrayi and Bambusa vul-
tries in areas that are ecologically suitable. garis. The handicraft industry is reconciled to
Commensurate with the governments inter- the manufacture of a variety of items made
est in raising further, the standards of living of from different raw materials and by its nature
the rural population, it becomes imperative cannot consider the solitary advantage of
that all resources currently or potentially avail- being sited at large bamboo supply areas; it
able in the rural environment are assessed would be relevant, however, to provide more
with the view to managing them for exploita- systematic management of existing stands
tion to maximum effect. Bamboo, therefore, near to the utilisation centres in order that
comes to the forefront as one of the more yield and quality is more efficiently main-
easily available resources within rural commu- tained.
nities. It is a proven case in several Southeast
The Forest Research Institute and the
Asian and East Asian countries that the value-
Malaysian Handicraft Development Corpora-
added potential of bamboo products is
tion are now exploring ways in which bamboo
extremely high if the proper techniques are
and may be used as a complementary material in
developed for the processing
furniture making, in combination with wood,
manufacturing stages.
rattan or other natural materials that. are
Already, several cottage industries in the aesthetically and functionally compatible.
country are adequately sustained by the bam- Another exciting potential may come from
boo resource, as revealed by surveys carried adapting from the traditional art of plaiting
out by the Forest Research Institute (Wong & bamboo strips into wall-panels incorporating
Abdul Rauf 1981; Wong 1982). On an orga- elaborate designs; such plaited panels can be
nized scale, these industries include the cot- innovatively used in constructing modern
tage industries making vegetable baskets (in interior screens and panels, and incorporated
the state of Perak), poultry cages (Kedah into artcraft furniture (Wong 1985b).
state) and incense sticks (Selangor state),
which draw mainly on supplies of Giganto- Taking the utilization of bamboo from the
CMOU scortechnii that occur abundantly at beginning, the first potential, of course, is in
several localities in these states. In the the development of an industry based on
northernmost peninsular state of Perks, culms bamboo shoots. In traditional Malay cuisine,

47
bamboo shoots are also featured in various technology exists in this country for the devel-
dishes. There is, however, little attempt at opment of the bamboo-based, rurally
growing bamboo for shoots on a scale larger centred, small-scale industries. In this respect,
than the village grove. The opportunity to the role and participation of regional devel-
promote the cultivation of bamboo shoots on opment authorities is critical to ensure the
a large scale for an export-oriented industry translation of the relevant technology into
thus exists. The locally cultivated and wild viable and economic ventures for rural devel-
species of bamboo which are preferred as opment. As an example, the Kedah Develop-
sources of edible shoots are mainly Gigan- ment Authority has been the prime mover for
tochloa levis (cultivated), G. ligulata (wild in the development of a bamboo-based industry
widespread stands in the northern states) and in the state. This attests to the pertinence of
Dendrocalumus asper (cultivated), and occa- a d a p t i n g the available technology and
sionally cultivated Bambusa vulgaris, B. resources into appropriate industries. It is
blumeana and Schizostachyum brachy- anticipated that such technology exists for the
cladum (Wong 1984). It is also likely, from development of similar industries in other
preliminary tests carried out, that these parts of the country. To this end, an
favoured species will perform well as canned important component of the process is a con-
foodstuff, although bamboo shoots cannot certed public relation and promotion exercise
form the sole raw material for a canning necessary to catalyse the development of
industry as they are affected in production by such industries. It is anticipated that small-
seasonality. In any case, the feasibility of scale industrial projects, with the assistance of
canning bamboo shoots as an industry and of the World Bank, will benefit from this
cultivating the preferred species as a source of approach in the near future. This project has
raw material for this purpose will have to be the complementary and supplementary parti-
assessed against the estimated cipation of various other agenices that will
production/yield as well as the proposed provide financial, management and admini-
scale of operation. At present, the silvics of strative support to promote full development
managing cultivated stands, influenced by of such industries.
such factors as mortality of shoots and stems, The second critical area to bear in mind
phenology of shoot production, fertilisation involves harnessing and managing the raw
regimes, planting design and harvesting material resource to best advantage. Cultiva-
intensities, is not known and will only be tion on a plantation scale must be viewed in
forthcoming through trials that are now being perspective to other categories of land-use,
planned. As species have different attributes, such as for plantation agriculture of econom-
there is wisdom in using available experiences ically more valuable crops, e.g. oil palm,
from other countries only as guidelines and rubber and rice. It is, however, feasible to
on a comparative basis. consider exploiting marginal land and small
areas in the vicinity of cottage industries for
Development strategies cultivating bamboos. But cultivation is not all.
The substantial areas of bamboo-rich vegeta-
tion may be improved and sustained through
In the governments policy of promoting the imposition of silvicultural management for
rurally centred industries, the Forest Research
the increased output of bamboo. Enrichment
Institute has been identified as a back-stop
planting, optimal harvesting intensities and
agency for developing the technology for regeneration and growth rates are all key
small-scale industries based on rattan, bam- aspects that need consideration. Only when
boo and wood. Although among the three these areas are better understood can it be
resources, bamboo is presently the least practical to regulate them in such a way that
important in economic terms, it nevertheless harvesting is both centraiised and rotatable
has tremendous potential as an industrial among designated regions. These are
resource. problems that must be addressed by research
The main emphasis must be divided into and trial.
two areas. Firstly, it must be ensured that the

48
Crossroads presented at the ASEAN Seminar on
Tropical Rainforest Management, 7-10
Nov. 1977, Kuantan, Malaysia, 12 p.
The development of the bamboo resource
in Malaysia is at the threshold of a more Holttum, R.E. 1958. The bamboos of the
organized exploitation I that can materialize Malay Peninsula. Gardens Bulletin,
only with logical, planned strategies based on Singapore 16: 1-135.
both scientific and technological *grounds. McGrath, K.P. 1970. The potential of bam-
Thus, although the exploitation of bamboo is boo as a source of pulp and paper in
currently at a lower intensity than in other West Malaysia. Unpublished report of
countries where bamboo-based industries UNDP/FAO, Kuala Lumpur. 18 p.
have been more established, the scope of
development can optimistically centre around Watson, G.A. &J. Wyatt-Smith 1961. Eradi-
several areas; these include further develop- cation of the bamboo, Gigantochloa levis
ment of techniques required for a more orga- (Blanco) Merr. Malaysian Forester 24:
nized and innovative handicraft industry, for 225-229.
the food and consumer industries using Wong, K.M. 1982. Malaysian bamboos in
bamboo ranging from barbeque skewers and use. Nature Malaysiana 7: 34-39.
umbrella handles to blinds and artcraft furni- Wong, K.M. 1984. The potential of bamboo
ture. Finally, the systematic improvement of shoot canning as an industry in Malaysia:
the bamboo raw material resource of the preliminary considerations. Unpublished
country must progress along scientific lines. report, Forest Research Institute,
Kepong , Malaysia. 5 p .
Wong, K.M. 1985a. Some aspects of the
References ecology and flowering of Malaysian bam-
boos. In press, J. American Bamboo
Anonymous 1982. Lapuran Bancian Sumber Society.
Rotan, Buluh dan Mengkuang bagi
Negeri Kedah 1981. (Report on an Wang, K.M. 1985b. Current and potential
inventory into cane, bamboo and pandan uses of bamboos in Peninsular Malaysia.
resources in the state of Kedah 1981). In press, J . American Bamboo Society.
20 p. duplicated report of the Forest Wong, K.M. & Abdul Rauf Salim 1981. A
Department, Peninsular Malaysia. preliminary assessment of the potential of
Burton, 3.5. 1979. Joss stick makers of rattan and bamboo industry in Kuala
Selangor. Nature Malaysiana 4: 30-37. Nerang and Baling areas, Kedah. Unpub-
lished reported, Forest Research Insti-
Chin, T.Y. 1977. Effects of cutting regimes tute, Kepong , Malaysia. ii + 11 p.
on bamboo infested forest areas. Paper

49
 Bamboo Research in Philippines
Celso B. Lantican,Armando M . Palijon and Carmen G. Saludo
College of Forestry, University of the Philippines at Los Banos,
C o l l e g e , Laguna, Philippines.

Abstract entirely of bamboo. In Davao de1 Norte in the

island of Mindanao, a commercial bamboo
The highlights of some important research shoot farm was established in 1971. The
findings on the production, properties and uti- species being used in the farm is Dendro-
lization of Philippine bamboos are presented in calamus latiflorus which was introduced from
the paper. A discussion of current research Taiwan. In many areas of the country,.
undertakings, problems of bamboo-based however, Bambusa blumeana is the most
industries and suggestions for further research common species from which edible shoots are
are made. The need to developa vigorous and derived.
systematic dissemination of information on
Eleven genera and thirty nine species
bamboo research for the benefit of end users
(including two varieties) of bamboo are found
is emphasised.
in the Philippines and twenty eight of these are
erect while the rest are climbing. The climbing
Introduction species are not important from the economic
standpoint and will not be dealt with in this
Bamboo is commonly referred to as poor paper. A list of the erect species is provided in
Table 1. Because of the high demand for bam-
mans timber in the Philippines. Most parts of
the house of poor families, including floorings, boo as a material for various purposes, the
sidings, roof framing, furniture and windows countrys bamboo stock has dwindled
are made of bamboos. Bamboo is also exten- considerably especially since plantation
establishment is done on a very limited scale.
sively utilized in the country for the construc-
tion of fish traps known locally as baklad and According to a report made by the Bureau of
of fishpens which have gained popularity in Forest Development in 1979, only about 1.7
recent years for the production of certain million culms or roughly 80,000 clumps
species of fish like tilapia and milkfish in both remain in the country. Obviously, there is a
fresh and salt water. Bamboo has become a need to widen the raw material base for
popular material for these and other purposes bamboo to meet the local as well as foreign
not only because it is available and easy to demand.
handle but also because of its relative durability The purpose of this paper is to present a
and low cost. The banana industry uses bam- summary of the more important findings and
boos as props to support the plants at the current research efforts on bamboos in the
fruiting stage. The handicraft and furniture Philippines.
industry, utilizes bamboos for the manufacture
of baskets, lamp shades, fans, hampers, hats, Bamboo Production
household utensils, fancy furniture and a lot of
decorative items. Natural Habitat: Bamboos, according
Bamboo has also been used in the making to Uchimura (1978)) can grow on areas from
of musical instruments like, the world famous sea level to as high as 2,800 - 3,200 meters
bamboo organ of Las Pinas Church in Metro elevation, depending upon the species. In the
Manila. A musical band known as Pangkat Philippines, species of Bambusa, Dendro-
Kawayan has become famous internaionally culamus and Schizostachyum are found in the
because all the instruments they use are made lowlands while Yushania niitakayamensis

50
 Table 1. List o f erect specks of bamboos in the Philippines.

Scientific Name Common Name

1. Bambusa arundinacea Willd. India bamboo
2. B. blumeana Schultes f. Kauayan tinik
3. B. cornuta Munro Lopa
4. B. merrillii Gamble Merrill bamboo
5 . B. nana Roxb.
6. B. tulda Roxb. Spineless India bamboo
7. B. vuigaris Schrad. ex. Wendl. var. striata (Lodd .) Gamble Kauayan kiling Striated bamboo
8. B. ventricosa McClure
9. B. multiplex (Lour.) Raeusch Kauayan China
10. Dendrocalamus merrillianus (Elm) Bayog
11. D. curranii Gamble Curran b a m b o o
12. D. Iatiflorus Munro Botong
13. G. aspera Kunz Giant bamboo
14. G. levis (Blanco) Merr. Bolo
15. Guadua philippinensis Guadua
16. Leleba floribunda Nakai
17. Phyllostachys nigra Munro var. henonis (Mitf.) Stapf. ex. Wendle Polevault bamboo
18. B. bambusoides var. aurea Makino
19. P. pubescens Maze1 ex. H. Lehaie
20. P. aurea Carr.
21. P. edulis Makino
22. Schizostachyum lima (Blanco) Men. Anos
23. S. brachycladum Kurz.
24. S. lumampao (Blanco) Men. Buho
25. S. textorium (Blanco) Men. Kalbang
26. S. zollingerii Yellow bu ho
27. Thyrsostachys siamensis Gamble
28. Yushania niitakayamensis (Hayata) Keng. f. Utod

thrives naturally at altitudes ranging from Propagation and Plantation Estab-

2,100 to 2,600 meters. Some species of lishment: While bamboo can be propagated
Phyllostachys have been observed to grow by seeds as shown by Caleda (1964) in his
well at 1,500 meters altitude. Most of the study on S. lumampao, asexual reproduction
commercially important species of bamboo in is the more common method since the various
the Philippines thrive in a wide range of soil species do not flower regularly and even if
types. It has been observed that they grow they do, a high percentage of the fruits are
best in well-drained sandy loam to clay loam sterile. In employing the asexual method,
soil derived from river alluvium or underlying rhizomes, stumps, and culm cuttings are
rocks particularly where soil pH is 5 to 6.5 traditionally used. However, these materials
(Uchimura, 1978). Soil suitable for bamboo are bulky, expensive and difficult to transport
growing vary in color from yellow, reddish and handle.
yellow to brown yellow. However, although A promising vegetative method was
growth is vigorous and luxuriant in most soils, recently reported and the method involves
some species thrive in drier sites or are the use of branch cuttings. Palijon (1983)
drought resistant. The specific site locations of obtained a rooting percentage of 83 to 90%
the Philippine commercial species of bam- using branch cuttings of B. blum-
boos are shown in Table 2. eana. The same study revealed that

51
 Table 2. Site requirements and distribution of commercially important bamboos
in the Philippines.

Species Site Requirements and Distribution

1. Kawayan tinik (Bambusa blemeana) Moist soil, found throughout settled areas in the Phil.
at low and medium altitude. Luxuriantly growing at
river banks, creeks, farmhouses, backyards, (Rizal,
Camarines Sur and Norte, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna,
Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte,
Davao Sur and North Cotabato) .
2. Kawayan kiling (Bambusa vulgaris Moist soil, found in backyards, periphery of cultivated
lands, creeks, and at the foot of the hills. (Mt. Makiling
and other parts of the province) few in Northern
Luzon .
3. Bayog (Dendrocalamus) in relatively drier sites at low and medium elevation.
Widely distributed in the Philippines (Rizal, Central
and North-eastern Luzon, Pangasinan, La Union,
Ilocos Norte and Sur, Tarlac) .
4. Botong (Dendrocalamus latifiorus) Moist soil, occuring particularly in areas with high rain-
fall. (Bicol, Visayas, Tagalog provinces, and
Mindanao (Davao Norte plantation).
5. Giant Bamboo (Gigantochloa aspera) Moist soil occuring profusely in areas with well distri-
buted rainfall throughout the year. (Mt. Makiling,
Agusan de1 Sur, Bukidnon) .
6 . B o l o (Gigantochloa leuis) Moist soil, abounds in and around towns in the settled
areas in the country and also in the forest. Found in
settled areas of the Philippines (Aklan, Capiz
Antique, La Union).
7. Anos (Schitostachyum lima) Relatively moist soil, found along creeks, forest
fringes. Widely distributed in the Philippines
(Zambales, Bataan, Abra, Cavite, Tarlac, Laguna,
Quezon, Batangas and other provinces).
8. Buho (Schizostachyum lumampao) Relatively moist soil, found in forest hills. Widely distri
buted in the Philippines (Zambales, Bataan, Caliraya,
Laguna, Tanay, Rizal) .

Table 3. Techniques of propagating Philippine bamboos.

Propagules Species Techniques

Seeds B a m b u s a vulgoris One to two year-old seedlings either-grown in pots or

in transplant beds are used for outplanting.
Schizostachyum Iima S-month old seedlings raised in pots and also wildings
S. lumampao collected from natural stand conditioned in the nursery
for 3 months are used for outplanting.
B a m b u s a arundinacea Seeds from Thailand brought to the Philippines for
trial planting. One year old seedlings raised in pots are
used for field planting.

52
Rhizome Schizostachyum Iima Rhizomes are severed from the mother plant and
S. Iumampao and immediately planted in the field to avoid drying. Can
other species also be started in the nursery and allowed to develop
for6 months to a year before outplanting.
This can also be applied in other species, however, the
material is too bulky and only very few can be col-
lected from a clump.
Stump Bambusa blumeana Three-node stump is dug up at the early rainy season
other species and directly. planted in the field.
Culm cuttings Bambusa blumeana One to two year-old culms, taken from middle portion
of the culm, large size with a length of at least one
node and two halves internodes. Rooting can be
enhanced by treating 600 ppm NAA and IBA. Can be
directly planted in the field or be raised in nursery for 6
months to 1 year before outplanting.
B a m b u s a vulgaris Six month old culm, taken from butt portion of the
culm, a length of one node with two halves internode,
collected early and late rainy season, and should be
growing in the nursery first before outplanting.
Culm cuttings Gigantochloa levis Two-year old culm, taken from top and middle por-
G. uspera tion of the calm, a length of one node and two halves
internodes, can be directly planted in the field or raised
in the nursery during early rainy season.
Bambusa arundinacea One to two year old culms, taken from middle portion
of the culm, a length of one node and two halves inter-
nodes, can be planted directly in the field or be raised
in the nursery.
Dendrocalamus Three-year old culms, butt portion, two node cuttings.
Can be planted directly in the field but better perfor-
mance can be attained if raised first in the nursery.
Branch cuttings B a m b u s a blumeana Branches from 1 to 2 year old culms, 1.2 to 1.5 cms.
diameter, with 3 nodal length, collected during early
rainy season are good materials. Can be treated with
100 ppm IAA then propaged in sand bed. Rooted cut-
tings can be potted twenty days after. Two to three-
months old seedlings can already be outplanted in the
field.
B a m b u s a vulgaris Can also be propagated by branch cuttings from one
Dendrocalamus to two-year old culms. Should be rooted in the pro-
merrillianus pagation bed and raised in pots and/or nursery bed for
six-months before planting in the field.
Marcotting Bambusa blumeana Two-year old culms, should be topped down from the
mother clump. Support these with strong props. Place
. ordinary garden soil and leaf with molds around the
node then wrap with coconut husk fibers and tie with
fine wire at both ends of the marcotted portion.
Layering Bambusa blumeana Partly two-year old culms and lay them in ground so
that they produce roots and shoots at nodes. When
the shoots have appeared, the internodes are cut and
the layers planted separately.

53
hormone treatment, particularly IAA at 100 lilacinus) , the bamboo scale (Asterolecanium
ppm, .can improve the quality of the planting bumbusae) , oriental migratory locust (Locusta
stocks (branch cuttings) by enhancing root migratoria manillensis) , leaf roller (Pelopidas
and sprout development. According to maths), tussock moth (Lymuntria ,lurata),
Palijon (1983) such improvement results in aphids (Astegopteyx bambusae) and mites
higher shoot production, better height and (Aponychus corpuzae) A . vannus and
diameter growth and higher biomass in the Schizotetranychus floresi). Bamboo diseases,
field although survival may not be different on the other hand include physiological
from stocks that are not subjected to hormone d i s e a s e a n d fungal d i s e a s e (Loculistroma
treatment. He concluded, however, that bumbusae) . None of these pests and diseases,
hormone-treated and untreated nursery however, have been reported as serious
grown stocks (potted and transplanted) are problems in nurseries, plantations and natural
desirable planting materials than freshly stands.
treated or untreated branch cuttings. A
summary of the various techniques used in
propagating important erect species of Structure and Properties
bamboos in the Philippines is shown in Table
3. Structural Features: Studies on the
structural features of Philippine bamboos
Insofar as plantation establishment is con-
cerned, not much research has been under- have dealt mainly with anatomical features
taken in the Philippines. In practice, however, that are of value in identification and with
the planting site is prepared by clearing strips fiber dimensions. Grosser and ! Zamuco
or sports of the areas where the propagules (1971) and Zamuco and Tongacan (1973)
are to be *planted. The spots are usually 50 have shown that various species of bamboos
cms in diameter and the strips 50 cms in width occuring in the Philippines can be delimited
The Holes are about 30 cms in diameter and on the basis of anatomical characteristics.
deep enough to contain the potted or rooted Insofar as fiber dimensions are concerned,
stocks without their roots being curled upward Tamofang et al (1955) found that fiber length
when planted. After planting, grass mulch and other fiber dimensions, as well as indi-
cators of pulp quality based on fiber dimen-
and other forms of litter are placed around the
sions, such as the slenderness ratio flexibility
plants to reduce water loss. Planting is usually
ratio and the Runkel ratio are highly variable
carried out at the besinninq of the rainv sea-
son and the distance of planting is usually 8 with respect to species (Table 4). In the study
conducted by Tamolang et al (1957) fiber
to 10 meters. Weeding or brushing around
length ranged from 1.36 mm to 3.78 mm
the plants is carried out whenever necessary
with most of the species having fibers that are
and watering is done when signs of wilting
longer than 1.6 mm, which means that they
show up after planting. Fertilizing bamboo
plantations is not a widespread practice in the can be classified as long-fibered following the
Philippines. According to a study made by definition of terms of the International Asso-
Robillos (1984), t h e r e m o v a l o f s p i n y ciation of Wood Anatomists.
branches in and around the lower portion of It has also been reported that fiber length
clumps of B. blumeanaand decongestion of in bamboos. tends to vary along the culm
the clumps by removing high stumps from length. Espiloy (1982)) for instance, showed
previous. harvesting and cutting of deformed that fiber length in B. blumeuna increases
and overmature culms resulted in higher culm from internode number 2 from the butt to
production. Treated clumps produced an internode number 18 after which it decreases.
average of eight culms while untreated With increasing distances from the butt, the
clumps produced only five culms per growing mean fiber diameter and mean cell wall thick-
season. ness in B. blumeana are slightly higher in the
lower internodes than in the upper.
Pests and Diseases: According to
PCARRD (1984)) the pests of bamboo in the Chemical Properties: Semana,
Philippines include termites (Macrotermes Escolano and Monsalud (1967) studied the
gilvus a n d Hospitalitermas huzonensis), t h e chemical composition of some Philippine
cottony cushion mealybug (Planococcus bamboos and their results are summarized in

54
 Table 4. Fiber dimensions of some Philippine bamboos.

Fiber Dimensions Lumen Cell Wall Slenderness Flexibility Runkel

Length Width Width Thickness Ratio Ratio Ratio
Common Name (L) (D) (I) (W) (L/D) L/D x 100 2 w/I

mm mm mm mm
1. Anos 1.67 0.022 0.004 0.009 76 18 4.50
2. Bayog 2.16 0.014 0.006 0.004 154 43 1.33
3 . Bikal 2.00 0.021 0.007 0.007 95 33 2.00
4 . Bolo 1.80 0.022 0.006 0.008 82 27 2.67
5 . Buho 2.42 0.014 0.006 0.004 173 43 1.33
6. Giant bamboo 3.78 0.019 0.007 0.006 199 37 1.71
7, India bamboo 1.73 0.022 0.006 0.008 79 27 2.67
8. Kauayan-china 1.36 0.018 0.002 0.008 76 11 8.00
9 . Kauayan-kiiing 2.33 0.017 0.004 0.007 137 23 3.50
10. Kauayan-tinik 1.95 0.018 0.004 0.007 108 22 3.50
11. P.ole-vault bamboo 1.86 0.019 0.006 0.0065 95 32 2.17
12. Spineless India bamboo 1.45 0.20 0.005 0.0075 73 25 3.00
13. Yellow bamboo 1.66 0.021 0.005 0.008 73 24 3.20

Source: Tamolang, F. N. et al. 1957. Fiber dimensions of certain Philippine broadleaved woods and bamboos.
TAPPI 40: 671-676.

Table 5. Chemical composition of some Philippine bamboos !

Sotubilities In
Species Holocellulose Pentosans Lignin Alcohol Hot Water 1% NaOH ASH Silica
% % % Benzene % % % % %

Bolo 62.9 18.8 24.2 3.2 4.4 28.3 5.3 2.8

Buho 60.6 20.6 20.4 5.0 4.3 31.4 9.7 6.4
Giant bamboo 61.3 19.6 22.5 5.4 3.8 22.3 4.1 2.4
Kuayan-kiiing 6 6 . 5 21.1 26.9 4.1 5.1 27.9 2.4 1.5
Kauayan-tinik 67.4 19.0 20.4 3.1 4.3 39.5 4.8 3.4
Yellow bamboo 63.6 21.5 25.9 3.7 3.9 24.7 3.0 1.3
Range of values 18.1-21.5 22.0-32.2 0.2-3.2 3.4-6.9 1510-21.8 1.7-3.2 0.44-2.11
for 10 Indian
bamboo species
Range of values 61.9-70.4 17.5-22.7 19.8-26.6 0.9-10.8 5.3-11.8 22.3-29.8 0.8-3.8 0.1-1.78
for 10 Japanese,
Burmese and
Indonesian
bamboo species

!" Moisture- free basis

Source: Semana, J.A., J.O. Escolano and M.R. Monsalud, 1967. The kraft pulping qualities of some Philippine
bamboos. TAPPI 50(8): 416-419.

55
 attack of decay fungi and powder post
Table 5, the alcohol-benzene, hot beetles, particularly Dinoderus minutus.
solubles, lignin, holocellulose, and pentosan
Tamolang et al (1980). According to Liese
contents of Philippine bamboos are similar to
(1970) who studied the natural decay
those of those Asian bamboos, but values for resistance of four species of bamboos, a soft
I% NaOH solubility, ash and silica content rot fungus, Chaetomium globosum causes
were higher. Content increases in a linear the most severe deterioration while a brown-
fashion from internode number 2 from the
rot fungus, Ceniophora putaena, a n d a
butt (1.60%) to internode number 30
white-rot fungus, Schizophyllum commune
(9.89%) in B. blumeana. (Espiloy, 1982).
causes only a moderate decay.
Physical and Mechanical Properties: De Guzman (1978) classified the resistance
The variability of specific gravity among of some Philippine bamboos to fungal attack
clumps, among culms and along the culm
on the basis of weight loss after four months
length has been examined by Espiloy (1982) of exposure, Perishable - Dencfrocalamus
in B. blumeana. Variations among culms merrillianus M o d e r a t e l y resistant - B.
within clumps and internode were found to be blumeana, B. vulgaris, G. aspera, G. levis, S.
highly significant. Differences among culms lumampao; Resistant - S. lima; Very
accounted for 61% of the total variation
resistant - S. zol1ingetii.
while internode number accounted for 19%.
Specific gravity increased from internode no. Preservation: The traditional non-
2 to 14 and then remained more or less con- chemical methods of improving the service
stant up to internode no. 30. life of bamboos in the Philippines are soaking,
curing, smoking and white-washing. Soaking
The mechanicai properties of only three involves the cut culms to be under running or
s p e c i e s B. vulgaris, G . aspera a n d S . brackish water for about 60 days then allowed
lumampao have been examined so far. to dry, when their starch content is depleted
R e s u l t s o f t h e s e s t u d i e s (Espiloy a n d
(PCARRD, 1984). Curing involves cutting
Sasondoncillo, 1976a; Espiloy and Sason- the bamboos and leaving them on the spot for
doncillo, 1976b; Espiloy, Valmonte and sometime with their branches and leaves
Tongacan, 1979) showed that strength intact. Apparently,. the tissue respiration and
properties either increased or decreased the transpiration of water through the leaves
along the length of the culm from the butt to reduce the amount of starch in the culm
the top, although a general increase in (PCARRD, 1984).
strength was more evident at the top and The amount of starch in the culms is also
middle portions. In terms of shrinkage, the affected according to PCARRD (1984) by
butt portion of the culm in G. aspera and S. smoking which involves cutting the culms into
lumampao gave higher values for thickness desired lengths and storing them above a fire-
and width than the middle and top portions. place until they turn black due to smoke.
In B. vulgaris, the middle portion of the culms Bamboos cured with smoke have been
gave the highest shrinkage values. reported to last from 10 to 15 years
(PCARRD, 1984). The method of white
Utilization washing involves painting round of split
bamboo culms with soaked lime which
prevents the entry of moisture into the culm,
Natural Durability: As reported by keeping decay and stain fungi away. It was
Tamolang et al (1980), the natural service life found that split and round bamboo pieces
of untreated bamboo is from 1 to 3 years immersed in salt water for eight weeks helped
when used in contact with the soil and from 4 prevent insect and decay fungi (Laxamana,
to 7 years when used indoors. They also 1966). The same study also revealed the fol-
mentioned that materials used in kitchens in lowing: a) Immersion of bamboo pieces, split
rural homes where they are exposed to fumes or unsplit, in 20% boric acid-borax solution
of- burning fuel, have service life extending prevented beetle infestation. b) Spray treat-
from 10 to 15 years. Under marine water ment of split or round pieces of bamboo
conditions, bamboo life expectancy is only 6 with either 5% DDT or BHC in kerosene is
months. effective in preventing powder post beetles
Bamboos, are very susceptible to the attack; only a few months. c) cold soaking in

56
 copper napthanate solution for 24 hours and of beams reinforced with bamboo is increased
preservative treatment with pentachloro- by the addition of bamboo splints as diagonal
phenol or Wolman salts are promising. tension reinforcement of sections where the
d) Complete preservative penetration is vertical shear is high. e) The additional com-
possible in some bamboos after several days pressive area of flanges in tee sections is not
of cold soaking in water soluble preservations. effective in bamboo reinforced concrete
e) Tanalith U (Wolman) treated specimens members. f) A safe design stress of 218 to
were the least infested, followed by those 290 kgs/sq. cm. may be used with building
treated with Boliden S-25 and Boliden K-33. concrete reinforced with bamboo.
f) Effective protection against fungi, termites Bamboo Parquet: Bamboo parquets
and borers may be achieved using the have been successfully developed by the
Boucherie process which involves the freshly Forest Products Research and Development
cut bamboos standing in a container of Institute (FPRDI) (Tamolang et al, 1980). The
preservative solution. The preservative is parquets which are 38 mm x 57 mm in
drawn upward due to leaf transpiration. dimension are suitable as a flooring material.
Seasoning: Casin and Mosteiro (1970) D. merrillianus, B. blumeana and G. aspera
reported the bamboo culms may be thoroughly have been found suitable for the manufacture
dried in a dry and well-ventilated shed. In this of this product (Tamolang et al, 1980). The
method, the culms are horizontally laid on a procedure and machinery for their
rack with the supports of the culms set at manufacture are known. That warping,
intervals to minimize bending. It takes two to shrinkage and swelling, easy wear, buckling,
four months before the culms become checking, etc. do not pose a problem to end-
thoroughly dry with this method. They also u s e r s b e c a u s e t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s well-
have observed that immature culms lose balanced and the slats are mounted on stable
moisture more rapidly than mature culms; base and securely glued.
thus the immature culms usually develop
cracks and collapse during drying. Moisture Laminated Bamboo: FPRDI has
content is 50% or more higher at the lower developed laminated bamboo sheets, panels,
portion of the culm, t h a n a t t h e u p p e r bonds, flitches, and other forms of construc-
portion. Kiln drying of bamboo according to tion materials for structural and decorative
PCARRD (1984) has also been tried. With parts of houses, boats and furniture.
this method, drying takes about nine days. Tamolang et al (1980). The procedure
Bamboo as a Concrete Reinforce- involves cracking the materials, spreading
ment: Purugganan et al (1959) conducted a them out and flattening them into sheets with
study on the suitability of bamboo as a con- suitable binding and filling materials after
crete reinforcement. Their major findings are which the sheets are treated, combined,
as follows: a) Bamboo reinforcement in con- lapped, arranged, glued, treated, and
crete beams increased the load carrying pressed to the desired form.
capacity of members considerably above that Bamboo strips for aircraft:In 1956,
to be expected from members of the same Leon experimented on the use of bamboo
dimensions without reinforcement. mats glued to wood or laminated to another
b) Concrete member reinforced with well- bamboo mat as astress-skin covering for light
seasoned bamboo splints and treated with .a aircraft. The resulting material was found to
dip coat of asphalt emulsion withstood loads be relatively strong and its fatigue strength
greater than members with untreated splints. under bending stress was much higher than
Further the excessive treatment will materially that of wood.
reduces the bond between concrete and
bamboo. c ) T h e u s e o f s e a s o n e d a n d Pulp and Paper: A number of studies
untreated bamboo splints greater than 1.9 have been conducted on the suitability of
centimeters as longitudinal reinforcement in various species of Philippine bamboos for
beams result in the development of horizontal pulp and paper. Escolano et al (1964),
cracks, especially when the percentage of Escolano and Semana (1970), Escolano et al
reinforcement is high. The cracking of the (1972)) Monsalud et al (1965), Nicolas and
concrete is probably due to the swelling action Navarro (1964), Semana (1959), Semana
of the bamboo. d) The load carrying capacity (1965), a n d S e m a n a , E s c o l a n o a n d

57
Monsalud (1967). The more important find- mining classifies bamboo as a top priority
ings obtained from these studies were sum- research commodity. This has provided an
marized by Tamolang ef al (1980). incentive for many researchers to submit
research proposals on various aspects of
bamboo production and utilization. To date
Current Research Undertakings there are a total of 15 ongoing research
projects, seven of which deal with bamboo
The Philippine Council for Agriculture production, one which concerns structure
and Resources Research and Development and properties and seven which involve bam-
(PCARRD) which sets the national research boo utilization (Table 6). The different
priorities in the Philippines on various com- researches are being carried out by researchers
modities in forestry, agriculture, fisheries, and of the Forest Research Institute (FORI), the

Table 6. List of on-going research on Philippine bamboos (as of July 31, 1985)

Implementing
Title Agency

Bamboo Production
1. Development of pilot scale plantations of selected bamboo species in Rizal FORI
and Quezon provinces for cottage industries.
2. Rhizome and clump development and yield of selected bamboo species FORI
in plantation _

3. Rhizome development and production of planting stock from rhizomes FORI

and branches of selected bamboo species.
4. Establishment of a bambusitum at the FORI Experimental Station in FORI
Mt. Makiling.
5. Trial planting of various bamboo species at different elevations in Benguet. FORI

6. Determination of the optimum cutting cycle and cutting age of some erect FORI
bamboo species.
7. Bamboo propagation techniques. UPLBCF/TARC

Structure and Properties

1. Physico-mechanical properties and anatomical structure relationships FPRDI
of Philippine bamboos.

Bamboo Utilization
1. Preservation of round bamboos for fishpen. FPRDI
2. Design and development of bamboo roof trusses. FPRDI

3. Construction and evaluation of bamboo houses for demonstration UPLBCF

purposes.
4. Design and development of bamboo walls and floor systems. FPRDI

5. Development of machining and jointing techniques for bamboo furniture. FPRDI

6. Development of steaming and bending equipment for round bamboos. FPRDI

7. Study on the relative susceptability of different species of bamboos to FPRDI

power post beetles.

Notes: FORI - Forest Research Institute

FPRDI Forest Products Research and Development Institute
UPLBCF - UPLB College of Forestry
TARC - Tropical Agriculture Research Center, Japan

58
Forest Products Research and Development entrepreneurs so that their quality of life may
Institute (FPRDI) and the UPLS College of be improved.
Forestry. A project on bamboo propagation To meet these objectives, it is recom-
techniques is being undertaken jointly by the
mended that future research should place high
College of Forestry and the Tropical Agricul- priority on the following areas: a) Develop-
ture Research Center of Japan. Most of these ment of a cheap and reliable method of mass
will be completed in two to three years
producing planting materials. b) Studies on
time and they are expected to provide species/site compatibility. c) Development of
valuable information on various aspects of
a harvesting system that will ensure sustained
bamboo production, properties and utili- yield. d) Development of an effective tech-
zation.
nique for inducing flowering and fruiting.
e) Site preparation techniques. f) Cultural
Suggested Future Research requirements. g) Variability of structure and
Thrusts properties with position along the culm length
Bamboo-based industries in the Philip- and with culm age. h) Seasoning and preser-
pines are beset with a number of problems, the vation. i) Product development and quality
most serious of which are the following; Insuf- control. j) Socio-economics of production
ficiency of raw materials. As stated earlier, the and utilization, and k) Marketing and distri-
estimated total number of standing culms in bution.
the Philippines is 1.7 million while the Apart from undertaking research, it seems
estimated annual demand is 31.27 million that there is also a need in the country for a
(Tesoro, 1983). Bamboo in the country is vigorous and systematic dissemination of
continuously getting scarce because there is information to transfer the products of
usually no deliberate effort to replenish the research to the end-users. This may be
resource after cutting. Also, cutting is usually achieved by establishing a computer-based
indiscriminate, giving little regard to the information and retrieval system on bamboos,
growth of new culms. Likewise, there is no the launching of an information program using
existing set of weil-defined policies regarding the print and the broadcast media, and the
the management and exploitation of establishment of bamboo production and utili-
bamboos. Mass-producing planting stocks for zation of demonstration centers. It should be
large-scale plantation development is another borne in mind that research is useless unless its
difficulty. This problem has probably products are put to a good use by the intended
contributed to the non-existence of a planta- users.
tion development program in the country.
Underutilization or non-economic use of References
some bamboo species arise because of insuffi-
cient knowledge of the variability of the pro- Caleda, A. A. 1964. Planting bamboos by
perties and uses of different species. seeds at Consuelo Reforestation Project
Marketing and distribution is also a problem 1, Sta. Fe, Nueva Viscaya, Res. Note 47.
because bamboos from high production areas Bureau of Forestry.
generally do not find their way to where the Casin, R. F. and A. D. Mosteiro. 1970. Uti-
demand is high due to technical problems in lization and preservation of bamboos.
the transporting. There is variability in the qua- Wood Preservation Report 3: 86-92.
lity of many bamboo products. Escolano, J. 0. et al. 1964. Pulping, bleach-
Considering the above problems, it is not ing and papermaking experiments on
difficult to see that future research on bamboo Kawayan tinik (Bambusa blumeana). The
in the Philippines should aim to: a) promote Phil. Lumberman. 10: 33-36.
self sufficiency in raw materials; b) improve Escolano, J. 0. et al. 1972. Philippine pulp
the utilization of the different species through materials for newsprint. The Phil. Lum-
the development of improved processing tech- berman 18: 25-30.
niques, development of new products and Escolano. J. 0. and J. A. Semana. 1970.
increasing the service life of the products them- Bag and wrapping papers from kawayan
selves; c) determine suitable uses for species kiling (Bambusa vulgaris). The Phil. Lum-
that are presently not being utilized commer- berman 18: 25-30.
cially, and d) increase the income of bamboo

59
Espiloy, Z. E. 1982. Variability of specific PCARRD, 1979. Bamboos: State of the art
gravity, silica content and fiber measure- on their property, growth requirements
ments in kawayan tinik (Bambusa and utilization. PCARRD, Los Banes,
blumeana) Bl. ex. Scholtes) . Laguna.
Espiloy , Z. B. and R. S. Sasondonillo. PCARRD, 1984. The Philippines recom-
1976a. Some biophysical and mechanical mends for bamboo. FCARRD Tech:Bull.
properties of Bambusa vulgaris. Kali- Series No. 53.70 pp.
kasan, Phil. J. Rio. 5: 375-386. Purugganan, V. A. et al. 1959. Research
Espiloy, Z.B. and R. S. Sasondonillo. study on the use of bamboo as reinforce-
1976b. Some characteristics and proper- ment in Portland Cement concrete.
ties of giant bamboo (Gigantochloa Research Section, Division of Material
aspera). Paper presented at the Philip- Testing and Physical Research. Bureau of
pines Forest Research Society Sym- Public Highways, Manila, Philippines.
posium on September 29, 1976. PPRTC Robillas, Y. U. 1984. Treatment of kawayan
Auditorium, PORPRIDECOM, NSDB,
tinik (Bambusa blumeana BI. ex Schultes)
College, Laguna, clumps for sustained-yield. Terminal
Espiloy, Z. B., A. D. Valmonte and A, I. Report. PCARRD Proj. NO . 283, Study 3.
Tongacan. 1979. Some physical and Unpublished.
mechanical properties of Guho (Schi-
Semana, J. A. 1959. Report on studies of
zostaclyum lumampao). U n p u b l i s h e d forest products specialization in bamboo
Report. FORPRIDECOM, College, pulp and papermaking. Forest Products
Laguna. Research Institute, College, Laguna.
de Guzman, E. D. 1978. Resistance of bam- Unpublished.
boos to decay fungi. Unpublished terminal Semana, J. A. 1965. A study of the vari-
report. PCARR Proj. No. 283. study 7, ables in the sulfate pulping of giant bam-
UPLB College of Forestry, College boo (Gigantochioa aspera). Indian Pulp
Laguna. and Paper 20: 1-9.
Grosser, D. and G. I. Zamuco, Jr. 1971. Semana, J. A., J. 0. Escolano and M. R.
Anatomy of some bamboo species in the Monsalud. 1967. The Kraft pulping qua-
Philippines. Phil. J. Sci. 100: 57-73. lities of some Philippine bamboos. TAPPI
Laxamana, M. G. 1966. The preservation of 50: 416-419.
bamboo. Wood Preservation Report. 1: Tamolang, F. N. 1980. Properties and uti-
92-94. lization of Philippine erect bamboos,
Leon, A. J. 1956. Studies on the use of Paper presented at the bamboo workshop
interwoven thin bamboo strips as stress- in Singapore, May 23-30,1980.
skin covering for aircraft. Phil. J. Sci. 85: Tamolang, F. N. et al. 1957. Fiber dimen-
329-34 1. sions of certain Philippine broad-leaved
Liese, W. 1970. Natural decay resistance of woods and bamboos. TAPPI 40: 671-
some Philippine bamboos. Unpublished. 676.
Monsalud, M. R. et al. 1965. Properties of Tesoro, F. 0. 1983. Utilization of selected
wrapping paper from Philippine fibrous non-timber forest products in the Philip-
material as related to pulp; blending. The pines. Proc., First ASEAN Forestry Con-
Phil. Lumberman 1 l(13): 10, 12, 14, 16, g r e s s , l0-15 October 1983, Nanila,
54,55. Philippines.
Nicolas, P. M. and J. R. Navarro, 1964. Uchimura, E. 1978. Ecological studies on
Standard cold soda pulping evaluation of cultivation of bamboos forest in the Philip-
Philippines woods and bamboos. TAPPI pines, Bull. No. 301. Forestry and Forest
47: 98- 105. Products Research Institute, Ibaraki,
Japan.
Palijon, A. M. 1983. Nursery propagation
and field planting of kawayan tinik branch Zamuco, G. I., Jr. and A. I. Tongacan. 1973.
cuttings. Unpublished masters thesis, Anatomical structure of four erect
UPLB College of Forestry, College, bamboos of the Philippines. The Phil.
Laguna. Lumberman 19: 20-31.

60
 Bamboo Research in Sri Lanka
K. Vivekanandan
Chief Research Officer
Project Director, IDRC Project
Forest Department, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka

Abstract China together with Thailand as Co-leaders.

Sri Lanka, with its keen interest on Bamboo
As in other tropical Asian Countries Bam- research is one of the participating countries
boos are used in Sri Lanka for various pur- in the network. This paper gives an update of
poses. Besides taxonomic research, new the Bamboos in Sri Lanka and the status of
cultivation methods are practised for large research done under the auspices of the
scale introduction and production. IDRC .

introduction Bamboos in Sri Lanka

About eight decades ago Pou-Sou-Tung, Bamboos occur mostly in natural vegeta-
a famous Chinese poet wrote A meal should tion of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate
have meat, but a house must have a bamboo. regions. They are, however, found in great
Without meat we become thin; without abundance in tropical Asia. There are 45
bamboo we lose serenity and culture in itself. genera and 750 species recorded (Dransfield
Bamboo is one of the four noblest plants in 1980). In Sri Lanka 14 species belonging to
China, the others being the orchid, the plum 7 genera have been reported and detailed
tree and the chrysanthemum. (Senaratne 1956). Keys for the identification
are given in Appendix, 1. Of the 14 species
Bamboo, in classical forestry, has been
found in Sri Lanka 5 species out of 214 are
referred to as a minor forest produce, but
endemic (Senaratne, 1956). Trimen (1893-
during recent times the status of bamboo has
1900) in his The Flora of Ceylon includes
changed considerably and it is emerging as an
only 7 species. Other species have also been
important source in many forestry pro-
introduced into Sri Lanka and some are
grammes. Whatever its status. there is no
found in the Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya
doubt that bamboo deserves much attention in
and also cultivated in forest areas or grown in
Asia because of its traditional multi-faceted
home gardens. There have been no proper
use and phenomenal growth rates. It has
documentation of these species. The Forest
been cultivated for centuries in a number of
Department with IDRC support is now in the
Asian countries, and during the past few
process of preparing a monograph of all the
decades, many of them have embarked on
large scale cultivation of economicaIIy impor- Bamboos both endemic and introduced.
tant species. R & D efforts have also been During a recent survey of species in
intensified in a number of countries, mainly Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya the following
through support lent by IDRC (International seven species which were not recorded by
Development Research Centre). At the Senaratne (1956) were identified. 1, Bam-
IUFRO (International Union of Forestry busa atra - this species is from eastern part of
Research Organizations) International Work- indonesia. 2. Bambusa polymorpha - this
shop on Multi-Purpose Tree Species (MPTS) resembles D. giganteus except that the lower
held in Kandy, Sri Lanka in July 1983, internodes of young culms are covered with
bamboo emerged as one of the ten most popu- golden brown hair. This species is reputed for
lar species selected for Research networking in its quality shoots which is ranked as one of the
Asia with Bangladesh as the Leader and best in the world. 3. Dendrocalamus mem-

61
branaceus 4. Dendrocalamus sikkimensis Common name: Golden Ba; Local
5. Giganrochloa utter - It is from Java and name: Rana Una. Culms smaller, golden
was until now being erroneously labelled as yellow with green bands along the length
Bambusa nigra (syn. Phyllostachys nigra) . of the internode alternating at each node.
6. Tbyrsostachys siamensis (syn. Bambusa The green stripes disappear on drying.
nigra) - this is a native of Thailand. A brief Distribution and uses similar to B.
botanical description of the 14 species already vulgaris.
recorded by Senaratne (1956) are given, 4. Bambusa multiplex
which together with the key given in Common name: Chinese Bamboo; Local
Appendix 1 will help in the identification of name: China Una. Culms tufted 2 to 3 m
the species. high, 1.2 to 2.5 cm in diameter, much
branched from the base, smooth green,
at length yellow. Culm sheaths 10 to 15
Description of Bamboos cm long, 5 to 7.5 cm wide. Internodes 20
to 37 cm long. Nodes thickened. Distri-
1. B a m b u s a orientalis bution: At low and mid-country eleva-
(Bambusa arundinacea) tions; cultivated for close fences and
Common name: Spiny Bamboo; Local naturalized in places.
name: Katu Una. Culms many, tufted on
a stout rootstock, branching from the 5. Oxytenanthera monadelpha
base, 25 to 35m high, 15 to 17.5 cm in Culms gregarious subscandent; 3 to 4 m
diameter, graceful, curving. Culm high, about 2.5 cm in diameter, with
sheaths coriaceous, variable in shape, up whip-like curved tips bearing whorls of
to 30 to 37.5 cm long 22.5 to 30 cm. small-leaved branchlets, smooth. Culm-
Nodes prominent, lowest rooting, lower sheaths about 12 cm long, 7 to 10 cm
emitting horizontal, almost naked shoots wide, of old stems covered with
armed at the nodes with 2 to 3 stout appressed light brown hairs, of young
recurved spines sometimes 2.5 cm and thinner, glabrous, shining, base leaving a
more long. Internodes up to 45 cm long, coriaceous ring on the nodes, mouth
-
walls up to 2.5 to 5 cm thick. Distribution: truncate, margins ciliate; ligule of old
At low and mid-country elevations: sheaths very long, fimbriate of younger
Ambagamuva, Alut Oya, Central Pro- narrow, erose; blades to 7.5 to 12.5 cm
vince; rather common on river banks; long, ovate acuminate, base rounded and
flowers at about 30 years of age; one of decurrent on the top of the sheath and
the most useful of bamboos for construc- ending in large rounded auricles with
tion purposes. bristly tips, bristle very long and flexuous
on the leaf of young shoots. Nodes prom-
2. Bambusa vulgaris
inent. Internodes 30 to 45 cm long,
Common name: Bamboo; Local name:
rough, young hirsute, walls 2.5 to 5 mm
Una. Culms rather distant, 7 to 16 m
thick.
high, 5 to 10 cm in diameter, polished,
green, early branching. Culm sheaths 15 6. lndocalamus walkerianus
to 25 cm long, 17 to 22 cm wide, top Culms tufted, thickly covered above with
rounded, retuse, thickly appressed-hairy, bladeless leaf-sheaths. Culm-sheaths
margins ciliate, blades 5 to 15 cm long, 7 papery. Distribution: In the montane
to 10 cm wide. Nodes hardly raised, girt zone up to the highest elevations.
with a ring of hairs. Internodes 25 to 45 7. Indocalamus wightianus
cm long. walls rather thin. Distribution: Culms gregarious, 2 to 3 m or more high,
At low and mid-country elevations often slender, dark green, at length yellowish
cultivated; recorded from the earliest brown. Culm-sheaths 10 to 20 cm-long,
historic times; the culms are extensively 2.5 to 7.5 cm wide, narrowed slightly
used for construction purposes; this is the upwards, straw coloured, thickly clothed
most widely cultivated bamboo in Sri with stiff, golden, tubercle-based hairs.
Lanka.
8. lndocalamus floribundus
3. Bambusa vulgaris var. vittata Culm .6 to 1.6 m high, erect. Distribu-

62
 tion: In the montane zone. recorded as a valuable commodity in old
9 . lndocalamus debilis manuscripts there is hardly any evidence of
C u l m s elongated, much branched. large scale systematic planting of the species.
Nodes rather enlarged. Distribution: In Species such as B. vulgaris and B. orientalis
the upper montane zone. have been used for construction of dwellings,
scaffoldings and the making of handicrafts,
10. Chimonobambusa densifolia Stolons giv- while other smaller culm species have been
ing off stout, strong, densely leafy culms, used in cottage industry for the making of
15 to 100 cm high, with fastigiate, short baskets and a number of household items
branches. Culm-sheaths 2.5 cm or more which are commonly used by rural people.
long, striate, hirsute, tip rather narrowed, Cottage industry based on Bamboo has
truncate, minutely 2-auricled. Internodes provided employment to rural folks and this,
3.8 to 7.5 cm long, 8 mm in diameter, through the years, had led to its over-exploita-
rather thick-walled. Nodes not prominent. tion and thereby created a situation where the
Distribution: In the upmost montane resource has been diminished to a critical
zone, in swamps. level and can collapse if remedial measures
11. Teinostachyum attenuatum are not taken. It is fortunate, however, that
CuIms tufted, 4 to 9 m high, 1.2 to 2.5 many villagers have realized this and have
cm in diameter; tips very slender. Culm- made attempts to propogate popular species
sheaths pale, appressed- hairy. Nodes like B. vulgaris in their homesteads or farms
with many whorled leafy branches. Distri- to meet their requirements.
bution: In the upper montane zone. It was only in the mid 1960s large scale
12. Dendrocalamus giganteus planting of Bamboo was attempted by the Sri
Common name: Giant Bamboo; Local Lanka Forest Department. The species used
name: Yodha Una. Culms up to 35 m was Dendrocalamus strictus and this was
high, 15 to 25 cm in diameter, densely planted close to the Paper Mill in Valaichenai
tufted, naked in the lower part. Culm- in the dry zone. A comprehensive account of
sheaths 25 to 35 cm long, glabrous, pale this is given by Vivekanandan (1980). The
within, hairy outside, later glabrous but iarge scale planting of D, strictus was
scaberulous. Distribution: Often culti- suspended in 1975 and since then there has
vated in the mid-country and in the been no attempts to revive the planting of this
montane zone. species. To date there are 1150 hectares of
plantations of D. strictus in the dry zone ready
13. Ochlandra stridula
for exploitation,
CuIms crowded, 2 to 6 m high, 6 to
18 mm in diameter, pale green. Current Research on Bamboo
Geniculate nodes. Internodes 30 to 50
cm long, scabrous. Culm-sheaths In 1980, the IDRC organized a Workshop
glabrous, top rounded, auricles falcate, in Singapore to review the status of Bamboo
bristly. Distribution: In the low-country Research in Asia and Sri Lanka was repre-
wet zone; covering hundreds of square sented. The Workshop provided a forum for
miles. exchange of ideas and to identify the gaps in
our existing knowledge, At this Workshop Sri
14. Ochlandra stridula var. maculata Lanka presented a proposal for undertaking
Stem greyish-green, banded and research on Bamboo and Rattan and this was
blotched dark purple. Loses its purple accepted in principle. The project came into
colour under cultivation Distribution: At operation in late 1984 with IDRC providing
low and mid-country elevations in the financial support to the amount of CAD
wet zone, extending to the montane 77,370 for a period of 3 years. The current
zone. status of the research done under this project
is reviewed here.
Past Experiences with Bamboo
Review of Research Under IDRC
Although Bamboo has been used in Sri During the first phase of the Project a pre-
Lanka from the times of the ancient kings and liminary survey of the Bamboo species was

63
 done through technical assistance provided culms. c) Humidity. One important observa-
by IDRC. The survey revealed that there were tion which emerged from the preliminary
a number of species hitherto not recorded, experiments were that high humidity is vital for
found in the Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya. rooting. This was achieved through using
These species are mentioned. The over- improvised mist tents made of wooden frames
all assessment of the species revealed and clear polythene sheets. In the earlier ex-
that the following local species, which have periments where the culms which were set in
acclimatized to our climate, have good poten- nursery beds or planted in polythene bags
tial for large scale planting. a) Bambusa vul- (18 x 12 ) and not covered with polythene
garis b) Bambusa orientalis c) Dendro- tents, the mortality rate was high. The intro-
cahmus giganteus d) Dendrocalamus strictus duction of polythene tents have kept up the
and e) Ochlandra stridula. survival rates and is being used in all the
experiments in progress. It is an important
The main objective of research was to mass observation for furture work. d) Rooting of
produce propagules for large scale cultivation. Side Branches. Hitherto our studies have been
With this in view the following investigations concentrating on the main culm. In a pro-
were undertaken at the IDRC Bamboo Nur- gramme designed to mass propagate a species
sery at Peradeniya. 1. Effect of age on the availability of clonal material is critical. As
rooting; 2. Effect of position of nodes on root- culms may not be available in sufficient quan-
. ing; 3. Effect of rooting media; 4. Effect of tity, studies were directed to investigate the
hormones and fertilizers; 5. Comparison of possibility of rooting side shoots. Here too
split and entire culms on rooting and 6. Com- studies are underway to examine various
parison of container vs bare rooted. These factors which influence the rooting of culm cut-
experiments have been laid out according to tings. So far the indications are that this will
standard designs and are still in progress. prove to be successful, and full assessment will
be done once the experiments are completed.
In addition it was also felt that introduction
of species from overseas could broad-base our
species composition. The following were Future Programme
identified for further research: a) Dendro-
calamus asper b) Thyrsostachys siamensis The work started with B. vulgar-is is being
c) Gingantochloa species. In view of the extended to D. giganteus and will eventually
importance of Bambusa vuIgaris, which is very cover all major species of economic impor-
commonly used in Sri Lanka, the first part of tance. The future programme envisaged
the research was undertaken with this species. under the project are: a) Establishment of
Germplasm collection; b) Establishment of
The preliminary results so far available are trial plantations especially in the Mahaweli
summarized here: a) Rooting of culms - river basin area; c) Mass production of pro-
Positions. Culms were selected from healthy pagules for sale to public for planting in home-
clumps and were cut into sections so that each steads. In addition, interest has also been
section contained 2 nodes. These were laid expressed to explore the possibility of
out vertically, horizontally and obliquely in developing the Bamboo shoot industry and
nursery beds. All 3 positions proved to be satis- also develop local technology for increasing
factory and because of ease of setting the cut- the service life of large culm Bamboos which
tings in subsequent experiments, they were are used as scaffoldings and for house con-
planted vertically burying the 2 internodes. In struction,
subsequent experiments using standard pot-
ting mixture (top soil and sand) it was found
that rooting occurs after 2 months from the References
time of setting. b) Splitand entire nodes. This
was done, in identical way as above in that Dransfield, S. (1980) - Bamboo Taxonomy
culms were planted vertically, horizontally and in the Indo-Melesian Region in Proc.
obliquely and was found that the entire culms Workshop on Bamboo Research in Asia.
had high survival rate than split culms. This Edited by G. Lessard & A. Chouinard:
may be attributed to rapid desiccation of split 121-130, Singapore.

64
Senaratne, S.D.J.E. (1956) - Grasses of Vivekanandan, K. (1980) - Sri Lanka Coun-
Ceylon, Peradeniya, Manual 8. Govt. try. Report in Proc. Workshop on Bam-
Press, Sri Lanka. boo Research in Asia. Edited by G.
Trimen, H. (1893-1900) - A Handbook on Lessard &A. Chouinard: 81-90.
the Flora of Ceylon. Vol. V: 312-319.

Appendix 1
KEY TO THE GENERA OF THE BAMBUSEAE
Stamens 6 to 30:
Stamens numerous, up to 30; paleas without keels; spikelets
with 1 floret; pericarp fleshy, free (Subtr. 1. Melocanninae) 1. Ochlandra
Stamens 6; paleas 2 keeled at least in the lower florets:
Pericarp crustaceous, detachable; spikelets with few to many
florets; tress or shrubs (Subtr. 2 Dendrocalaminae):
Ovary glabrous; keels of palea ciliate 2. Teinostachyum
Ovary pilose at apex; keels of palea glabrous 3 . Dendrocalamus
Pericarp membranous, adnate to the grain
(Subtr. 3 Bambusinae)
Filaments free: spikelets with 1 to many florets; lodicules
2 to 3; palea 2-keeled: trees or shrubs 4. Bambusa
Filaments connate; spikelets longconical. with 1 to 3 florets;
lodicules wanting; palea keeled or rounded; scandent shrub 5. Ocytenanthera
Stamens 3: palea 2-keeled; pericarp thin; adnate to the seed
(Subtr. 4. Arundinariinae):
Spikelets panicled, buds solitary at nodes of culm; leaf-sheaths
persistent; bristles scabrid or setulose 6. Indocalamus
Spikelets racemose; buds numerous at nodes of culm;
leaf-sheaths deciduous; bristles not scabrid 7. Chimonobambusa

KEY TO THE SPECIES AND VARIETIES OF THE BAMBUSEAE

Trees: culm erect, 7-25m high, over 5cm in diameter:
Culms spiny Bambusa orientalis
(B. arundinacea)
Culms not spiny:
Culms 7-16m high, 5-10cm in diameter: Culms green Bambusa vu!garis
Culms yellow with vertical bands of green Bambusa vulgaris var
vittata
Culms l0-25m high, 12-25cm in diameter Dendrocalams
giganteus
Shrubs:
Culms erect:
Culms 15-160cm high:
Culms 15-100cm high, 8mm in diameter. with fastigiate Chimonobambusa
short branches densifolia

65
 Culms 60-160cm high without fastigiate short branches:
Leaf blades thick, 12-28cm long, 2-5cm wide, with lndocalamus
cartilaginous margins walkerianus
Leaf blades thin. with membranous margins:
Leaf blades 3.7-7.5cm long, 5-8mm wide lndocalamus debillis
Leaf blades 12.5-20cm long, 12-18mm wide lndocalamus
floribundus
Culms 2-6m high:
Leaf blades 20-30cm long, 3.7-6.2cm wide; culms 2-6m
high, 6-18mm in diameter:
Culms pale green, not banded and blotched Ochlandra stridula
Culms greyish green, banded and blotched with dark purple Ochlandra stridula var
maculata
eaf blades 3-10cm long, 8-25mm wide:
Culms 2-3m high about 36mm in diameter: Culm-sheathes lndocalamus
with ligule short, truncate, fimbriate; their blades 2.5-3.8cm wightianus
long, subulate
Culms 2-3m high, 12-25mm in diameter; culm-sheathes Bambusa multiplex
with ligule narrow, entire; their blades 5-8cm long,
linear-acuminate, with decurrent base
Culms not erect:
Culms 4-9m high, 12-25mm in diameter, dropping from an Teinostachyum
erect base, with very slender tips attenuatum
Culms 3-4m high, 25mm in diameter, with whip-like Oxytenanthera
curved tips monadelpha

66
 Bamboo Research in Thailand
Sakomsak Ramyarangsi
Royal Forest Department
Phaholyothin Road, Bangkhen, Bangkok 10900
Thailand

Abstract temperatures and heavy rainfall and by the

absence of a distinct dry season. The tropical
A general account on the occurrence, utili- Savannah climate has less rainfall and com-
sation, commercial potential of bamboos in prises three seasons, i.e. cool dry, hot dry
Thailand is given. The various species and and rainy season. The cool dry season
their uses are listed and the need for further extends from November to February, the hot
research is emphasised. dry season through March - April and the
rainy season covers the longer period from
May to October.
General Information
Forest Area and Forest Types:The total
Location
O o
: Latitude 97 E- 106 E, forest area in Thailand, as monitored and esti-
O
Longitude 5ON-21 N, mated by using the LANSAT system in 1982,
Southeast Asian Region was 156,600 sq.km. approximately 30.5% of
Area : 513,115 sq.km. the total area of the country. The forests in
Thailand can be broadly divided into two
Population : 50,396,000 inhabitants (1984) major types, i.e. Evergreen and Decid-
Population Desity 98.2 persons/sq.km. uous forest and both these are further sub-
Growth Rate : 1.7% (1984) divided into several types according to their
G.N.P. : 39.2 (1983) dominant and pre-dominant species as
(billions US $) follows: - a) Evergreen Forests, Tropical
G.D.P. : 40.4 (1983) Evergreen Forest, Pine Forest and/or Pine/
(billions US $) Dipterocarp Forest, and Mangrove Forest.
b) Deciduous Forests, Mixed Deciduous
Per Capita income : 815.5 (1983)
Forest, Dry Dipterocarp Forest, Scrub Fore&-
(US $) The areas of these six forest types in 5 regions
Forest Areas : 156,600 sq.km. (1982) of the country are presented (Table 1).
Forest Plantations : 4,519.9 sq.km. (1983)

Bamboo and Its Economic

Climatic Conditions and Forest Importance
Types
In Thailand, bamboo is one of the most
Climatic Conditions:Thailand is located socio-economically important plant species.
in the Southeast Asian region. The climate in The species are used for many purposes
this region is greatly influenced by the South- such as food, household construction, sup-
east and Northeast moonsoons, resulting in a porting poles, basket and other handicraft
marked wet and dry seasons and the vegeta- making, fire wood and pulping. Bamboo
tion are of two major types, i.e. tropical rain occurs naturally throughout the country. The
forest and the tropical savannah type. The species are mainly found in the Mixed Decid-
climate is characterized by uniformly high uous and Tropical Evergreen forests and

67
 Table 1. Forest Types and Forest Area in Thailand 1982.
Forest Types Northern Northeastern Eastern Central Southern Total
Western
2 2 2 2
Km2 Km2 Km Km Km Km
1 Evergreen 25,568 9,305 6,216 12,449 14,323 67,861
2 Mixed
deciduous 35,006 2,618 1,113 5,192 - 33,929
3 Dry
Dipterocarp 34,318 13,819 253 540 - 48,930
4 Mangrove - - 418 335 2,119 2,872
5 Pine/Dipterocarp 2,018 144 - - - 2,162
6 Scrub 846 - - - 846
7 Rubber
Plantations (650) (15,220) (15,850)
Total 87,756 25,886 8,000 18,516 16,442 156,600
- Figures in brackets are not included in total forest area.
- Source: Royal Forest Department, B a n g k o k , T h a i l a n d .

partly found in the dry Dipterocarp forest Ruakdam) Thyrsostachys oliuerii, (Pai
(Table I). Apart from natural Forests, the Seesuk) Bambusa blumeana, (Pai Liang)
bamboo plantations and/or the bamboo Bambusa nana, (Pai Phaak) Gigantochloa
farms have been widely established for shoots hasskeriana, (Pak Griab) Schizostachyum
and stem production throughout the country. humilis and (Pai Hiae) Cephalostachyum
There are 12 genera and 41 species of uirgatum. The total production of bamboo as
bamboo recorded in Thailand and the major recorded in 1984 by the Royal Forest Depart-
type of bamboos found throughout the ment was 48,929,933 stems (culms).
country is the Sympodial type. The impor- Apart from local consumption, Thailand
tant genera and species of bamboo in Thailand exports bamboo and its products to several
can be grouped as follows according to the countries in various parts of the world. The
utilization purposes: - 1) Bamboo for shoot export-income of bamboo Thailand is shown
production (for food), (Pai Tong) Dendro- (Table 2).
calamus asper, (Pai Seesuk) Bambusa
blumeana , (Pai Ruak) * Thyrsostachys
siamensis, (Pai Ruakdam) Thyrsostachys Bamboo Research
oliverii, (Pai Bong) Dendrocalamus brandisii,
(Pai Sang doi) Dendrocalamus strictus and As mentioned earlier, bamboo is one of
(Pai Rai) Gigantochloa albociliata, the most valuable forest species in Thailand.
2) Bamboo for stem production (Construc- Due to pressure from a large population, both
tion and supporting pole) (Pai Paa) Bambusa forest tree species (including bamboo) and the
arundinaceae, (Pai S e e s u k ) B a m b u s a forest areas, especially the Mixed Deciduous
blumeana, (Pai Tong) Dendrocalamus asper, forest types, have been heavily exploited for
(Pai Ruakdam) Thyrsostachys oliverii, (Pai wood utilization and cleared for land need,
Sang doi) Dendrocalamus strictus, (Pai Saang Without exception, bamboo resources are
nuan) Dendrocalamus membranaceus, (Pai decreasing rapidly both quantitatively and
L i a n g ) Bambusa nana a n d (Pai Phaak) qualitatively. To increase the production of
Gigantochloa hasskeriana, 3) Bamboo for bamboo for both local consumption and
stem production (basketing and handicraft), export, a good production and management
(Pak Ruak) Thyrsostachys siamensis, (Pai proaramme for bamboo in both natural forests

68
 Table 2. Export value of Bamboos in Thailand,
YEAR 1983 1984 1985
(Jan - April)
TYPES Quant. Price Quant Price Quant . Price
Tons us $ Tons us $ Tons us $
1 Bamboo culms 18.9 24,885 22.2 16,798 22.1 2,573
2 Bamboo 149.0 212,423, 79.2 290,188 25.8 83,890
Handicraft
3 Bamboo Shoot 288.8 222,821 338.9 382,062 238.5 165,873
(Fresh chilled)
4 Bamboo shoot 29.7 129,182 15.2 48,332 - -
Dry)
Total 486.4 589,311 456.2 737.380 286.4 252,336
Source: Department of Business Economics Ministry of Commerce: Bangkok, Thailand.

and plantations is required. terminated and bamboo research activities

A co-operative bamboo research pro- since then have been operated solely by the
gramme in Thailand was initiated in 1965 Royal Forest Department.
between the United Nation Development Since 1983, the RFD bamboo research
Programme and the Royal Forest Department programme has received support from the
of Thailand. The major objective of this pro- International Development Research Centre
gramme was to estimate the annual produc- (IDRC) of Canada. The major objective of
tion of bamboo from natural forests, particu- this programme is to introduce and establish a
larly in the Western part of Thailand, for pulp bamboo living collection as a source for
and paper industries. A research centre was bamboo plantation establishment. The
set up in Kanchanaburi province where bamboo living collection has been established
bamboo is the dominant forest species. In this in 3 localities and model bamboo plantations
research programme, a series of studies on (or bamboo farms) have been established in 4
ecological aspects and the management of localities throughout the country. Apart from
bamboo forests, vegetative and the genera- the establishment of the bamboo living
tive propagation of bamboo, other techniques collections and bamboo plantations (farm} a
of bamboo plantation establishment, etc. number of studies on eco-physiological
were intensively conducted. In 1972, the joint aspects, utilization and preservation of
UNDP/RFD bamboo research project was bamboo wood etc. are also being conducted.

69
Cultivation and Production
 Improved Cultivation Techniques
of Bamboos in NorthChina
Li Guoging
Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing, China.

Abstract as a result of natural distribution: (1) On the

upper reaches of Huaihe and Hanshui River
The growth habit, distribution and cultiva- in the northern subtropic zone subject to
tion methods of bamboos in North China humid climate. (2) On the middle and lower
are discussed. The periodic growth pattern is reaches of the Huanghe River (Yellow River)
accounted. in the temperate zone subject to semi-humid
climate. (3) In the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia
area, of temperate zone subject to semi-arid
Introduction climate. Species of bamboo in each zone may
be further classified into three groups:
China is rich in bamboo resources, having (1) widely distributed and frequently occurr-
one fourth of the total world flora. Phyl- ing. (2) Moderately distributed and occurring
lostachys is the main genus and it grows quite often. (3) Sparsely distributed and
luxuriantly i n t h e n o r t h n o t w i t h s t a n d - occurring rarely. The distribution of different
ing unevenly distributed sparse rainfall, species of bamboo in different zones is shown
remedied mostly through intensive cultivation in Table 1, from which the following general-
and irrigation. Cultivation of bamboo in North isations are made.
China enjoys a long history dating back to 1 1. The widely distributed and frequently
B.C. when the famous historian Sima Qian occurring species or those fit for cold climate or
wrote in his Historical Records that a thou- high altitude in the north, are mainly culti-
sand mu of bamboo was worth the wealth of a vated.
marquis granted 1,000 households to labour
on his territory. From the third century A. D., 2. Those sparsely distributed and occurr-
administrations were mostly established in the ing rarely have more number of genera and
northern provinces by order of the court for species. This shows that in the north the
proper management of bamboo groves, and environment is suited for the growth of many
the officials therein were also responsible to different species. Hence the species of bam-
collect taxes. The technique of bamboo culti- boo which are not quite widely distributed
vation in North China is traditional, largely may possibly be cultivated over a more exten-
based on past practices. sive area.
3. Phyllostuchys glauca McClure and
Yushania Confusa (McCl.) Wang et Ye grows
Particular Features of Bamboo in semi-humid as well as in semi-arid climate,
Groves in North China which shows that these species are most suit-
able for development in the northern area.
Species of bamboo in North China: Characteristics of distribution of
There are ten genera, 29 species and ten bamboo groves in North China:The dis-
varieties naturaIly spread in North China, of tribution of bamboo groves in North China is
which 16 species, and nine varieties belong to governed by the amount of rainfall and tem-
Phyllostachys. The distribution of bam- perature available for plant growth, of which
boo groves in North China is apparently the precipitation pIays the dominant role.
regional, the climate playing significant part in Places favourable to the distribution of
affecting the zoning. In the plains, bamboo- bamboo groves are as follows: a) Plots in
growing areas may be divided into three zones areas adjacent to hills and rivers,

71
b) mountainous areas exhibiting discontin- Huaihe River, was cultivated in the area
uous patches in landscape. Bamboos culti- between the Huaihe and Huanghe River and
vated ,in hills or plains are mostly found along transplanted in areas as far north as Beijing
river banks or where water is available through satisfactorily. Mixed planting of bamboos with
irrigation. Bamboo-producing areas are often other plants show that, with favourable micro-
concentrated on the middle and lower relief, bamboos which grow well in southern
reaches of rivers. Further the northwestern area may also be cultivated in the north, thus
part of North China is mostly of arid and cold shifting southern species towards north.
climate and the southeastern warm and wet. Through the efforts of the author, Phyl-
Hence the growth of the following species lostachys pubescens has been transplanted in
diminishes towards north: Sinocalamus Henan province during the past ten years or
ajjinis, Barnbusa multiplex, Phyllostachys more over a total area of 90,000 odd mu, or
pubescens, Ph. heterocycla, Ph. propinqua, 6,000 ha.
Ph. bambusoides, Ph. nigra var. henonis etc, Regularity of growth in North China:
whereas species such as Phyllostachys The growth of bamboo in North China is
glauca, Ph. bambusoides lacrina-deae Keng obviously consistent with the climatic cycle in
et Wen Ph. glauca f. yunzhu, Ph. jlexuosa a year. The four seasons of a year are very
increase in the direction towards north. distinct in North China, and the growth of
Secondly, the land in North China gains in bamboo in the north is such that, in spring the
elevation towards west, in the direction of bamboos shoot, in summer rhizomes grow, in
which species such as Yushania conjusa, autumn new shoots are developed, and in
Fargesia spathacea, Bashania jargesii, Pleio- winter the plant becomes dormant, following
blastus amarus grow more luxuriantly. The the climatic cycle. Fig. 1 represents the
species growing well jn flat country gradually growth data of over 20 species of bamboo
vanish in the westward direction. studied in the experimental bamboo plots in
The topography is very complicated in Zheng Zhou. It can be seen that: (1) Seasonal
North China, and the growth of bamboo is changes influence the growth and pheno-
affected by topography. There are certain logical phases of bamboo. (2) Similar tem-
places favourable for the growth of bamboo peratures are required for the sprouting and
with bamboos growing well e.g. Phyllostachys growth of bamboo shoots, in spring and in
propinqua, which grows almost everywhere autumn alike, Owith a seasonal mean air tem-
on rolling or flat country to the south of the perature of 14 C.

mean air temperature

30

25

20

10

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Month
Spring Summer Autumn

57 111 58 139

F i g . 1 Periodic growth of bamboo in a year in Zhengzhou. Henan versus air temperature.

b.s. (d/m) beginning of the season (day/month).
n.d.s. number of days in the season.
m.t.s. - mean air temperature in spring.
m.t.a. - mean air temperature in autumn
 Bambusa textilis McClure was introduced 1000 years, such as those in Boai and Qinyan
into Henan province from South China for in Henan and at Zhuganchuen in the suburbs
trial cultivation. The regularity of growth of of Zhengzhou are all adapted to the existing
this species of bamboo is such that by the turn micro-climates. Measures for sheltering
of the season from summer to autumn, it should be taken for planting bamboo on vast
shoots, ready to elongate and bear leaves plains, either by means of building walls or
next spring after passing the cold winter. But locating the groves in villages, the buildings
then during the, cold climate the tender shoots giving shelter to the groves.
perish. A comparison of the relationship 2. Bumper harvest of bamboo is possible
between the growth of the aforesaid species only through irrigation or by watering since
of bamboo versus air temperature in Nanning rainfall is sparse and unevenly distributed.
o O
(22 50 N) and Xuchang (34 N or so) is The dry season in spring is not favourable to
shown in Fig. 2, from which it was seen that the growth of bamboo with high demand for
owing to lower air temperature in Xuchang, water. The bamboo shoots grow vigorously
the growing period there is delayed by one after rains. Engineer Liang Tairan of the
month or so. Ministry of Forestry of China classified bam-
boo groves into those subject to irrigation and
those that are not, as seen in North and
Technique of Cultivating South of China. The boundary between
Bamboo in North China for the two zones is essentially along the Qinling-
Bumper Harvest Huaihe line, the natural line of division
between north and south China. In the
1. Particular features of cultivating southern region which abounds in rainfall, the
bamboo in North China include the following bamboo cultivation differs from that in the
environmental conditions - Cold Winter and north where additional water is to be applied
Wind. It is desirable to choose plots shelttered through irrigation. In shooting period, the soil
against the wind. Inter-montane basins or foot moisture should be kept at 20% level or so for
of hill slope are preferable if water supply is survival rate of 50%, whereas with moisture
available. of 15% or so, only 30% of the bamboo may
survive. It may thus be seen that irrigation
Plains to the south of mountain ranges are
plays an important role in cultivation of
usually fit for growth of bamboo over large
bamboo for bumper harvest in North China.
area. Bamboo groves with history of over

temperature

4 6 7 8 9 11 12 Month

Fig 2 Comparison of reqularity of growth of Bambusa textilis in its native place and where it has
been transplanted (1) Air temperature In Nanning. with observed values in dots (2) Air temperature in
Xuchang. H e n a n (3) Growing period in Guangxt (4) Growing period in Xuchang

73
 3. The bamboo groves should be well diameter of the cylinder of soil should not be
managed in the north where intensive cultiva- less than 30 cm. (5) The earth around the
tion is practised with irrigated land well saplings should not be loosened when dug.
trimmed and levelled, actually forming.a kind The survival rate of 100% may be attained by
of garden. Irrigation is required and additional this method and the bamboo shoots grow to
soil should be added regularly to raise the soil desired size in the same year to form small
level so that the young rhizomes are kept groves. While transporting over long distances
close to the soil surface. the earth should not be lost and proper pack-
aging with cattail bags tied tightly with
Other methods followed for cultivation
include choosing, digging, conveying, trans- straw ropes is necessary. It has been recorded
planting and managing. Choosing is that on some occasions, in spite of the loading
selection of good young bamboos.. Bam- and unloading four times over a period of 15
days no moisture was lost and soil was intact.
boos should be free from plant diseases
and insect pests, being of 1 - 2 years of In the past, while transplanting open
growth and not too tall. Of the three require- pockets underneath the tuft of bamboo roots
ments, the age is the important factor, because were left due to unsatisfactory refilling of
bamboos growing for more than 2 years show earth, leading up to perishing of the trans-
ageing of the rhizomes with many sprouts planted saplings. The author has devoted a
and when transplanting, the sprouts may new three-step method of transplanting. The
be destroyed and no bamboo will grow three steps are backfilling, covering and
any more. In ancient books of farming, it is watering, each being manipulated in two
said that in the presence of water, all seasons operations, mainly as follows: Backfilling for
are appropriate for transplanting of bamboo, the first time - In the pit made for transplanta-
stress being laid on moisture. For rapid tion a hemispherical mound of earth is
growth of bamboo groves, the season of formed, the tip of which is at a distance from
spring is best chosen. According to tests made ground surface equal to the depth of penetra-
by the author, bamboos cultivated in spring tion of the bamboo into the earth prior to
will bring returns in the very year of trans- being dug. The sapling is placed upright on
planting. Bamboos cultivated in summer or top of the mound, in close contact with the
autumn do not yield even the following year. earth at the bottom. In the second step well
Leaves drop off from bamboos transplanted crushed soil of fine texture is then backfilled
in winter and do not develop further. Sunny until the pit is half full and the stems may
and sheltered spots should be chosen and stand upright. In the third step the partly
thick layer of soil is desired. refilled pit is filled with water to let the sapling
Digging of young bamboo should be absorb sufficient amount of moisture and the
carried out appropriately. Formerly, stress infiltration of water downward brings about
was laid on finding the rhizomes, a section of compaction of earth. The fourth step includes
the covering with earth for the second time.
30 cm of approaching rhizome and 60 cm of
outgrowing rhizome being desired, together After all the water has infiltrated, appropriate
with 15 - 20 kg of soil. Such method is amount of organic manure is to be applied and
unfavourable for the following reasons: the pit refilled with the same kind of earth flush
(1) The groves were damaged to a consider- to ground surface. A ring shaped bund is to
able extent. (2) During transport, all the be made around the pit to prepare for the
exposed sprouts were ruined. (3) Packaging second application of water. The fifth step is
and moving were inconvenient. (4) The watering for the second time. Water is applied
bamboos planted did not survive well. In view to provide the sapling with more moisture and
of the aforesaid, the author made attempts to to let the soil become compact through infiltra-
dispense the carrying of both rhizomes. The tion. The sixth step includes the addition of
improved technique is characterized by: more earth to form a conical mound around
(1) Each tuft of young bamboo dug should the stem after levelling off the ridge subsequent
comprise at least 2 saplings. (2) Soil dug to complete infiltration of the water, which is
around the saplings should be cylindrical in functional in keeping the moisture and protect
shape. (3) No less than 50 kg of earth should the sapling from wind damages. In employing
be carried with each cluster.. (4) The the above method, no trampling and stamping

74
is involved and open pockets will not be left too sparse. Grove of satisfactory quality
undernearth the young plant. The rate of sur- should be such that it possesses adequate
vival is higher than if planting is effected by density and canopy density, with even distri-
means of slurry method, so far known as bution of bamboo, and distance between
the best, by which 86.6% of the saplings sur- canopies not exceeding 60 cm.
vive, according to reports m a d e b y (2) Applying manure and earth and dig-
Zhumadian prefecture, against 92.7 % ging tufts at the proper time are important to
throush the adoption of the above-mentioned improve the underground growth including
method. the twisting and gnarling of rhizomes, to pre-
The principal measures for proper cultiva- vent rhizomes from growing outside the soil
tion are application of water, use of fertilizer and to avoid damages by frost and to prevent
or manure, weeding and rational felling of premature blooming. In North China, earth
unwanted stems as well as intercropping with and manure are applied in ridges and sub-
melons, vegetables and beans. As the bam- sequently flattened out, or by forming
boos grow, crowding is inevitable and the grooves through digging out and afterwards
younger bamboos are suppressed in growth. backfilled, or by laying earth. There is another
These should be removed so that more space way, called ridging, through which the grove
will be available for others to grow well. Inter- is turned into ridges and ditches, each 50 cm
cropping is effective in preventing growth of wide and of V and inverted-V shape. Bam-
weeds. Vegetables may be introduced appro- boos are cultivated on the ridges, and the
priately in the first year of bamboo cultivation, ditches are left for watering, facilitating both
and melons the second year, after which no irrigation and drainage.
more intercropping is to be exercised. (3) Applying water to meet the
demands: Watering at appropriate periods
Breeding technique: The agronomic would regulate the growth of bamboos -
methods practised in North China include: shooting in spring, rhizomes growing in sum-
(1) Rational felling o f u n w a n t e d o n e s . mer, breeding shoots in autumn and being
(2) Applying manure and earth and digging dormant in winter, in yearly cycles. In early
tufts at the proper time. (3) Tilling in hot spring, water is applied to promote shooting
summer days and suppressing green crops to When the bamboo shoots grow above ground
serve as manure, as well as laying straw to and rapidly gain in height: water is needed for
preserve moisture. (4) Proper irrigation or jointing. In summer the growth of rhizomes is
watening methods. (5) Closing the area to expedited through application of moisture in
grazing and collecting of fuel and protecting adequate quantities. In autumn, the growth
the bamboos from plant diseases and insect of young sprouts is also effected through irri-
pests. (6) Renewing the grove in belt form gation. In winter when the soil freezes at night
and causing the rhizomes to develop along and thaws in daytime, moisture is also
the periphery. By taking the aforementioned applied, so that the plant may stand the cold
measures in a comprehensive way, the useful climate safely. Application of water in the 5
life of bamboo grove may be prolonged. aforesaid instances is a part of suitable cultiva-
Some of these are briefly elaborated. tion technique for bamboo groves in North
China. The number of times of application is
(I) Rational felling and timely
governed by the actual precipitation
breedihg: Bamboo is a perennial plant, with
occurring. The basic principle is that the first
woody fibres formed only in a number of
application should begin early, the last should
years. Hence, bamboos may be felled only in
be of sufficient quantity to saturate the soil
a selective way. The purpose of felling is on
and to meet future needs, whereas the inter-
one hand to obtain the stems as material for
mediate one should be exercised fittingly.
economic gains. Less crowding would
improve the quality of the bamboo grove. (4) Rhizome development along the
Small, old, crooked and crowded ones as periphery: Good rhizome growth depends
well as those infected with plant diseases and on fertile and loose soil and deep-plowing of
insect pests should be removed. One of the earth along the periphery of the grove every
particular features of bamboo groves is that year in summer. Rhizomes increase by 5-8 m
the plants should neither be too crowded nor in length in the same year. The grove ex-

75
pands 5-8 m in radius every year. In the first the environment of bamboo growth two or
year, the extended area may be intercropped. three years prior to the expected blooming.
Measures as such taken around groves totall-
inq 3000 mu in area in Henan during the
period 1974 - 1979 successfully resulted in Economic returns from Bamboo
an increase of 1176 mu of groves within 6 Groves Cultivated in
years, at an average rate of 1.5% per annum. North China
Subsequently, the newly emerged bamboos
are generally tall and thick, exhibiting the The stress of the present operation system
advantages of speedy grown, early returns is on the provision of moisture and carrying out
and saving in investments as compared with all-embracing management in a comprehen-
bamboo groves newly formed through trans- sive way. The degree of management and out-
planting. put have much improved when compared to
those prior to 1949. Groves well managed,
implementing the aforesaid 7 measures of
Management and operation of cultivation technique for high yield, promise
bamboo groves yearly produce of over 6000 jin per mu,
whereas at places where the measures were
An approp iate management and ooera- partially enforced, 3000 jin of bamboo or so
tion system is th e guarantee for high yield and were achieved each year. Where practice as
fine quality of bamboo. The task is to deal such was intermittently carried out, the yield
properly with the relationship regarding the fluctuated over wide ranges. All in all, groves
cycle of growth within a year, the periodic of the same category and same bamboo
growth of woody tissue and the life cycle of species may show difference in yield. Table 2
bamboo, so that the plant will grow lux- provides production details from 1949
uriantly in an unfailing way. In spring, the through 1982. Generally speaking, yield from
shoots should be protected. In summer, tilling 6067 mu of bamboo groves doubled within the
is a must and the rhizomes should be well given period, as a result of taking suitable
groomed. In autumn, triming of shoots and measures of cultivation for bumper harvest, in
preservation of moisture is to be effected. and terms of economic returns.
in winter felling in a rational way should be
exercised. The above-mentioned methods Table 2 also shows indices of average yield
are the basic tasks in the inanagement and of 6067 mu of bamboo groves, essentially
operation system which have a bearing on representing the medium level of produc-
yield. Operation based on the formation of tion of bamboo groves in North China, and
woody tissues is such that bamboos under 3 comparable to certain, extent the average
years are retained and those over 4 years indices of produce in the entire land, It may
felled, except for those necessary for the main- be seen that bamboos cultivated in groves in
tenance of the required density of canopy. North China show higher yield than the
The maximum age should not exceed 7 nationwide average, proving that growing
years. The period may be determined on the bamboo in North China is markedly reward-
basis of the relationship between specific ing.
gravity of the bamboo and the age, or the Bamboo groves in irrigated areas in North
relationship between index of foliage area and China have long been regarded as a source of
age of bamboo. The period between conse- wealth, one mu of bamboo grove giving ten
cutive blooming, which is generally several times as much economic returns as the mu
decades, be possibly prolonged if operation of cropland - concretely illustrated by facts in
based on the former two cycles is rigorously Boai county in Henan province. Numerous
enforced. It is known that long-lasting groves are concentrated in the area, now
droughts and lack of soil fertility will lead to known as the largest bamboo-producing area
twisting and gnarling of the old rhizomes and in North China. Recently, new policy of earn
improper management practice such as negli- iny more money rather than merely har-
gence of application of earth and manure. By vesting crops has been adopted by the
experimenting, it w a s f o u n d t h a t t h e county administration, encouraging people to
blooming period may be delayed ten years or plant more bamboos in place of farming, to
so if suitable measures are taken to improve improve the economic conditions of farmers.

76
 Table 1. General features of distribution of bamboo groves in North China.

Zone Number of genera Group i Group 2 Group 3

and species

1 10 genera, 25 4 genera, 6 species 3 genera, 5 species 7 genera, 14 species

(Subtropic, species {including 1 . Pttyllostachys I. Phyllostachys 1. Phyllostachys
humid) mutantsand variaties) bambusoides Sieb pubescens Maze1 decora McClure
& zucc. exH. deLeh 2. Ph nuda McClure
2. Ph. propinqua 2. Ph. purpurata 3. Ph. nigra (Lold.)
McClure McClure cv. McClure
3. Ph. nigra var. straightstem McClure 4. Ph. nidularia
henonis (Mitf.) 3 . P h . hetercycla Munro
stapf ex Rendle diver. 5. Ph. aurea A. et C
4. Bashania fargesii 4 . Neosinocalamus Riv.
Keng f. et Yi affinis (Rendle) 6. Chrmonobambusa
5 . lndocalamus Keng f guadragularia
latifolius (Xeng) 5 Fargesia spathacea (Fenzi) Mankino
McClure Franchet 7. Pleioblastus
6. Yushania confusa amarus (Keng)
(McCI.) Wang et Keng f.
Ye 8 . P I . simoni (Carr.)
Nakai
9. Indocalamus migoi
(Nakai) Xeng f.
10. I. longiauricus
Hand-Mazz.
11. Bambusa
multiplex (Lour)
Raeusch
1 2 . B multiplex var
nana (Roxb.)
Keng f
13. Yushania chungrr
(Keng) Wang et
Ye
1 4 . Gelidocalamus
fangianus (A
Camus) Keng f e t
Wen

2 8 genera. 23 species 2 genera. 3 species 4 genera. 8 species 5 genera, 12 species

(Temperate. 1. Phyllostachys 1. Ph. bambusoides 1 P h . aureosulcala
semi-humid) glauca McClure lacrimadeae Keng McClure
2 . P h . flexuosa (Can f. et Wen 2 P h . a u r McCl f
A. et C. Riv. 2. Ph. vivax McClure spectabilis (Chu
3. Yushania confusa 3. Ph. viridis (Young) Chao) L u
(McCI.) Wang et McClure 3. Ph. aur. McCI.
Ye 4. Ph. propinqua pekinensis J. L.
McClure Lu f. nov.
5. Ph. glauca McCI. f. 4 . P h vivax McCI f .
yunzhu f. nov. Lu huangwenzhu Lu
f. nov.
5. Ph. vrridis (Young)
McCl CV, R .
Young McCl

77
 Zone Number of genera Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
and species

6. Bashania fargesli 6. Ph viridis McClure

Keng f et YI CV Houzeau
7. In. latifolius MC . 7 . P h meyen
8. Farg. spath. Fran McClure
8 P h angusta
McClure
9 Chimonobambusa
quadragularis
Makino
10 Pleioblastus
amarus (Keng)
Keng f
11 Yushanra chungii
(A. Camus) Keng
12 Gelidocalamus
fangianus (A.
Camus) Keng f. et
Wen

3 genera. 3 species
3 5 genera, 6 species 1 genus, 1 species 2 genera, 2 species 1 Ph y IIostachys
(Temperate, 1. Yushania confusa 1 Bashania fargesii glauca McClure
semi-arid) (McCI.) Wang et Kengf et Yi 2 Yushania chungii
Ye 2 Fargesra spathacea (Keng) Wang et Ye
Franch. 3 . Gelidocalamus
fangianus (A
Camus) Keng f et
Wen

Table 2. Changes in output from 6067 mu

of bamboo groves through 33 years.

Stock of bamboo, Bamboos felled

mean value each year,
average quantity
Item
jin/mu kg/ha jin/mu kg/ha

1949 6250 46875 700 5250

1960 8773 65797 1282 9615
1982 10850 81375 1425 10688
Mean 2745 20588 177 1324
value for
for
China

Notes: Mean values for the entire country were quoted from Jan 30th issue of Economic References in 1984.

78
 Biomass Structure of
Phyllostachys heteroclada
Sun Tienren, Fan Lijun, Wang Xirong !" , Zhang Dehei !

and Liu Niangui !

Anhui Agricultral College, Hefei, China
*Bureau of Forest Service of Shucheng County, China

Abstract
O
to 31 34 . It lies in the north-eastern part of
Daibei mountain. The river Han bu goes
The biomass structure of different stands across this county. The climate is warm and
of Phyllostachys heteroclada Oliv. was
O
humid. Annual mean temperature is 12 .9 C,
studied by the allometric method. 18,808 annual precipitation is 1,319 mm. Annual
bamboo culms, 47 rhizome quadrats and 38 evaporation is 1,398 mm and annual relative
bamboo samples 1-6 years old with diameter humidity 82%, providing a favourable
classes (0.5 - 3.0) from 39 sample plots standing for cultivating the bamboos.
were examined. The biomass of culm,
branches, leaves and rhizomes in relation to Bamboo grows well in sandy soils having
diameter breast height was worked out. The loam and clay in smaller proportions. An
results obtained show that the total biomass analysis of bamboo soils in the province
increases with diameter classes. The total showed that it contained below 0.0034-
above ground biomass decreases with the 0.0086% of nitrogen, 4.9-33.3 ppm of quick
increasing age.
phosphurus, 14-43 ppm of quick potash and
0.28-0.46% of other organic matter.

Introduction The Shucheng County is in the subtropical

Phyllostachys heterooluda provides the zone, with deciduous broad-leaved forest.
The soil conditions are poor. The vegetation
well known weave-craft material Long Shu
is in degenerated succession and is replaced
tribute Mat bamboo. In order to solve the
problem of shortage of this bamboo material, by Kilimes sp. ,Polygonum sp., Erigerom sp.
etc. The following are the chief com-
the Bureau of Forest Service of Shucheng
Country of Anhui Province began to introduce munities investigated: 1) Kilimes indica
Polygonum hydropipe community: Average
and plant water bamboos on large scale
height of Kilimes indica is 40 cm. It will
since 1964. Now it is grown extensively.
accompany Hepaticeae, Musci and Medicago
Present yields are quite sufficient to meet the
etc. Bamboos can grow well. Average dia-
market demands. This paper summarises the
result of preliminary research on biomass meter at breast height 2.5-3.0 cm, 3,500 per
mu for culm, culm production 6,000- 7,000
structure and the cultivation of Phyllostachys
jin/mu. Stand form is uniform. The distribu-
heteroclada at five regions of Shucheng and
tion by diameter classes is even. It is called a
Shucheng forest nursery between 1983-84.
high production stand in the community of
Phyllostachys heteroclada of plantation. 2)
The Environment and the Erigerom canadensis - Ducheknea indica
community: Average height of Erigerom
Characteristics ofthe Bamboo canczdensis is 50 cm, the soil is not very fertile.
Community Bamboo growth is not superior. Average
diameter at breast height is 2.01-2.5 cm.
Shucheng County is situated at longitude 2,500-3,000 per mu for culms. The average
O O O
116 15 to 117 15, north latitude 31 l y i e l d i s 4,000-5,000 jin/mu. 3 ) Robinia

79
pseudoacacia - Rrubus parvifolius c o m - per unit areas were calculated (Sun T&iron,
munity: Average height of Robinia pseu- 1975).
is 50-70 cm. The growth is inferior, Taking 9,280 test samples in different
diameter classes poor. Numbers per unit area height culm and different height and direction
are higher, culm production is high. (Xu of crown, wet and dry weight of culm
Munong, 1983). branch, leaves and rhizomes were deter-
mined. The determinate value of samples
The Method times the numbers per unit area will give the
biomass values. Details are shown in Table 1.
Based on the condition of bamboo growth The relationship between vegetative organs
the diameter at breast height, full height, clear (Y) and diameter breast height (X) is signifi-
height, clear nodes are measured. 47 rhizome cant. (Satoo. T.. 1974).
quadrats were established in 39 sample plots
involving a total of 18,808 culms of different
ages l-6 years. The diameter classes were The Analysis of the Result
established. The culm was cut and divided in-
to ten equal units. They were weighed before The above ground biomass of Phyllo-
chopping. stachys heteroclada and their distribution:
The number of branches was calculated. 1) The weight distribution of different age
50 leaves were removed from the four parts stages, the bamboo weight distribution by the
of the crown with reference to East, West, different ages is closely related to cutting in-
North and South. Leaf area and weight were tensity, reserved stand numbers and reserved
determined for 3,240 leaves. stand ages.
Based on 47 sample quadrats of rhizomes Denominator is the relative value in
the underground biomass was determined. Table 2. It expresses the ratio of the total above
The rhizome weight, length and diameter of ground weight to culm weight, leaf weight and
rhizome nodes, rootlet weight and stump root branch weight respectively. The ratio of culm
weight were determined by ages. The values weight to the total above ground weight is

Table 1. Regression equations of the weights (Y) and diameter breast heights (X) in
Phyllostachys heterocloda.

Weight Type of Parameter Relative

constitution regression Correlation error
(jin) equations a b coefficient (%)
b
Culm weight Y = aX 2 b 0.3809 1.8948 0.9693 4.6
Y = b(X H) 0.1556 0.7110 0. 9 7 7 4 3.4
b
Branch leaves Y = aX 0.2692 0.8308 0.7943 6.4
weight Y= 0.1954 0.4415 0.8153 6.2

The total Y = aXb 0.6439 1.5373 0.9057 6.5

above ground Y = a(X2H)b 0.3008 0.5908 0.8995 4.0
weight
Rhizome weight Y = aXb 0.3404 1 . 18 99 0.9732 9.66
Y = a(X2H)b 0.3372 0.4179 0.9709 9.91
Rootlet weight Y = aXb 0.3087 1.2892 0.7983 10.12
Y = a(X2H)b 0.2031 0.4851 0.7223 10.35
The total Y = aXb 0.7683 1.4117 0.9011 6.02
weight of the Y = a(X2H)b 0.7820 1.3257 0.8753 7.01
plant
Note: 1 j i n = 1/2 kg (Chinese measure of weight).
2
1 mu = 666.7 M

80
 Table 2. The weights of the different age stands and their constitution ratios.

Average The weight constitution of stand (jin/mu)

diameter Number
breast W/mu) Culm Branch Leaf The total Percentage
height weight weight weight above (%)
(cm) ground
weight
1 2.06 933 1397.6 288.0 239.1 1924.7 31.7
72.6 15.0 12.4
2 2.08 639 974.9 132.1 161.3 1268.3 22.0
76.9 10.4 12.7
3 1.88 628 736.2 136.4 134.1 1006.7 17.5
73.1 13.5 13.4
4. 1.69 611 629.0 133.3 119.1 881.4 15.3
71.4 15.1 13.5
5 1.71 163 426.7 45.1 65.4 537.2 4.2
79.4 8.4 12.2
6 2.28 235 171.6 35.3 32.3 239.2 9.3
71.7 14.8 13.5

effected by the reserved numbers, and the increased.

change is 70-80%. The ratio of age to the total
above ground biomass is as follows: 1st year, 2) The weight distribution of the different
31%. 2nd year, 22%, 3rd year, 17.5%, 4-6 diameter classes: 18,808 bamboo culms were
years or above 28.8% (about one-third of the grouped by diameter classes. The average
total stand weight). It shows that quantity culm weight, branch weight, leaf weight and
decreases with age. The cutting of the old the total above ground weight of the different
bamboos should be increased. This way, the diameter classes per unit area are shown in
productivity of the bamboo stands can be Table 3.

Table 3. The weight structure of the different diameter

class in Phyllstachys heteroclada.

The average weight of

Diameter Number single bamboo (iin) Total The proportion
class (N/mu) above of the different
(cm) Culm Branch- Total ground diameter classes
weight leaf weight (%)
weight (jin/mu)
0.5 36 0.10 0.24 0.34 12.24 0.2
1.0 451 0.38 0.30 0.63 306.68 5.3
1.5 1003 0.82 0. 38 1.20 1203.60 20.9
2.0 935 1.41 0.47 1.88 1757.80 30.5
2.5 547 2.16 0.59 2.75 1504.25 26.1
3.0 190 3.05 0.73 3.78 718.20 12.5
35 45 4.08 0.92 5.00 225.00 3.9
4.0 6 5.27 1.14 6 .41 38.46 0.7
Totaf 3213 5766.23 100.0
 As indicated in Table 3, average produc- diameter breast height decreases. The larger
tion per mu is 5,768 jin. The distribution of diameter and higher weight of culms are
weights by diameter classes are as follows: present in 2,500 culms/mu of well developed
16% for 1.5 cm diameter classes, 30.5% for stand. As for the less developed stand.
2 cm, 26.1% for 2.5 cm, 16.0% for 3 cm the larger diameter class is 3,500 culms/mu.
respectively. It should be noted that ratio of
small diameter classes is higher. The structure The under ground biomass distribution:
of such stands is not desirable. The under ground portion of water bamboo
consists of three parts,stump root, rhizome
The site factor is used to recognise the and rootlet. The function of each part in the
well developed and the less developed stands, production of bamboo stand is different.
as shown in Table 4. Based on 47 rhizome quadrats for rhizomes
As. indicated in Table 4, the weight of of different ages (l-6 years) the density stand
culm and leaves affect the diameter breast and the weight of rhizome vary. The rhizome
height in the same factor. Culm weight in- ages and the ratios of young and old rhizomes
creases with the bamboo stand numbers. to the total rhizome weights are shown in
When the density of the stand is high, the Table 5.

Table 4. The bamboo biomass of the different stands.

Average
Stand Stand diameter Culm Leaf Branch
type density breast weight weight weight
(N/mu) height (jin/mu) (jin/mu) (jin/mu)
(cm)
2000 2.46 4223.3 740.2 241.0
Well
developed 2500 2.65 7166.0 754.5 760.3
stand
3000 2.02 4999.2 858.8 619.6

3500 1.93 5556.6 404.5 767.3

2500 1.58 2389.9 472.5 379.1

Less well
developed 3000 1.59 2709.9 593.3 753.7
stand
3500 1.35 2337.1 511.4 572.4

4000 1.32 2541.4 387.3 1186.0

Table 5. The biomass production of the rhizomes of varying ages.

The biomass constitution of the

Total rhizomes of different ages (%) Culm Culm-
rhizome weight rhizome
weight The young The vigorous The old fjin/mu) ratio
(jin/mu) rhizome rhizome rhizome
(1-2 yrs) (3-4 yrs) (5 yrs and
above)
8000 6.3 43.7 50.0 1319.7 1:6.1
5893 24.4 53.4 22.0 2541.4 1:2.3
3973 20.8 63.0 15.4 5556.6 1:0.7
2573 8.4 68.3 23.3 6515.6 1:0.4
4160 25.6 42.3 32.1 7166.0 1:0.6

82
 The weight of rhizomes of different ages tion .
are shown in Table 5. Culm weight increases As shown in Table 6, when the rhizome
up to a n extent and then along with rhizome capacity makes 20-25%, rhizome weighs
weight, decreases with increase in ratio of the 30.7%) stump root weighs 20% and the culm
old rhizome. When rhizome weights are production is 5,000-7,000 jin/mu. If rhizome
2,000-4,000 jin/mu, 5060% are vigorous capacity is below 20%) rhizome weighs
rhizomes and 15-30% old rhizomes. Culm 37.3% and the culm production is only
production can yield 5,000-7,000 jin/mu. 2337.1 jin/mu.
The capacity structure of rhizome and the The relationship between the biomass of
distribution of culm production: The rhizome the above ground and u n d e r g r o u n d o f
capacity is expressed by thousand counts Phyllostachys heteroclada stand: Ail parts
based on rhizome volume in the sample plot. function and effect the values of both above
The underground biomass is analysed in ground and the underground parts. The
terms of rhizome, rootlet and bamboo residual quantity of stump root and the old
stumps. The values are correlated with culm rhizome in water bamboo stand in long He
production. The numbers of underground Kou vary very much, Hard soil prohibits the
stump roots influence the development of growth of the rhizome, effecting the culm
bamboo and the increment of culm produc- production, as shown in Table 7.

Table 6. The capacity structures of rhizomes and culm yields.

The biomass constitution of The total Culm

Rhizome underground parts (%) weight of production
capacity underground (jin/mu)
(%) Rhizome Rootlet Bamboo parts
stump (jin/mu)
15 37.5 39.7 22.8 7786.6 2337.1
20 30.7 48.9 20.4 8613.3 5513.0
25 50.0 29.6 20.4 12053.3 6335.6
30 44.8 24.4 30.8 9280.0 7211.0
35 41.0 48.2 10.8 9680.3 5446.6

TabIe 7. Correlations of the biomasses of above ground and underground parts in

Phyllostachys heteroclada.

Average Ratio of the

diameter Culm Ratio of single total above
at breast production rhizome weight ground weight
height (jin/mu) to single culm to the total
(cm) weight under ground
weight
2.02 4999.2 0.84 1.1
2.46 4223.3 0.89 1.4
2.04 6053.3 1.08 1.5
1.98 5556.6 0.72 1.4
1.98 3677.4 1.87 2.1
1.32 2541.4 2.30 2.5
1.81 3286.7 1.60 3.4
1.51 2709.9 3.20 4.7

83
 In a given site the total above ground and decreases, the leaf area correspondingly
underground biomass seemed to have fixed decreases too. According to the data and the
ratios. When the ratio of the total weights are different growth conditions, the correlation
1.0-1.5 and culm production is 4,000-6,000 curve equation of leaf area index (LAI),
jin/mu it signifies high production. When the diameter breast height (D) and stand density
ratio of the total above ground weight is (N) can be worked out.
2.5-4.7, culm production is 2,000-3,000 LA1 = 0.0113
jin/mu. The old rhizome is very vigorous and
the capacity of rhizomes is above 30%. Plural correlation coefficient of LA1 and
2 = 1, partial correlation coeffi-
The relationship between the Ieaf area in- cient of LA1 and D, r = 0.7925, partial cor-
dex and diameter at breast height and the relation coefficient of LA1 and N, =
biomass: The biomass increase is related to 0.6276, reliability at the 96% level, precision
the leaf area. The suitable leaf area promotes 77.4%.
full utilization of solar energy.
The above formulae may be transformed
According to the curve correlation of the to the following form:
leaf area, the stand density and diameter at
breast height have been worked out accord- N= LAI
ing to the following regression equation: According to the equations, we can
S = 48 5288 N-0 5719 Dl 2025 prepare the table per unit area of the
different leaf area index and diameter height
Plural correlation coefficient r = 0.8711, of water bamboos. Discussion of the optimal
partial correlation coefficient of N and S, leaf area index of Phyllostachys heteroclada
2 = 0.4455, partial coefficient of S and D, stand: Leaf area index indicates the capability
1 = 0.8362, reliability at the 95% level, of making use of the solar energy within the
precision 94.1% . bamboo community. The leaf area index in-
To derive the curve equation, the leaf creases with increasing stand density in the
area of individual culm of the different bamboo forest at the same site. The stand
diameter classes and the different densities density increases to an optimum level owing
are used, as shown in Table 8. As seen in the to decrease of above ground and underground
equation, leaf area increases with the increase nutritional space and the efficiency of the solar
of diameter. When the stand densities energy utilization. Although the leaf area index
increase to a given range, bamboo crown of individual bamboo is high, the culm no
changes very little, the quantity of leaves longer increases as shown in Table 10.

Table 8. The leaf areas of the different diameter classes and the stand densities in
Phyllostachys heteroclada

Diameter classes (cm)

Stand density
(N/mu)
1.2 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8

2000 0.7408 1.0469 1.3692 1.7048 2.0520

2500 0.6733 0.9515 1.2444 1.5495 1.8650
3000 0.6204 0.8768 1.1466 1.4277 1.7185
3500 0.5775 0.8162 1.0674 1.3291 1.5996
4000 0.5419 0.7659 1.0016 1.2472 1.5012
4500 0.4858 0.6866 0.9459 1.1181 1.3458
5000 0.4632 0.6547 0.8561 1.0660 1.2831
 Table 9. The number of the different diameter classes and leaf area index in
Phyllostachys heterocloda

Leaf area index

Average diameter
breast. height
3 4 5 6 7
(cm)
1.2 3361 5190 7270 9576 12087
1.4 2582 3988 5587 7358 9287
1.6 2055 3174 4446 5856 7392
1.8 1681 2595 3636 4789 6044
2.0 1404 2168 3037 3999 5048
2.2 1193 1842 2580 3398 4289
2.4 1028 1587 2224 2929 3697
2.6 8% 1384 1939 2554 3224

Table 10. The culm productions of the different leaf area indices of
Phyllostachys heteroclada stands in Long He Kou.

Average Average
Leaf diameter Culm Leaf diameter Cutm
No. area breast production No. area breast production
index height (jin/mu) index height (jin/mu)
(cm) (cm)
1 2.59 1.11 1319.7 7 5.45 2.65 7166.0
2 3.01 1.58 2389.9 8 5.70 2.04 6515.6
3 3.61 1.51 2709.9 9 6.52 1.74 4229.6
4 3.88 1.66 3334.9 10 6.57 2.21 3669.6
5 3.65 2.26 4552.9 11 7.10 2.22 4890.0
6 4.03 1.70 5030.4 12 7.39 1.60 3767.2

Conclusion 4th year or above. Bamboos of 4 years

should be cut down in order to adjust the
1. The D.B.H. (X) of water bamboo is stand age and the structure and rational
closely related to the weight of several number of bamboos that we should keep.
organs (Y) . The formulae so far obtained The weight distribution by diameter
2 b
are: culm weight: Y = a(X H) , branch classes is as follows: 30.5% for the
bx
and leaf weight Y = ae , the total above weight of two diameter classes to the total
b
ground weight: Y = a(XH) , the error is stand weight, 26.1% for 2.5 classes,
below 6%. 15% for 3 classes, 26% for 1.5 classes.
2. The ratios of culm weight of water bam- In order to maintain continued produc-
boo stand to the total above ground tion good management is necessary.
weight are 70-80%. The weight distribu- 3. A bambod stand is defined as a high pro-
tion in terms is as follows: 31.7% for 1st duction stand, in which the categories
year bamboo, 22% for 2nd year bamboo, are: vigorous rhizome 50-60%, rhizome
17.5% for 3rd year bamboo, 28.8% for capacity 20-25%) the ratio of the total

85
 above ground weight to the total under translation journal of plant ecology. The
ground weight 1.0-1.5, the stand yield first series (translation from Japanese to
production about 4,000-7,000 jin/mu. Chinese by Li Wenhua).
4. If leaf area index is around four to six, the Sun Teiren. 1975. The preliminary research
stand is highly productive, and if the in- of botanical proportion of rhizome system
dex is above seven, the stand yield pro- o f Phyllostachys pubescens. Research
duction decreases. report of Anhui Agricultural College,
China.
References Xu Munong. 1983. The research method of
stand structure, research method of forest
Satoo, T. 1974. The research comprehen- trees, Tai An Forestry Institute, Shan-
sion of the production method. The dong Province, China.
 Study on the Application of Chemical
Fertilizer to the Timber and Paper-pulp
Stands of Phyllostachys pubescens
Shi Quan-tai, Bian Yao-rong and Wang Yong-xi

Subtropical Forest Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Forestry, China.

Abstract Experimental Design and Site

Fertilizer application in quantity and qua- The Experiments were carried out on two
Iity is very important to improve the growth sites separately. One was in Anji County
O
and yield of Phyliostachys bamboos grow- (3039N, 119 41E) in 1982-1983, other
ing in Anji county, China. Absorption rate of was in Yuhang County in 1983-1984.
NPK is correlated with the amount of dry Experimental design: A split-plot
matter produced. design was used, and the plots were divided
according to the density of grown plants
(dense stand with 4500 per ha., mid-dense
Introduction stand with 3750 per ha., sparse stand with
3000 per ha.). There were three sub-plots in
Phyllostachys pubescens is the main bam- each plot. They were treated by fertilizing N
boo species for timber and paper-making in (urea 150 kg/ha), N + P (urea 150 kg/ha +
China. An intensively managed bamboo Ca3 (PO4)2 CaO.MgO. SiO2 150 kg/ha) and
stand, with loosening of soil and application of one with nothing served as control. All plots
organic fertilizer can produce 20-30 tons of and sub-plots were arranged at random, with 6
wood per year per ha., but the application of replications. The ditches of 0.5 m wide and
organic fertilizer is expensive and laborious. 0.4 m deep were laid between every two sub-
The area of such bamboo stands is only 1% of plots to cut off rhizotaxis. In Anji experiment
total area of Ph. pubescens stands in China. site a protection band of 5 m wide around
Two thirds of bamboo stands are of lower each sub-plot was made. The area of each sub-
yielding and produce wood about 7 tons per plot was 667 m2. The treatment of replication
year per ha. site is shown in Figure 1.
Since 1960, a series of experiments in We enumerated the numbers and culm cir-
applying ammonium sulfate, urea and com- cumference at eye level at about 1.6 m
pound fertilizer N,P,K were carried out and above ground of bamboo plants from Oct.
with the support from IDRC, experiments with to Nov. of the year before applying fertilizers,
chemical fertilizer have been continuing since identifying the number of plants following the
1982. The results show that with 150 kg/ha design and determined the nutrients present
urea can increase yield of bamboo wood by in soil. Micro-meteorological observatory sta-
9% and 17% in Yuhang and Anji Couunties tions were separately built inside and outside
respectively. The net increase in inecome in the stand to record air and soil temperature,
the two sites is about 9%. In Fuyang County, humdity and rainfall. Before and after
the paper-pulp stands applied with urea 225 treatment, we monitored the growth condi-
kg/ha increased production by 72% and tion of the rhizomes, and determined the
the income by 70%. In all experiments N or chlorophyll content of bamboo leaves. The
N + P or N + P + K were applied. Among fertilizer was applied from 25-30 August. The
them, a plot applied N 225 kg + P 230 kg + K Winter and spring shoots were tended by full-
64 kg (N:P:K = 3: 1: 1) per ha. could increase time workers. The beginning of experiment
yield by 74 % . was on 25 March. Every shoot produced was

87
 Table 1. The climate of experimental sites

Average air temperature

High low Annual
Sites Year July Jan temperature temperature rainfall
O O O O O
( C) ( C) ( C) ( C) ( C) (mm)
Anji 14.5 31.5 8.2 39.2 -8.8 1875.7
Yuhang 15.7 27.0 8.2 39.1 - 7.9 1805.1

Table 2. The soil conditions of experimental sites

Total Quick-acting
Organic
Sites Soil type PH matter N% P2O5% P K
% (ppm) (ppm)
Anji red l o a m 5.58 4.64 0.228 0.056 2.8 123.2
Yu hang red loam 5.54 0.159 0.046 1.39 8.87

Table 3. The climate of experimental sites

Average air temperature

Extreme high Extreme low Annual
Site year July Jan temperature temperature rainfall
O O O O O
( C) ( C) ( C) ( C) ( C) (mm)
Fuyang 16.1 20.7 11.5 37.8 -8.4 1700

removed and weighed once in five days. In stands was much lower; they only produced
June, the circumference at eye level of newly- about 7-10 tons fresh bamboo wood per
grown plants, was measured and the data year/per ha.
was tested by the q test and variance analysis. b. Fertilizers: The types of fertilizer:
a. Experiment in paper-pulp bam- Urea, Ca3 (P04)2.CaO.MgO.SiO2 and
b o o s t a n d & Experimental site was in K-fertilizer.
O O
F u y a n g C o u n t y (30 03N, 119 57E) a n d The rate of compound fertilizer: 1. N; 2.
the work before fertilizing was completed in N:P2O5 = 3:l:3. N:P:K = 3:l:l.
1982. 60% of the above-mentioned fertilizer
was applied on 25-30 August, 1983 and the Urea was applied according to five dose
remainder in February 1984. The yield of grades: 225 kg/ha., 375 kg/ha., 675 kg/ha.
newly-grown bamboo plants was recorded in and 825 kg/ha. Other fertilizers were also cal-
1984. culated and applied on the above-mentioned
composition rate of fertilizer. The controls
The main objective was to supply tender were not applied with any fertilizer. The fer-
bamboo plants as raw material for paper- tilizer was applied into ditches which were
pulp. The tender plants were cut down in digged at interval of 1.5 m.
June and lodging was common. So the Randomized block design: with 4 replica-
2
application of a large quantity of fertilizer tions, plot area was 500 m . A protective
was needed. The yield of such bamboo ditch of 40 cm deep and 50 cm wide was dug

88
around each plot. The density of bamboo there was no difference in interaction between
plants in experimental area was 1800-2200 bamboo density and the type of fertilizer. (See
per ha., averaged 120-150 per plot. table 6, 7, 8).
C. Chlorophyll content of bamboo leaves
Results with N application (4.8598-5.1623%) was
higher than that of the control (3.9631-
1. The details of climate and the soi1 con- 4.7399%) and chlorophyll content of bam-
ditions of experimental sites are given (Tables boo leaves applied N +P (4.569-5.002%)
1,2). was still higher. In fertilized stands the leaves
grow well and were dark green. The differ-
A. The experimental data tested by q
value show that there was very significant ence in leaf area index was not significant.
But the number of newly-grown rhizomes
difference in the yield of newly-grown plants
between the treated and the control increased obviously after fertilizing (See Table
stands. The treated plots produced 4155 kg 9).
bamboo wood per ha. (i.e. increased 17%); This experiment was repeated in Yuhang
Income from shoots also increased to 333 County in 1984. The results are as follows.
Yuan/ha. This was a net gain of 166 Yuan (1) The yield of newly-grown bamboo
beside the cost of fertilizer and the wage of plants of the stand applied with urea was 150
workers (See Table 5). (The net-income is kg/ha and yield 16925 kg per ha. Increase in
300 Yuan according to the price of 1985). bamboo wood was 1483 kg per ha. when
B. The stands applied N +P were com- compared with the control (15442 kg per ha)
pared with control, and there was no signifi- an increase of 9%. Dead shoots and newly-
cant difference in income between both, and grown plants increased by 8%.

Table 4. The soil condition of experimental sites

Total Quick-acting
Organic
Sitss Soil type PH matter N% P2O5% P K
% (ppm) (ppm)
I Red loam 5.73 2.76 0.1491 0.095 0.4 6.49
II Red loam 5.49 3.70 0.1744 0.067 0.62 7.31
III Red loam 5.66 4.47 0.2214 0.091 1.53 6.97
IV Red loam 5.61 3.36 0.1653 0.091 0.95 7.01

Table 9. Results of newly-grown rhizomes before and after fertilizing.

Time of investigation infant rhizome (%) Increased rate (%)

number of rhizomes before 6.9

13.8
after 20.7

fresh weight before 5.4

15.2
after 20.6

dry weight before 3.7

10.5
after 14.2

89
 (2) In the stands applied with N 150 needs to expend nutrition by as much as N
kg/ha + P 150 kg/ha, bamboo wood 2.7 kg, K 3.6 kg, P 0.36 kg in soil. In Anji
increased to 1663 kg per ha. The income by County, soil does not lack P. Although plenty
plants increased by 11% , but a net-income, of K is expended, which can be supplied
besides the cost of fertilizer and the wages of from decomposed leaves, Ph. pubescens
workers, had not obviously increased. There- stand changes its leaves once every two
fore the effect of applying N +P varied with years. But the effects of applying N or N + P
the difference of soil condition. An optimum was not suitable in some stands where the site
fertilizer depends on the optimum rate of condition was different. In Fuyang County,
compound fertilizer applied (N:P:K). the stands applied with N 225 kg + P 230 kg
2. The results of application of fertilizer to + K 64 kg per ha. could increase the
paper-pulp bamboo stands. yield by 74%. So it is a better utilisation of
compound fertilizer (i.e. N:P:K: = 3:1:1) for
(1) The stand applied with urea 225 kg such paper-pulp bamboo stand and can be
per ha. with 4 replications gave an average used widely. We suggest that applying N.P.K.
yield of 18221 kg per ha., increased 73% to bamboo stands should depend on the soil
compared with the control (10556 kg per nutrition condition in different areas.
ha.}, with increase in bamboo wood by 17-
128% compared with the average yield of all 2. Applying urea 150-225 kg per ha. to
contracts (8056- 15532- 12356- 10890- 14400 timber stands and low yield paper-pulp stands
kg). The income rose 9-l 10%. An average of Ph. pubescens in Anji, Yuhang and
income per ha. was 538 Yuan and after Fuyang counties increased the yield and
deducting the fertilizer and wage of workers income. (For example by investing 177 Yuan
(177 Yuan) from it there was a net-income of from the net income of more than 600 Yuan
361 Yuan. (See Table 11, 12, 13). according to the 1985 prices). These measures
can be widely popularised in bamboo produc-
(2) The stand applied with N 225 kg + P tion regions similar to Anji and Fuyang. With
230 kg + K 64 kg per ha., an average yield an increase of l0%, the yield of bamboo can
was 18214 kg per ha., increased 73% com- be improved to 800-1500 thousand tons per
pared with the control (10556 kg per ha.). The year/per hectare. About 2.4 million ha. are
income increased 325 Yuan. properly fertilised.
(3) The stand applied with N 675 kg + P
690 kg per ha. an average yield of 4 replica-
tion was 27744 kg (31215-25794-31365- Acknowledgements
22605 kg) per ha., increased by 16854 kg per
ha. compared with that (10890 kg) of control: The following personnel were involved in
(10965-8955- 12426- 11220 kg), i.e. increase conducting experiments: The head of
of 155%. A net-income increased 671 Yuan the team was Qiu Fu-geng. The experi-
per ha. ment design was made by Hou Zhi-pu the
Other stands applied with N 825 kg or vice-head of Chinese Academy of Forest
N 825 + P 844 kg per ha. could also increase Science. Hong Shun-shan and Jaiang Ye-
yield. but could not get any economic effi- geng were responsible for soil investigations.
ciency because of the high cost of chemical Xiao Jiang-hua and Xu Ling-wei were
fertilizer. responsible for the investigation of bamboo
rhizome growth. Huang Qi-ming and Gu-
Discussion and Suggestions Xiao-ping determined chlorophyll content in
bamboo leaves. Chen Yan-fang was respon-
1. According to the present study for sible for observation and record of micro-
each 1000 kg of vegetable matter (including meteorology. Sun Shou-shu and Fang Ming-
the roots. branches, leaves and culms), it yu participated in other types of work.

90
 Mensurational Attributes of Five Philippine
Erect Bamboos
Leuviua M.Taudug and Fermin G. Torres
Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Natural Resources College, Laguna 3720
Philippines

Abstract bamboos have other uses, such as in the

manufacture of handicrafts, furniture and for
Some mensurational attributes, uiz. aver- food. As an industrial material, they are used
age internode length, cuim-wail thickness, as a source of raw materials for pulp and paper
culm size, pole length, number of internodes making. Their fibers, being considerably long,
per pole and taper of five erect bamboo add strength to any paper product.
species from different localities in the Philip- Researches conducted on bamboos dealt
pines were determined. Data were gathered mainly with their properties and character-
on 494 mature cutms harvested from four istics, propagation and utilization, manage-
provinces in Luzon and the Visayas. ment and plantation establishment. However,
Significant linear relationship between no specific study has been done so far on their
green weight and solid volume of the bamboo mensurational attributes based on actual
poles were observed for all the species samples gathered.
studied. Their corresponding regression The study is the first local attempt to give
equations were also determined. comprehensive information on the different
mensurational attributes of 5 commercially
important erect bamboos in the Philippines
Introduction namely: Bombusa blumeana Schultes f.
(Kauayantinik) , Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex
Bamboos are perennial true grasses which Wendl. (Kauayan-kiling) , Dendrocalamus
are widely distributed not only in the Philip. merrilliunus (Elm) Elm (Bayog), Gigantochloa
pines but also in many parts of the tropical. Ievis ( B l a n c o ) Merr. ( B o l o ) a n d Schizo-
sub-tropical and mild temperate regions of the stachyum lumampao (Blanco) Merr. (Buho).
world. They are represented by 47 genera In addition, the weight-volume relationship
and 1250 known species, most of which are and regression equations for the different
relatively unimportant from the commercial species were determined.
point of view.
Knowledge of these information is impor-
Of the commercially utilized ones, those tant in the .yield determination and utilization
that are erect are more beneficial. In tropical of the five erect bamboos.
countries, most erect bamboos are charac-
teristically clump-forming. About 36 species
of these erect clump-forming bamboos have Methods
been recorded in the Philippines. Only 8,
however, are extensively studied and com- The study was conducted on different
mercially utilized for construction and indus- localities (Fig. 1) where there were sufficient
trial purposes. stands of the 5 selected erect bamboo species
Regarded as a poor mans lumber, barn- (Table 1).
boos in the Philippines are important construc- Data were gathered on freshly harvested*
tion material especially in the rural areas. Low mature culms as follows:
cost houses made of bamboos account for 1. For each whole culm, the circumfer-
25.89 percent of housing units in the country ences of the node and the internode were
(Philippines Yearbook, 1975). However, measured from the base upward at an jnterval

91
of 5 internodes. The corresponding diameters 4. Five to 15 samples per species were
of the node and internode were then calcu- cut into four equal parts, i.e. 0-25%, 25-
lated. 50%, 50-75%) and 75-100% of the whole
culm. From each section, the culm-wall thick-
2. The length of each internode was also
ness, fresh weight and solid volume were
measured from the base upward.
determined.
3. The culm-wall thicknesses of the base
The solid volume of each section was
and that of the apex were measured with
computed using the following formula:
vernier caliper to the nearest tenth of a centi-
meter.
!" This means that the top-most part of a culm which is too slender for use, about 2 meters was cut-off leaving only

the merchantable pole.

Fig. 1. Map of the Philippines showing locationof the study

sites.
 Table 1. Number of samples taken for each bamboo species and places of collection.
Number of
Species Place Samples

Bambusa blumeana (Kauayan-tinik) San Jose, Mindoro Oct. 113

Nueva Valencia, Iloilo
Bambusa vulgaris (Kauayan-kiling) Ballesteros, Cagayan 100
Dendrocalamus merrillianus (Bayog) Nueva Valencia, Iloilo 54
Gigantochloa Ievis (Bolo) Nagcarlan, Laguna 106
Schizostachyum Iumampao (Buho) Allacapan, Cagayan 121

+ L to 12.3 cm in diameter at the base. Of the 5

v = species, this bamboo was observed to have
2
the biggest diameter and the longest culms.
where: The average internode length was 34.34 cm,
V = solid volume in cubic centimeter shortest at both ends (apex and base) and
of the section longest about the middle. A typicalculm of B.
= area in square centimeter at the blumeana has relatively thick wails ail
large end of the section throughout becoming gradually thinner
= area in square centimeter at the towards the top. The thickest portion was
large end of the hollow portion found at the base ranging from 0.78 to 3.85
cm while the top had a thickness averaging
= area in square centimeter at the 0.58 cm. It is large at the base and gradually
small end of the section
tapers towards the top.
= area in square centimeter at the
small end of the hollow portion B. blumeana can be easily distinguished
from other Philippine erect bamboo species
L = length in centimeter of the section by its large clumps of up to 10 or 40 culms
Total green weights in kilograms were per clump with densely interlaced thickets
derived by summing up the values obtained of very spiny branches at the base, 2 to 3 m
for each section. high. This thicket actually protects the delicate
young shoots from being eaten by herbivores,
5. The culms of all the bamboos studied
helps keep the tall culms erect and makes
slightly tapered from the base to the top. This
access to the culms exceedingly difficult.
taper was calculated as the ratio of the solid
volume (including the hollow portion, in this B. blumeana is the most commercially
case) to the volume of a cylinder, with dia- known species in the Philippines being utilized
meter equal to diameter at the base and for various purposes such as house construc-
length equal to total height. tion, furniture, handicrafts, food, pulp and
Analysis of the data was facilitated by paper. At present, the cost per culm ranges
the IBM 370 computer system. The men- from 20-50 depending upon the proximity of
surationai attributes determined in the study the stand to the road system and location.
are summarized in Table 2. Comparative sizes
of the 5 species are shown in Figures 2 and 3. (2) Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex. Wendl.
The 100 culms for the study ranged from
5.8 to 13.7 m in length and from 4.3 to 10.2
Results and Discussion cm in diameter at the base. The internodes of
each culm had an average length of 29.02
Mensurational Attributes cm. At the base of the culm the wall thickness
(1) Bambusa blumeana Schultes f. ranged from 1.08 to 2.58 cm while at the top,
The 113 sample cuims of B. blumeana 0.34 to 0.82 cm.
gathered for the study ranged from 6.7 to Its culm also grows in clumps which are
15.6 m in merchantable length and from 6.6 more or less open or loose. A typical culm of

93
 -Table 2. Mensurational attributes of the five erect bamboo species.

Bambusa Bambusa Dendrocalamus Gigantochloa Schizostachyum

Attributes blumeana vulgaris merrillianus levis lumampao
Mean SD* !" Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

Number of internodes 30.5 5.3 26.3 6.5 20.7 3.8 24.2 5.9 12.4 2.5
Merchantable length 1047.4 150.8 763.2 187.9 555.2 112.9 957.3 246.4 561.1 115.9
of the culm (cm)
Diameter of the 9.18 1.37 6.73 1.06 5.99 1.05 8.61 1.72 4.96 1.04
internode at the base
(cm)
Node size (diameter) 10.0 1.3 7.2 1.2 7.1 1.3 9.0 1.7 5.1 1.0
at base (cm)
Culm-wall thickness 1.42 0.39 1.69 0.36 2.54 0.40 1.78 0.51 0.63 0.18
at base (cm)
Culm-wall thickness at 0.58 0.11 0.59 0.10 1.08 0.16 0.50 0.12 0.29 0.08
apex (cm)
Average internode 34.34 29.02 29.02 26.82 39.56 45.25
length (cm)
Taper 0.76 0.84 0.69 0.69 0.72

!" average of sample culms per species

!" standard deviation

0 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000cm

Fig. 2. Camparative length ad number of internodes per culm of the five bamboo
species.

94
 S. lumampao
I
SCALE I : IO cm
Fig. 3. Comparative culm-wall thickness, diameter and internode length
of the five bamboo species.

B. vulgaris is smooth, spineless, usually As in B. vulgaris, its culms also form into
yellowish or yellowish green. Though as large clump that is open or loosely tufted.
versatile as B. blumeana, it is not as com- Sometimes, the culms can be seen bending
monly used because of its susceptibility to over due to the weight of the upper portion
insect attack. which in this study was found to have an
(3) Dendrocalamus merdlianus (Elm.) average wall thickness of 1.08 cm, the highest
Elm. among the species.
The 54 sample culms ranged from 4.1 to (4) Gigantochloa levis (Blanco) Merr.
8.0 cm in diameter at the base and from 4.4 It is considered as one of the largest bam-
to 7.8 m in length. D. merrillianus had the boos in the Philippines. In this study, the 106
smallest average internode compared with sample culms ranged from 5.2 to 13.4 cm in
the other species studied, averaging 26.82 diameter at the base and from 6.4 to 16.2 m
cm in length while its nodes were very pro- in length. The average internode length was
minent ranging from 4.7 to 10.3 cm. Each found to be 39.56 cm while the nodes were
culm had very thick walls at the base, ranging relatively inconspicuous. At the base of the
from 1.74 to 3.6 cm which sometimes culm, the wall had an average thickness of
become almost solid. Owing to its thick walls, it 1.78 cm and at the top, 0.50 cm.
is considered one of the strongest and certainly
Its culm is smooth, dull green and has a
the toughest of the erect varieties. That is why
siliceous and pubescent outer surface. Its
this bamboo is chiefly utilized for purposes
clump is reIatively clean with culms number-
requiring strength and durability such as posts,
i n g from 20 to 40.
beams, rafters, bridges and vehicle shafts.
G. levis is usually utilized for furniture and

95
 5 20

Serial number of internods

Fig, 4. Diameters of the internodes at different

portions in the culms of the five bamboos.

handicrafts but are rarely used for house con- inconspicuous and ranged from 3.3 to 8.3 cm
struction because it is not especially durable. in diameter at the base. Owing to the non-
Its stems are long and straight. Hence, they are prominence of the nodes, the culm appears
sometimes used as pipes for temporary water straight or nearly so. It has thin walls having
supplies. an average of only 0.63 cm at the base and
(5) Schizostachyum Iumampao (Blanco) 0.29 cm at the top. Being thin-walled, it is
Merr. usually split and woven into a coarse matting
(sawali) useful for houses in the rural areas as
The 121 culms ranged from 3.5 to 10.3 m
floors and walls.
in merchantable length and-from 3.4 to 8.2
cm in diameter at the base. Of the 5 species S. lumampao is endemic in the Philip-
studied, S. lumampao had the Iongest inter- pines. It grows in much denser cIumps, some-
node averaging 45.25 cm. The nodes were times with 100 or more culms in each clump.

96
 It has no spiny growth at the bottom of the Table 5. Average number of bamboo poles
clump as those in B. blumeana. and the equivalent solid volume permetric
ton (fresh weight) of the five species.
In general, the culms of erect bamboos
taper from the base to the top. However, of Number/ 100 kg Equivalent
the 5 species studied, it was found that S. Species Range Mean Solid Volume
lumampao and B. vulgaris had culms that (cu. m)
increased in diameter from the base up to a B. blumeana 30-62 38 1.4099
certain point then decreased gradually up to
B. vulgaris 37-69 44 0.6721
the top (Fig. 4). In the case of B. vulgaris, the
largest diameter was almost at the middle of D. merrillianus 74-160 105 0.9526
the culm about 3 meters from the base while G. levis 24-90 45 0.5380
in S. lumampao, the largest was near the fifth S. lumampao 145-439 256 0.7397
internode, about 2.5 m above the ground.
According to the findings of Uchimura Table 4. Regression equations to estimate
(1977), maximum diameters of some erect the total volume per culm of each
bamboos he studied, including these two bamboo species.
species, B. vulgar-is and S. lumampao, were
Species Equations*
not at ground level but along the length of the
culms. The same observation holds true for B. blumeana Y = - 17399.5447 + 1427.2800 x
the internodes, i.e. they were found increas- r = 0.9502
ing in length from the base up to a certain B. vulgaris Y = 2590.4400 + 669.4938 x
point along the culm and then gradually r = 0.9510
decrease until the top. D. merrillianus Y = - 1502.8436 + 954.1491 X
f = 0.9771 !
Table 3. Average green weight and solid levis Y = 7975.0000 + 529.9745 x
volume of the different species per r = 0.9698
merchantable pole based on the sample
S. lumampao Y = 735.6779 + 738.9830 x
culms. r = 0.9267 !

Species Weight Volume #

w h e r e : Y = volume in cu cm
(kg) (cu cm) X = weight in kg
r = correlation coefficient
B. blumeana 26.46 25718.34
!"significant at 5% level
B. vulgaris 22.83 17887.17 !" * highly significant at 1% level
D. merrillianus 9.54 7589.71
G. levis 22.38 23250.73 already gained acceptance as a source of raw
S. lumampao 4.91 4344.80 materials for pulp and paper manufacture not
only in the Philippines but also in other coun-
Weight-volume Equations tries. According to Chandra (1975), most of
the paper mills in Central India are now using
The relationship between green weight 100% bamboos as raw material for pulp and
and solid volume of the different species paper manufacture. About 400,000 tons of
(Table 3) was also determined in this study. It their bamboos are being utilized for this
was found that the average number of bam- industry. Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan,
boos per 1,000 kg (1 ton) in fresh weight and Taiwan and Burma are also using bamboos
the equivalent solid volume of the 5 species for the same purpose.
varied. Based on the regression equations
(Table 4) generated from sample culm data, it Likewise in the Philippines, it is now being
was noted that the highest total solid volume considered as an alternate source of soft-
(Table 5) was given by B. blumeana followed woods and hardwoods as principal raw
by D. mertillianus, S. lumampao, B. vulgaris material for paper making, Some sparse data
and.G. levis, in that order, when culms of is reported by Chinte (1965). According to
equal weight are considered. him. a ton of 3 to 4 year old bamboo (G.
aspera Kurz. and B. vulgaris Schrad. var.
The importance of this information lies striata) contain 86 to 190 green culms or 217
more in determining the pulp yield of bam- to 337 air-dry culms, respectively. Some 543
boos for paper manufacture. Bamboo has

97
to 842 air-dried cuims would produce one ton species studied. Their corresponding
of pulp at 40% mill recovery. Beside the two regression equations were determined.
species mentioned, G. Ievis is also suitable for 7. Knowledge of the given mensurational
kraft pulps, B. vulgaris for wrapping paper and attributes and weight-volume relationship
boxes and B. blumeana for quality bond, for the 5 species studied is important in
onion skin and bag papers (Tamolang, et al., their yield determination and utilization.
1980).

Literature Cited
Conclusions
Chandra, R. 1975. Production and cost of
1. Of the 5 erect bamboo species studied, B. logging and transport of bamboo. FAO,
blumeana was observed to have the Rome.
biggest diameter and the longest culms.
Chinte, F. 0. 1965. Bamboos in plantation,
2. D. merrillianus had the smallest average Forestry Leaves. College, Laguna,
internode but the thickest walls. Philippines. 16 (Z-3, 33-34)
3. G. levis was found to be second only to Philippines Yearbook. 1975. The Fookien
B. blumeana with regard to culm size and Times.
merchantable length.
Tamolang, F.N., Lopez, F.R., Semana J.A.,
4. S. lumampao though the smallest in Casin, R.F. and Espiloy Z.B. 1980. Pro-
terms of culm size, had the longest inter- perties and Utilization of Philippine Erect
nodes but with the thinnest walls. Bamboos. In Bamboo Research in Asia
5. B. vulgaris had the largest diameter not at Wksp. Proc., IDRC, Singapore. 189-
the base but along the length of the culm 200pp.
almost at the middle. Uchimura, E. 1977, Ecological studies on the
6. Significant linear relationships between cultivation of bamboo forest in the Philip-
green weight and solid volume of the pines. Forest Research Institute Library,
sample poles were observed for all the College, Laguna. Philippines. 74p.

98
 A Study on the Mineral Nutrition
of Phyllostachys pubescens
Huang Pai-hui

Zhejiang Forestry Research Institute,Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract of different elements were washed with

distilled water in order to achieve the
The present paper discusses the mineral accuracy of the test results. In analysing ele-
analysis of Phyllostchys pubescens. The ments of mineral nutrition, different methods
dynamics of mineral nutrition in differenr parts were adopted: expansion for total N, yellow
of the plant body and variations between vitriol chromatography for total P; atomatic
them are discussed. absorption and division spectrometry for total
K; emission spectrophotometer method for
total Na; gravimetric analysis for SiO2; and
Introduction atomic absorption spectrometry for such
elements as Fe, Cu, Mg, Mn , Zn and Ca .
The dry matter in the plant body of
Phyllostachys pubescens contains not only
such elements as Ca, H, 0 but other mineral Test Result and Analysis
elements. Cct, H and 0, are taken from CO2
in the air and water. These elements play an A. The dynamics of mineral nutrition in
important role in the growth of Ph. different parts of the plant body and
pubescens. The present paper discusses the relations between them:
changing pattern of the different elements - The quantity of the mineral elements
N.P., K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Na and accumulated in the body of Ph. pubescens
Sio. varies from one growth phase to another.
(Table 5). As indicated in Table 1 the accu-
mulations of N .P.K. and Mg are greater in
Materials and Methods March and June than in April. In an analysis
made in March 1976 N.P.K. and Mg contents
The materials were collected from in the leaves were 2.47, 0.196, 0.98 and
the forest of Ph. pubescens in Xunhuan 0.1109 respectively. But values obtained for
Brigade, Lanxi County, Zhejiang Province, leaves picked in April 1984 were 1.55,0. 153.
in March (i.e. the preshooting phase), 0.69 and 0.889 respectively. Compared with
April (the shooting phase), June (the phase of elements contained in the leaves of March,
vegetative growth)and September (the phase they are reduced by 37%, 21%, 29.5% and
of budding and rhizome running). 19.8%. The accumulations of N.P.K. and Mg
Healthy plants *of Ph. pubescens were in the leaves of June are 0.184, 0.16, 2.25
selected from the same site conditions. The and 0.125 or 18.7%, 6.6%, 26% and 41%
plants of two different age groups were cut more than in the leaves of April. The accumu-
and leaves, culms and rhizomes were lation of N. in the leaves of September
separated. The leaves were picked from dif- surpasses that in the leaves of June by
ferent parts of the crown, the specimen culms 12.546, while accumulations of P.K, and Mg
were 20 cm in length, cut from plants at fell by 31.25%, 49% and 11%. It is also clear
points of 1.5 m and 4 m above the ground. from Table 1 that N.P.K. and Mg in the culms
Young and old rhizomes were selected from and rhizomes also undergo similar changes in
the felled plants. Except for those for N.P.K. content.
analyses, all other specimens for the analyses (2) The seasonal changes of the accumu-

99
 Table 1. Dynamics of Elements of Mined Nutrition Unit:
(Percentase of the Dry Matter)
Element Total N

Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L c R L C R L C R L c R
Maturity

1976 2.47 0.157 0.714 1.55 0.22 0.425 1.84 0.395 0.535 2.07 0.230 0.575
1977 2.58 0.185 0.488 1.91 0.131 0.194 1.91 0.200 0.470 1.605 0.160 0.460
1978 1.79 0.177 0.411 1.62 0.181 0.356 2.10 0.375 0 525 2.35 0.215 0.67
1979 2.16 0.134 0.334 2.12 0.177 0.297 1.91 0.230 0.275 1.97 0230 0.60
1980 2.06 0.282 0.33 2.18 0.227 0 382 2.26 0.34 0.455 2.16 0400 0.62
Average 2.212 0.187 0.454 1.876 0.187 0.330 2.004 0.308 0.367 2.031 0.247 0.582

Note: L = Leaf C = Culm R = Rhizome

Element Total P
Month 3 4 6 9

Part
Year of L C R L c R L C R L c R
Maturity

1976 0.196 0.026 0.149 0.153 0.1095 0 160 0.160 0.060 0 120 0.12 0.05 0.11
1977 0 197 0.103 0 132 0.160 0.070 0 126 0.145 0 092 0.140 0.13 0.04 0.11
1978 0.146 0 053 0.149 0.139 0.073 0.135 0 190 0.074 0.165 0.18 0 03 0.11
1979 0 146 0.080 0.153 0.178 0.105 0.190 0.140 0.100 0.135 0 16 0 055 0 11
1980 0.153 0.103 0.160 0.160 0.093 0.130 0.210 0 110 0 190 0 22 0.055 0.165
Average 0.167 0.073 0 149 0 158 0.090 0 148 0.169 0.0872 0 150 0.162 0.046 0.121

Element Total K

Month 3 4 6 9

Part
Year of L C R L c R L C R L C R
Maturity

1976 0 98 0.37 0.37 0 69 0.56 0.33 2.25 0.43 0 27 1.26 0 455 0 35

1977 0.77 0.54 0.25 0.885 0.28 0.18 1.71 0.46 0.29 0 73 0 325 0.230
1978 0 47 0 61 0.47 0.65 0.58 0.29 3.43 0.72 0.51 1.305 0.240 0.24
1979 0 64 0.61 0.45 0.83 0.72 0 35 1.65 0 60 0.335 0 995 0 350 0.220
1980 0 51 0 98 0.43 0.82 0.73 0 45 3 42 0.59 0 37 1.81 0 455 0 25
Average 0.67 0 62 0.39 0.77 0.57 0.32 2 492 0.56 0 35 1 22 0 365 0 258

lations of such elements as Ca. SiO2. Mn and than in June, although the amount of Cu
Cu in the body of Ph. pubescens are com- remains the same as that in June.
pletely different from those of N.K. and Mg. (3) Our leaf analyses (Table 1) show that
The values are given in Table 1. The accumu- the accumulations of the four elements
lations of Ca. SiO2,, Mn in bamboos excised in N.P.K. and Mg decrease in older leaves. In
March are smaller than those of April. The
new leaves, they are the highest _ Following
latter are greater than those harvested in
the aging process of the leaves, Ca, SiO2, Mn
June. In June the bamboo has lower accumu- and Cu steadily accumulate until they reach
lations of Ca. SiO2, Mn and Cu. than in the highest amount in the old leaves. In new
September. Against the accumulations of leaves, however, they are very low in
these elements in the Ph. pubescens of April, content.
June witness a decrease of 31% for Ca, 28%
of Sio2. 33% for Mn and 33.2% for Cu. But (4) The accumulations of elements of
in September the bamboo obtains 30.5% mineral nutrition in the plant body of Ph.
more Ca, 18% more Sio2 and 31% more Mr pubescens vary from one organ to another.

100
Element Fe
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L c R
Maturity

1976 0.01212 0.00124 0.00709 0.06420 0.00142 0.00745 0.01204 0.00133 0.00529 0.01123 0 0066 0 00556
1977 0.01408 0.00124 0.00943 0.01168 0.00151 0.00601 0.01906 000115 0.00790 0.01744 0 0043 0 00925
1978 0.2239 0.00124 0.00763 0.01573 0.00124 0.01213 0.01187 0.00160 0.00691 0.01033 000151 0 00745
1979 0.02271 0.00106 0.00709 0.01303 0 00124 0.00627 0.01716 0.00169 0.00727 0.01123 0 00205 0 00646
1980 0.02131 0.00142 0.00576 0.01402 0.00124 0.00484 0.01177 0.00196 0 00583 0.01042 0.00169 0.00621
Average 0.01852 0.00124 0.00738 0.02373 0.00134 0.00734 0.01402 0 00153 000664 0 01213 0 00313 0 00698

Element Mg
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L C R
Maturity

1976 0.1109 0.0257 0.0398 0.0889 0.0255 0.0486 0.1251 0.0293 0.0527 0.1116 0.0309 0 0586
1977 0.1605 0.0401 0.0542 0.0905 0.0341 0.0704 0.0859 0.0359 0 0664 0.0844 0.0366 0 0531
1978 0.0852 0.0285 0.0567 0.0784 0.0267 0.0676 0 1033 0.0276 0.0605 0.1161 0.0314 0.0619
1979 0.0943 0.0227 0.0372 0.1100 0.0207 0.0505 0.1040 0.0292 0.0374 0.1455 0.0234 0.0569
1980 0.0950 0.0289 0.0434 0.0995 0.0222 0.0485 0.1145 0 0174 0.0697 0.1070 0 0153 0 0627
Average 0.0983 0.0281 0.0463 0.0935 0.0258 0 0571 0.1065 0.0278 0 0573 0 1192 0 0275 0 0546

Element Zn

Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L C R
Maturity

1976 0.00355 0.00081 0.00238 0.00390 0.00275 0.00175 0.00315 0.00106 0.00213 0.00435 0 00186 0 00234
1977 0.00355 0.00106 0.00392 0.00360 0.00292 0 00206 0.00465 0 00149 0.00376 0.00385 0.00116 0 0 0 3 1 3
1978 0.00340 0.00063 0.00216 0.00375 0.00237 0.00207 0.00330 0.00095 0.00125 0.00410 0 00120 0 00246
1979 0.00340 0.00065 0.00313 0.00375 0.00231 0.00267 0.00425 0.00126 0.00199 0 0062 000124 000340
1980 0.00380 0.00044 0.00314 0.0044 0.00207 0.00195 0.00260 0 00128 0 00349 0 00235 0 00123 000199
Average 0 00354 0.00071 0.00294 0.00388 0.00248 0 00210 0.00359 0 00120 0 . 0 0 2 5 1 0 00417 0 00133 0 00266

For example, in the rhizome they are higher there is quantitative variations between young
than in the culm, but lower than in the leaves. and old leaves.
The accumulations of K, Ca and Mn are, Elements of mineral nutrition such as Ca,
however, much greater in the culm than in SiO2, Mn and Cu can seldom. if ever, be
the rhizome. further utilized by the plant body of Ph.
As we know, the dynamics of the accu- pubescens. In other words, they do not take
mulations of mineral elements in different part in the circulation within the plant body.
parts of Ph. pubescens are decided by the So once accumulated in the leaves, these
participation of ions in the circulation within elements remam deposited. As a result, the
the plant body. N.P.K. and Mg are surely the older the leaves, the greater is the accumula-
elements which are capable of participating in tions of these elements. Accumulations of
the circulation within the plants. In the course elements vary in the plant body. N.P.K. and
of circulation, these elements are redistributed Mg are mostly found in the leaves where the
and utilized as bamboo leaves begin to wither. process of metabolism is fast. This is also true
These mineral elements are gradually sent to of the rhizome which is the storehouse as well
various parts of the plant body. Hence as the propagating organ. With the various

101
T a b l e 1 cant

Element Mn
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L c R L C R L C R
Maturity
1976 0089 0.0055 0.0031 0 119 0.0083 0.0035 0.080 00081 0.0028 0 105 00117 00035
1977 0.078 0.0076 0.0051 0 086 0.0079 0.0040 0.095 0.0096 00031 0 141 0 0096 00037
1978 0.081 0.0043 0 0047 0.107 0.0055 0.0054 0.040 0.0047 00024 0064 00077 0.0025
1979 0071 0.0031 00037 0.091 0.0045 0.0036 0.114 0.0096 0.0034 0.085 00065 00026
1980 0.055 0.0032 0.0053 0.056 0.0067 0.0031 0.044 0.0056 00039 0052 00026 0 0048
Average 0.075 0.0047 0.0043 00918 00065 0.0038 00746 00084 00031 00894 0.0076 00034
Element Ca
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L C R
Maturity
1976 03396 0.00905 000657 06399 0.01575 000554 0.4415 000887 0.00801 05764 00090 000744
1977 0.5005 0.00696 000463 07205 001234 000617 08991 000755 000680 10099 000737 000606
1978 0 7105 0.00779 0.00311 0.9617 0.01166 0.00495 0.1090 0.00884 000684 0.2488 000510 0 00643
1979 0.7222 0.00686 0.00764 0.6667 0.01234 0.00502 0.6780 0.00737 0.00792 0.7356 000605 000784
1980 06059 000541 0.00761 0.5997 001012 0.00816 0.1483 000478 000602 03326 000530 000869
Average 0.5757 000721 0.00591 0 7176 0.01243 0.00591 0.455 0.00750 0.00713 0.580 000656 000729

Element cu
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L C R
Maturity
1976 000081 000017 000031 000127 0.00019 0.00028 0.00085 000015 000023 0.00684 000017 000031
1977 000071 0.00022 000033 0.00099 000015 000023 000069 000017 000028 000061 000018 000026
1978 0 00065 0.00021 0.00028 0.00075 0.00027 0.00021 0.00069 000024 0 00021 0 00088 000015 0 00032
1979 0.00076 0.00026 0.00037 0.00111 0.00022 0.00034 000074 0.00018 000019 000094 000025 000035
1980 0.00089 000027 000036 000104 000025 0.00034 000080 000028 0.00024 0.00073 000027 000029
Average 0.00078 0.00022 0.00033 0.00103 0.00022 0.00028 0.00754 0.00020 000023 000080 000020 000030
Element Na

Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L c R
Maturity
1976 00043 0.00185 000377 0.00677 000306 000506 000315 000341 000312 0.00553 000164 000511
1977 0.00367 0.00230 0.00360 0.00674 000190 0.00298 0.00585 0.00303 0.00543 0.00406 0.00243 000367
1978 0.00315 0.00304 0.00476 0.00835 0.00253 0.00233 0.00829 0.00373 0.00411 000576 0.00267 0.00635
1979 0.00427 0.00127 0.00401 0.00219 0.00284 0.00377 0.00475 0.00308 000809 000664 000297 000528
1980 0.00466 0.00158 0.00535 000134 0.00234 000405 000285 000351 000629 000423 000234 000440
Average 0.00401 0.00200 0.00429 0.00507 000253 0.00363 0.00497 000335 000541 000524 000241 000496
Element sio2
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
Year of L C R L C R L C R L C R
Maturity
1976 10.215 0.287 1660 12.873 0 190 1380 9295 0150 1453 10980 0335 2 00
1977 10.275 0.137 1.155 12.325 0.145 1.783 15.75 0.195 1963 16 653 0 197 1345
1978 12.360 0.243 1.468 13460 0.185 2.033 3 727 0.155 1387 6.890 0330 1480
1979 9.915 0.150 1.178 .11.045 0.310 1.938 15.275 0 165 1.797 14.575 0 257 1.550
1980 11.040 0.290 1.495 11.265 0 192 1203 5.285 0 230 1538 6 135 0247 1.825
Average 10.761 0.221 1391 12194 0204 1667 9867 0179 1628 11050 0273 1640

102
metabolic processes, the accumulations of growth phase:
these elements are small. However, K, Ca and a. Relationship between two elements:
Mn which are plenty in young and tender
tissues are accumulated more in the culm. In R(NP)=0.2388 R(NK) =0.9162 R(PK)=0.0684
the rhizome, they are least accumulated. Table b. Relationship between two elements
1 shows that of ail accumulations of elements and the other element:
of mineral nutrition in the plant body of P. R(NP.K)=0.4406 R(KN.P)=0.9289 R(PK.N)=0.3864
pubescens, N, SiO2 and K are the greatest (l-
11% of the dry matter) next come Ca, Mg and c. Relationship between one element and
P (0. l- 0.5% of the dry matter). Micro- the other two elements:
elements Fe, Mn, Cu, Na and Zn are not as R(N.PK)=0.9311 R(P.KN)=0.4486 R(K.NP)=0.9290
high (0.08% ppm of the dry matter).
Significance t e s t s h a v e p r o v e d t h a t
N.P. and K. play an important role in the R(KN.P) is neutrally positive while R(NP.K)
growth of bamboos that they can affect the and R(PK.N) do not exist, R(P.NK), R(K.NP)
yield. In order to understand the relations and R(N.PK) are all distinctively positive,
between the three elements at different although such positiveness does not exist in
growth phases made relative analyses are other relationships like R(PK) and R(N.PK) .
made. This means that at the vegetative growth
phase, N and K are closely related, and they
(1) N-P-K relations prior to the shoot pro- have a greater influence on the bamboo than
duction period: does P.
Significance tests show that R(NP.K), (4) N-P-K relationship at the budding and
R(KN.P) and R(PKN) are not appreciable or rhizome extending phase:
even do not exist; while R(N.K.), R(P.K.) and a. Relationship between two elements:
R(N.P.) as well as R(K.NP), R(P.KN) and R(NP)=0.2015 R(NK)=0.7270 R(PK)=0.7749
R (N .PK) are distinctivery positive. This means
that prior to the shooting season (i.e. March), b. Relationship between two elements
each of the three elements, N, P and K not and the other element:
only plays a role by itself, but also is R(NP.K)=0.8337 R(KN.P)=0.9220 R(KP.N)=0.9344
influenced by the other two elements. For
c. Relationship between the element and
this reason N, P and K should be applied at the other two elements:
the same time in order to raise the yield.
R(P.NK)=0.9372 R(K.NP)=0.9696 R(N.PK)=0.9252
(2) N-P-K relationship during the shoot-
ing season: Significance tests have shown that at this
phase of growth, P and K are more important
a. Relationship between two elements: than N.
R(NP)=0.7638 R(NK)=0.5144 R(PK)=0.7611
To sum up, the accumulations of the ele
b. Relationship between two elements ments in the plant body of P. pubescens
and the other element: -. differ from one growth phase to another and
R(NP.K)=0.4035 R(NK.P)=0.5144 R(PK.N) =0.3931 form seasonal change patterns.
c. Relationships between one element B. Mineral elements and growth
and the other two elements: variations of bamboos over the years:
R(N.KP)=0.8328 R(P.NK)=0.8846 R(K.NP)=0.8299 (1) The consumption of mineral elements
by on-year and off-year bamboos in a forest
Significance t e s t s h a v e s h o w n t h a t under even-year working system is alternative
R(NP.K), R(NK.P) and R(PK.N) are not dis- (See Table 2). It is indicated in Graph 1 that
tinctive, but N-P-type and N-KP-type rela- after its shooting and cuim forming in Spring,
tionships are rather distinctively positive. 1981. the on-year bamboo becomes off-year.
These elements have a great influence before The accumulations of the three elements N, P
the shooting period. Lack of any of these ele- and K in its leaves decrease gradually. But in
ments will affect the formation of the biomass the mean-time, the off-year bamboo, having
of Ph. pubescens. changed its leaves in the same spring,
(3) N-P-K relations during the vegetative assumes its on-year phase. And the accumu-

103
lations of the elements increase in the leaves. to-on) year change, the months in which P.K.
But in spite of the on-year and off-year differ- and N. reach their highest points remain the
ence, both P. and K. reach their own peak in same: June for P. and K. and September for
June, N attains its peak in September in on- N. After the peak, the quantity of each ele-
year bamboo. When the Spring of 1981 ment decreases gradually, Graph 1 also indi-
comes, the on-year bamboo starts its off-year cates that N falls noticably a r o u n d t h e
period after shooting, and the off-year shooting season. Besides, during the different
bamboo completes its leaf change and growth phases o f P h . pubescens, the
becomes on-year bamboo, This change of accumulation of N, P, K and Mg within the
physiological patterns are correlated with the on-year bamboo is greater than that in the off-
accumulations of mineral elements in the year bamboo. (Graphs 2 and 3)
bamboo. Yet in spite of this on-to-off (or off-

Table 2. Dynamics of Elements of Mineral Nutrition Unit: (Percentase the

of Dry Matter)

Month 3 4 6 9

On-or-Off L c R L C R L C R L c R
Year

Off Year 2.10 0.205 0.485 1.780 0.209 0.387

On Year 2.37 0.159 0.411 2 015 0 154 0.245
On Year 2.067 0.370 0.505 2.190 0.282 0.621
Off Year 1.910 0.215 0.372 1.980 0.195 0.530

Element Total P

Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-or-Off L C R L c R L C R L C R
Year

Off Year 0.165 0.061 0.152 0.151 0.0918 0.141

On Year 0.171 0.0915 0.142 0.169 0.0875 0.158
On Year 0.186 0.0813 0 158 0.173 0.063 0.1280
Off Year 0.142 0.096 0.138 0.145 0.047 0.110

Element Total K
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-of-Off L C R L C R L c R L C R
Year

Off Year 0.643 0.653 0.423 0.720 0.623 0.350

On Year 0.705 0.575 0.350 0.857 0.500 0.265
On Year 3.033 0.580 0383 1.458 0.348 0.280
Off Year 1.68 0.530 0.313 0.863 0.337 0.225

Element Fe
Month 3 4 6 9

Part
On-or-Off L C R L C R L C R L C R
Year

Off Year 0.01861 0.00130 0.00679 0.03132 0.00130 0.00814

On Year 0.0.1839 0.00125 0.00826 0.01235 0.00137 0.00614
On Year 0.01187 0.00163 0.00601 0.01066 0.00310 0.00604
Off Year 0.01811 0.00142 0.00758 0.01433 0.00317 0.00785
 Table 2 cont

Element Ca
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-or Off L C R L C R L c R L c R
Year

Off Year 0 5520 0 00741 000576 0 7338 0 01876 0 00621

On Year 06113 000691 000613 06940 001234 000559
On Year 0.2329 000749 0 00695 0 3859 000646 000724
Off Year 0 7885 0 00746 0 00736 0 8727 0 00671 0 00695

Element cu
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
on-or-off L C R L C R L C R L C R
Year

Off Year 000078 000027 000032 000102 000023 000027

On Year 000077 000024 000035 000105 000018 000029
On Year 000078 000022 000023 000082 000019 000031
Off Year 000071 000018 000024 0.00078 000022 000031

Element N8
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-or-Off L C R L C R L C R L C R
Year
Off Year 000403 000215 000462 000548 000264 000381
On Year 0.00397 0 00178 0.00380 0 00446 0.00237 0 00337
On Year 000476 000355 000450 000517 000221 000528
Off Year 0 00530 0 00305 0 00676 0 00535 000270 0 00447
Element smt
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-or-Off L c R L C R L c R L C R
Year
off Year 11205 0273 1541 12.532 0.189 1538
On Year 10 095 0 143 1 166 11 685 0 227 1861
On Year 6 102 0 178 1458 800 0304 1768
Off Year 15 513 0 180 1.880 15614 0 227 1 447

(2) Prior to the shooting season, the culm these changes are not apparent. In addition,
and its rhizome of the on-year bamboo con- in the rhizome Na, Zn, Ca, Fe and Mn slightly
tains less N, P and K than do the culm and decrease after the shoot production. As
rhizome of the off-year bamboo, but the situa- changes of this kind take place regularly year
tion is reversed after the shooting period. The after year, there arises the cyclical change of
seasonal changes of the accumulations of N, mineral elements in the plant body. This
P and K in the rhizome synchronize with cyclical change is decided by the physiological
those in the leaves. These elements reach the heredity of Ph. pubescens, for in Ph.
highest point in June and September respec- pubescens, the cycle of accumulation, com-
tively. In the culm, the seasonal changes of position and consumption and consumption
elemental accumulations are not high (See of nutrition changes once in two years, the
Graphs 2 and 3). same length as the change cycle of the leaves
- photosythetic organs. This two year cycle
(3) Graph 4 shows that the contents of is also in harmony with the change of the sea-
Zn, Na, Fe and other four mineral elements in sons, although the beginning and duration of
the leaves of the on-year bamboo are less the growth phases of Ph. pubescens may vary
than those in the leaves of the off-year from year to year. It is well known that the
bamboo. These elements form their own leaf changing coincides with on-and-off -year
peak before the leaf change in April and distinctiion. An even forest does not change
$enerally fall to the lowest point in June when its leaves until some plants have produced
new leaves begin to grow. The seasonal shoots and the leaves of other plants begin to
changes of these elements in the rhizome are fall. This means that the former have changed
similar to those in the leaves, but in the culm, from on year to off year, while the latter have

105
Table 2 cant

Element Mg
Month 3 4 6 9

Part
On-or-Off L c R L c R L c R L C R
Year

Off Year 0.0970 0.0277 0.0466 0.0899 0.0248 0.0549

On Year 0.1274 0.0314 0.0457 0.1003 0.0274 0.0604
On Year 0.1143 0.0247 0.0609 0 1115 0 0388 00610
Off Year 0.0949 0.0325 0.0519 0.0957' 0.0300 0 0550

Element Zn
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-or-Off L c R L c R L C R L c R
Year
Off Year 0.00358 0.00063 0.00256 0 . 0 0 4 0 1 0.00239 0.00192
On Year 0.00347 0.00086 0.00313 0.00367 0.00261 0.00236
On Year 0.00302 0.00109 0.00228 0.00360 0.00143 0.00266
Off Year 0.00445 0.00137 0.00287 0.00502 0.00120 000327

Element Mn
Month 3 4 6 9
Part
On-of-Off L C R L C R L C R L c R
Year
Off Year 0.075 0.0043 0.0035 0.094 0.0068 0.0039
On Year 0.0745 0.0053 0.0044 0.088 0.0062 0.0038
On Year 0.055 0.0061 0.0030 0.073 0.00382 000360
Off Year 0.1045 0.0096 0.0033 0.113 0.00805 0.00315

0.5

0.3

1981.3 4

1979.9 11 9 4

Graph One: The Dynamic Changes of the Elements; of

Minerel Nutrition in the Leaves.
Note: Curve I - the change of the accumulation of N Graph Two: The Dynamic changes of the Elements of
in the leaves of the on-to-off-year bamboo. Curve II -
Mineral Nutrition in the Culm.
the change of the accumulation of P. Curve III - the
change of the accumulation of K in the leaves of the Curve I - N. Curve II - P. Curve III - K.
off-to-on-year bamboo.

106
 tion which reflects the accumulations of N, P
Content(%)
and K in the Ieaves are naturally different. So
it is impossible for N, P and K to reach their
0:5 own peak at the same time. It can be seen
from Graph I that the peaks of P and K
0.4 appear in June. Curve N ascends in Septem-
0.3
ber and descends after the shooting season.
This indicates that bamboo consumes more N
0.2 during the vegetative growth and shooting
periods. But during the rhizome running and
0.1
budding period, it needs more P and K than
0
N. After September, with the fall of tempera-e
ture, the growth tends to be slow. And the
0.5 accumulations of N and K in the leaves
reduce sharply. Besides, when off-year bam-
0.4 boo has completed its leaf change, it enters
0.3
the phase of on-year growth. Its ability to
photosynthesise improves and as a result, ele-
0.2 -- --
II
. . --
ments of mineral nutrition begin to accumu-
- - - late. Unlike the off-year bamboo, the on-year
0.1 bamboo begins to age after a heavy loss of
0 4
1981.3 6 9 Test Time

Graph Three: The Dynamic Changes of the Elements of

Mineral Nutrition in the Rhizome.
Curve I N. Curve II P. Curve I I I - K.

changed from off year to on year. Bamboo

which has changed from on year to off year
now assumes the stage of -restoration after
depression in vegetative growth and loss of
nutrition in producing bamboo shoots. As
more N is consumed in producing shoots than I
either P or K the rebuild-up of these elements 1981.3 4 6 9 Month 1981 3 4 6 9 Month

does not take place at the same time. That is

why with on-to-off-year the accumulations of
P and K reach their own height in June while bI
that of N reaches its height in September. 14
Jr- - - - -
4
Then the bamboo enters its physiological
process of aging. The contents of N.P. and K. L
in the leaves begin to decline. But elements
such as Cu, Fe and Na, as we have akeady
mentioned before, increase in content as a
result of the aging of the leaves. So the con-
sumption of N and K is in the inverse ratio
with the accumulation of such elements as
CU.

As to the off-to-on-year bamboo, its

physiologica activities are strong after the leaf 1981.3 4 6 9 1981.3 4 6 9 Month
change. N, P, and K in the leaves accumulate Graph Four: The Dynamic Changes of the Elements of
gradually. As the development of vegetative Mineral Nutrition.
organs is not synchronous with that of repro- -... indicares the on-year bamboo which has become
ductive organs bamboos needs for N, P and off year.
K are different. Consequently the time func- . ..- indicates the off-year bamboo which has become
on year.

107
 shoots and support their growth. The nutri-
tion accumulated simultaneously in the leaves
i s s h i f t e d t o s h o o t s t h r o u g h t h e culm.
Therefore in the culm and rhizome of the on-
year bamboo the accumulations of N.P. and
7
K. are lower than those in the culm and rhi-
zome of the off-year bamboo.
From the above discussion, .we can see
that the change of the elements of mineral
nutrition in on and off year Ph. pubescens
spend much mineral nutrition in producing
shoots.

Conclusion
1981.3 4 6 9 Month

The dynamic study of mineral elements in

the plant body provides a theoretical basis for
r e s e a r c h e s o n nutrient physiology of
Phyllostachys pubescens.
1. The elements of mineral nutrition
accumulated in different parts of the plant
body of Ph. pubescens include not only N, P,
and K, but also SiO2, Ca and Mg. Of the latter
three elements Sio2 is the most quantitive. Of
the eleven elements of mineral nutrition
anaIysed in this paper most decrease to
varying degrees after shoot production, which
means that the plant body also consumes a
certain amount of trace elements. Therefore,
in applying fertilizer, the mineral elements
like Sio2, Mg and Ca should not be forgotten
4 b 9 Month 4 b Month in order to achieve a higher biomass yield.
Graph Five: The Dynamic Changes of the Element of 2. Though N, P, and K are the three
Mineral Nutrition. major mineral elements closely related to the
- . . . indicates the on-year bamboo which has become growth of Ph. pubescens, the demand for
off year. them is not the same throughout different
. . . - indicates the off -year bamboo which become growth phases. During the shooting period
on year.
and the vegetative growth period, the plant
consumes more N than P or K. But during the
nutrition in shoot-production. So in the even period of shoot growth and rhizome-running,
forest of Ph. pubescens the accumulations of it needs more P and K than N. To raise
N, P, K, Mg and the like elements are found biomass production, fertilizers rich in N or P
to be greater in on-year plants than in off- and K should be applied as the occasion
year plants. The leaves of on-to-off-year calls for. It is suggested that it the forest has an
bamboo, with the aging process advancing, on-year-and-off -year distinctioin, fertilizer rich
particularly in the following March and April, in N be applied one month before the
wither to a further degree. The speed of shooting season around the leaf changing
photosynthesis slows down but the rate of period, ie, from mid-April to the end of May.
decomposition speeds up. Much of the In June and July (the rhizome-running
soluble material in the leaves is transferred to period), fertilizer rich in P and K should be
the other parts of the plant body. The mineral applied. The organic manure should be
nutrients stored in the organ of reproduction applied in July and August of the off year and
- the rhizome - is used to produce new in the period from December to February the
following year. Grass and other green change patterns of elements of mineral nutri-
manure be spread in May and June. By doing tion, produces a good effect on the circulation
SO, elements like N, P and K will amply meet of mineral elements in the soil. It makes good
the needs-of different growing phases of Ph. use of soil fertility without exhausting it. The
pubescens;. even forest is more economical and produc-
4. The even forest, with its seasonal tive. If possible forests with on-and-off-year
distinction be changed to even forests.
 The Chemical Composition of
Ten Bamboo Species
Chen Youdi, Qin Wenlong, Li Xiuling, Gong
Jianping and Nimanna

Research Institute of Chemical Processing and Utilization of

Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Nanjing, China.

Abstract Guizhou and Yunnan. According to statistics,

in 1980, China had about 3.4 million hec-
tares of bamboo forest. At present, the total
Details of chemical analysis of ten differ-
annual production of bamboos is estimated to
ent bamboo species from Guangdong and
be about at 70 million tons (Zhou, 1983).
Zbejiang provinces are reported. Ph.
Bamboo is used to produce pulp and paper or
heteroclada, contains higher holocellulose
charcoal and active carbon for special pur-
and lower lignin, is good for chemical utiliza-
poses. Since it is a plant with a high biomass
tion Chemical compositions change with age
(see Table l), calorific value (about 4,600
of bamboos. When bamboos are older than
Cal/g, w o o d 4,700-4,900 Cal/g), p e o p l e
one year, the contents of holocellulose and
have recently started to consider it as a source
u -cellulose tend to decrease and lignin keeps
of bio-energy (Koichiro, 1981). In China,
unchanged or slightly increases. Therefore,
bamboo has been used for making pulp and
when chemical use of bamboo is considered,
paper for more than 1,700 years. Presently
prolonging the growth period of bamboo is
there are 74 mills producing 23 different kinds
not advisable.
of papers. Chemical composition of bamboo
will directly influence the quality of pulp and
Introduction the resultant paper. It can also provide impor-
tant information for taxonomical identification
Bamboos, which belong to Bambu- and seed selection.
soideae of the grass family, are perennial Many papers dealing with the cell chemi-
plants. There are more than 30 genera and stry of bamboo including hemicellulose
300 species of bamboos in China (Hsiung, (Karnik, 1960; Maerawa, 1976; Negi et al.)
1983). They grow mainly in the southern pro- 1970; Wilkie and Woo, 1976; 1977), lignin
vinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, (Higuchi, 1958; Higuchi and Kaivamura,
Taiwan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, 1966; Nakatsubo et al., 1972; Pant et al.,

Table 1. Comparison of output of bamboo, wood and grass materials.

Kinds of raw output (kg/

Species
material year mu)
Bamboo Phyllostachys pubescens 600
Sinocalumus affinis 830
Ph. heteroclada
Ph. augusta 1,300
Wood Poplar 670
Picea asperata 150
Reed. 530-670
Grasses Rice straw 460
Wheat straw 250

110
 Table 2. Chemical components of ten species of bamboos (l-year old).

Cold Hot Caustic Alcohol

Moisture Ash water water soda (1 %) benzene Lignin Pento- Holo- a -cellu-
Species solubles solubles solubles solubles san cellulose lose
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Bombusa textilts 10.58 2.08 6.30 7.55 30.57 3.72 19.39 20.83 79.39 50.40
B. peruariabilis 11.66 2.29 7.64 7.71 29.99 2.15 21.43 20.26 73.34 48 15
B. sinosptnosa 11.49 1.92 8.98 9.91 30.25 5.49 20.50 20.72 74.46 49.15
Llngnania chungii 10.33 2.10 8.07 9.46 29.97 4.35 21.41 18.72 73 72 47.76
Phyllostachys pubescens 9.79 1.13 8.13 6.34 29.34 3.67 24.77 22.97 75.07 59.82
Ph. heteroclada 8.38 1.24 13.57 9.60 30.89 5.83 22.42 20.43 71.98 58.15
Ph. nlgra 7.79 1.84 10.69 8.53 33.24 5.29 23.90 22.08 73.61 58.85
Ph. bambusoides 9.14 1.25 10.49 8.97 29.93 7.34 22.39 22.46 72.65 56 74
Ph. meyeri 8.29 1.29 10.79 8.91 34.28 7.04 23.62 22.35 72.84 57.88
Ph. praecox 8.19 1.96 11.21 7.68 32.84 3.80 24.68 22.24 73.31 56.13

1975; Shimada, 1972; Tanahashi et al., lignin contents of Ph. praecox are higher
1975) and others on cell wall (Fengel and and B. textilis is the lowest. When contents of
Shao, 1984; Fengel and Shao Xiaoxun, both lignin and holocellulose are considered,
1984; Ku and Chion, 1972) have been pub- B. textilis is superior for making paper than
lished. Financially supported by the Inter- other bamboos. The pentosan content which
national Development Research Centre is about 19-23%, is similar to broad-leaved
(IDRC) of Canada, a three-year bamboo woods and much higher than conifers (l0-
research project is being carried out in China 15%;). Therefore, it is valuable for producing
under the auspices of the Chinese Academy furfural in collaboration with making paper or
of Forestry. As a part of the work under this other hydrolysis products. It also can be seen
project, the chemical composition of bamboos from Table 2 that bamboos with high holo-
of ten species was analysed and the results are cellulose contents such as Ph. pubescens and
reported here. B. textilis h a v e l e s s c o l d a n d h o t w a t e r
solubles. The details remain to be studied.
The relationship between chemical composi-
tion and the age of bamboo (from l/2 to 3
years old) has also been studied, The results
Result and Discussion (Table 3) show that with the increase in age,
contents of holocellulose, -cellulose and ash
The investigation was carried out in the slightly decrease while lignin and alcohol
Subtropical Forestry Research Institute, benzene solubles remain unchanged or
Fuyang. The analytical results are listed in rise slightly. The bamboos complete their
Table 2. The results show that holocellulose growth within several months after sprouts
contents in bamboo culms are generally emerge f r o m t h e g r o u n d a n d lignifica-
higher than 70%) which can compare tion proceeds only slightly after their growth
with that of reed (75.4%), cotton shaft period. If it is used for chemical processing,
(75.1%) and bagasse (75.6%). The holo- the bamboo should not be more than 3 years
cellulose contents of Ph. pubescens and B. old when the practices of cultivation and rota-
textilis are even higher. The holocellulose tion are considered. This is in agreement with
content of a plant material is important to the conclusion reached (Omar Ali, 1981).
industries like pulp paper and wood hydro- In order to find out the reason for
lysis because it is a key factor affecting the decrease of ash content with the growth of
quality of these products. One-year old bam- bamboo, the composition of ash was further
boo contains 2O-25% lignin, which is similar analysed by atomic absorption spectrophoto-
to deciduous woods and grasses (wheat straw graph. The results are given in Table 4. It can
is 20%) and slightly less than coniferous be seen that the contents of nutrient elements
woods, Among the ten species of bamboos, such as copper, zinc, cobalt, phosphorus, iron

111
 Table 3. The chemical composition with reference to the age of bamboos.

Cold Hot Caustic Alcobol

Species Age Moisture Ash water water 8oda (1%) benzene Lingnin Pento- Holo- a _cellu-
(year solubles solubles solubles solubles cellulose lose
old) (%) (%) (%) (%I (%I (%I C%) (%) (%I (%I
Ph. pubescens 1/2 9.00 1.77 5.41 3.26 27.34 1.60 26.36 22.19 76.62 61.97
1/3 8. 55 9 . 79 0. 69 1. 13 8. 13 7. 10 6. 34 5. 41 29 . 34 26. 9

7 8.51 0.52 7.14 5.47 26.83 4.78 26.75 22.04 74.98 59.09
B. textilis 1/2 9.09 2.39 6.64 8.03 32.27 4.59 18.67 22.22 77.71 51.96
1 10.58 2.08 6.30 7.55 30.57 3.72 19.39 20.83 79.39 50.40
3 10.33 1.58 6.84 8.75 28.01 5.43 23.81 18.87 73.37 45.50
L chungii 1/2 9.21 2.73 8.10 9.70 35.17 4.16 17.58 23.91 79.00 47.63
1 10.33 2.10 8.07 9.46 29.97 4.35 21.41 18.72 73.72 47.76
3 10.26 1.50 6.34 9.24 30.57 3.98 22.70 18.88 71.70 43.65
B. pervariabilis 1/2 8.38 2.16 4.93 6.35 27.71 2.14 20.92 21.47 79.41 52.63
1 11.66 2.29 7.64 7.71 29.99 2.15 21.43 20.26 73.34 48.15
3 11.04 2.65 9.51 9.25 30.63 6.42 22.02 19.22 69.14 45.33
8. sinospinoxa 9.17 2.69 7.29 8.23 29.98 4.23 19.90 21.84 78.29 52.58
1 11.49 1.92 8.98 9.91 30.25 5.49 20.54 20.72 74.46 49.15
3 11.13 18
. 4 9.0 7 9.29 26 .92 5.8 8 24 .1 7 1 9.2 7 7 2.7 7 4 7 .1 0
Ph. h e t e r o c l a d a1 8 .3 8 1 .24 1 3 .57 9.6 0 3 0.8 9 5.3 8 22.4 2 20.4 3 7 1 .98 58 .1 5
3 1 0.8 7 1 .27 9.6 8 1 5.94 3 4 .8 4 9.1 1 22.7 2 21 .8 3 59.95 3 8 .96
Ph. nigra 1/2 1 0.3 1 19.8 67. 2 83
. 0 3 1 .8 3 4 .1 2 28 .4 9 22.24 7 0.7 7 4 5.3 8
1 77. 9 18
. 4 1 0.6 9 85
.3 3 3 .2 4 5.2 9 23 .99 22.0 8 7 3 .6 1 58 .8 5
3 11.61 1.71 65.0 83
. 6 336 . 5 5.58 25.0 0 22.3 9 6 8 .6 4 4 3 .7 9

Ph. b a m b u s o i d e s l/2 1 0.6 9 2.22 4 .6 2 5.93 27 .6 0 1 .8 1 24 .51 22.6 9 7 6 .4 1 4 8 .92

1 9.1 4 12.5 1 0.4 9 89 .7 29.93 7 .3 4 22.3 9 22.4 6 7 2.6 5 56 .7 4
3 9.90 0.98 6 .1 1 7 .3 2 3 1 .3 3 5.8 6 25.1 5 22.6 5 6 5.3 9 4 2.92

Ph. meyeri l/2 1 0.7 0 1 .6 8 3 .6 9 5.1 5 27 .27 1 .8 1 23 .58 21 .95 7 8 .4 7 4 9.97

1 82 .9 12
.9 1 0.7 9 89
.1 3 4 .2 8 7 .0 4 23 .6 2 22.3 5 7 2.8 4 57 .8 8
3 9.3 3 1 .8 5 8 .8 1 1 2.7 1 3 5.3 2 7 .52 23 .3 5 22.1 9 6 2.4 0 3 9.0 5
Ph. praecox Y2 1 0.6 4 32.4 67 . 2 85.7 3 3 .3 6 2.2 5 26 .7 4 21 .98 7 2.8 3 4 2.2 3
1 81.9 1.
96 1 1 .21 7 .6 8 3 2.8 4 3 .8 0 24 .6 8 22.24 7 3 .3 1 56 .1 3
3 112 .9 2.28 71.8 9.0 9 332.6 5.6 4 25.6 5 22.3 9 6 5.7 7 4 0.8 1

Table
pubescens. 4. Change of ash composition with age of Ph.

,Co m p o n e n t s o f e l e m e n t s (p p b ) Co m p o n e n t a o f e l e m e n t s (p p m )
Sample
Ag e Cu Z n Co Ni P b MO c r v Ca Al P Fe Mn Mg T i K Na

l -y e a r 54 4 640 23 2. 10.4 94 8. 25.0 21.8 20.8 84

. 0 trace 30.4 2.12 0.74 16.1 0.26 317 2.72

7-year 3 24 436 2.7 6 85

.2 57 8. 15.4 24 0. 24 2. 14 5. t r a c e12.8 10
.0 2.90 3 4 6. 0.0 02 55.6 2.4 4

and potassium decrease and only a few 5). This is a very interesting and important sub-
elements like calcium increases with bamboo ject which deserves further investigation.
growth. It would seem that, when bamboo An a l y t i c a l m e t h o d : The Chinese
gets older, its ability of taking up nutrients National Standard Analytical Method for
from soil is less. Bamboos often die after Material of Pulp and Paper is followed.
flowering. Bamboo producers and researchers
(Liao, 1983; Watanabe et al., 1981) are very
much concerned about this phenomenon
-____ but Ac k n o w l e d g e m e n t
no satisfactory explanation has been given so
far. By comparing the compositions of vegeta- The authors wish to express their sincere
tive and flowering tissues of Ph. heteroclada thanks to Prof. Ho Chin-ko for direction and a
no significant difference can be found. (Table detaiIed revision of this paper.

112
 Table 5 (1). Chemical composition of vegetative and flowering bamboos.

Cold Hot Caustic Alcohol

Sample Moisture Ash water water soda (1 %) benzene Lignln Pento- Holo- a -cellulose
solubles solubles solubles solubles San cellulose
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Vegetative 8.38 1.24 13.57 9.60 30.89 5.38 22.42 20.43 71.98 58.15
Flowering 8.30 1.28 14.58 9.39 32.81 5.31 22.48 19.90 73.11 56.22

(2) Composition of ash

Components of elements (ppb) Components of elements (ppm)
Sample
Cu Zn Co Ni Pb MO Cr V Ca Al P Fe Mn Mg Ti K Na
Vegetative 584 880 19.5 15.3 105 25.8 15.6 28.2 17.9 trace 63.0 1.50 2.10 32 0 0.008 275 5.20
Flowering 490 1254 2.04 25.2 106 20.8 11.5 26.6 31.2 trace 67.8 1.93 4.18 19.2 0.028 202 7.74

References Negi, J.S. et al. 1970. Indian J. Chem 8:

44-47.
Fengel, D. and Shao Miinchen, X. 1984. Omar Ali, M. 1981. XVII IUFRO World Con-
Wood Science and Technology 2: 103- gress, September. Kyoto, Japan.
112.
Pant, R. et al. 1975. Indian Academy of Wood
Fengel, D. and Shao Xiaoxun. 1984. Journal
Science J.
of Nanjing Institute of Forestry 2: 1-7.
Mikio Shimada. 1972. Wood Res. 53: 19-26.
Higuchi, T. 1958. J. Biochem. 45: 675-685.
Mistsuhiko Tanahashi et al, 1975. Wood Res.
Higuchi, T. and Kaivamura, I. 1966. Holz-
58: l-11.
forchung 20: 16-21.
Hsiung Wenyue. 1983. Bamboo Research Koichiro Ueda. 1981. XVII IUFRO World
1: 6-16. Congress, September. Kyoto, Japan.

Karnik, M.G. 1960. Indian Pulp and Paper Masaloshi Watanabe et al. 1981. XVII IUFRO
9: 427. World Congress, September. Kyoto,
Japan.
Ku, Y.C. and Chion, C.H. 1972. Res. Inst.
No. 20, February, Wiikie, K.C.B. and Woo, S.L. 1976. Car-
bohyd. Res. 49: 399-409.
Liao Guanglu. 1983. Bamboo Research 2:
82-85. Wilkie, K.C.B. and Woo, S.L. 1977. Car-
bohyd. Res. 57: 145-162.
Eiichi Maerawa. 1976. Wood Res. 59-60:
153- 179. Zhou Fangchun. 1983. Bamboo Research 1:
17-22.
Fumiaki Nakatsubo ef al. 1972. Wood Res.
53: 9-18; 54: 9-18.

113
 Fertiliser Application and Growth of
Phyllostachys pubescens
Qiou Fugeng and Fu Maoyi
Subtropica Forestry
l Research Institute,
The Chinese Academy of Forestry, Fuyang, Zhejiang, China

Abstract Fertiliser trials in Mao Zhu stand with

organic fertilisers were started in the late
The fertiliser application and the growth of 1950s, and with commercial chemicals in the
Phvllostachys pubescens is discussed with 1960s. but all of the studies covered only a
reference to methods of applic ation, kinds and small area and studies were not systematic.
dosages of fertilisers, time or period of app li- Real systematic studies over large area started
cation and the benefits derived therefrom. only in the last few years. There
are two reasons for this, the first one is that in
the past, the chemical industry was not so
Introduction developed that most of the commercial ferti-
lisers had to be imported and the organic ferti-
Mao Zhu (Phy llosta chys heterocycla var. lisers were limited. The second one is that the
pubescens (Mazal) Ohwi) is a fine bamboo prices for bamboo culm w o o d a n d b y -
species in China. It is distributed widely, gives products were on the low side, and commer-
the highest yield, and is very useful. It plays cial fertilisers were expensive. Compared with
an important role in improving the forest other crops, the economic benefits of fertilising
economy and there exists a great potential to bamboo is only 25-50%.
increase the production. The total area of However, with the general improvement
Mao Zhu forest in China is more than two of the Chinese economy and rising stan-
million hectares, where the Mao Zhu stands dards of living of the people, there seems to
cover over 70% of the area. The yield of be an increase in the demand for bamboo
fresh culm wood from such stand is about 5 culms and products. This has consequently
tons ha- which is very low when com- increased the price of the commodity.
pared to the yield = fresh weight) from Increased prices make it economically attrac-
bamboo stands covering about 5% of the tive tofertilise bamboo with commercial ferti-
area, is more than 15 tons ha- At lisers which is also becoming easily and
present the maximum yield from small cheaply available in the country. This cycle of
area of bamboo wood stand is about 30 tons events has stimulated an increased use of
ha- and the yield of bamboo shoots fertilisers in bamboo stands in all the districts
from shoot stand about 20 tons ha- thereby making an in-depth study of fertiliser
This shoot production drains the soil of a lot applications an urgent matter.
of nutrition from bamboo stands, According
to recent analyses the production of 1,000 kg It is very useful that the application of
of bamboo culms need 1.5 kg of nitrogen, 0.5 orgnic fertilizer, which has been a traditional
kg of phosphorus and 3.8 kg of potassium, one in Chinese agriculture, can be used in the
and each 1,000 kg of fresh bamboo shoots culture of Mao Zhu (Ph. pubescens) stand.
needs 7.0 kg N, 1.5 kg P and 2.5 kg K. Because the organic fertilizer contains all the
Unless these nutritional elements are replaced nutrition needed by plant, i.e. it is a complete
the fertility of soil will decrease year by year, fertilizer, the application of which can increase
which in turn will lead to a decrease in yield. a) the humus in the soil, b) improve its
Almost all of the Mao Zhu stands in China face physico-chemical properties, c) increase the
this serious problem currently (Anon, 1974). capacity in keeping it warm and preserving its

114
-moisture and fertility, The rhizomes can grow ferent sites have been obtained.
without any barrier, and it is easy for shoots to This paper summarizes the data so far
grow up through the soil. Several high yielding obtained and general comment with the hope
plantations bamboo, such as Shimen of Fong
that,.it will be a suitable referance for the later
Hua county, Shifong, of Ninxian county, bamboo fertilization practice.
Dongmaoshan of Yuyao county, Gangkou of
Anji county etc., are based mainly on using
organic fertilizer accompanied with the appli- Fertiliser Application
cation of commercial fertilizer. But the
Mao Zhu (Ph. pubescens) stands are distri- The common methods of application are
buted so widely in China, and some are broadcasting/spreading and putting it in
located in the remote mountain areas, where furrows. Broadcasting means that the fertilizer
transportation is difficult, making it hard to should be evenly spread in the stand, then
apply organic fertilizer in such big areas. when loosening soil, it can be buried into the
soil. This method has some advantages such
The method for determining the size of as it is easy to operate, the fertilizer can be
Mao Zhus culm in China is to measure the well-distributed and so on. But if the fertilizer
circumference at the eye-height (1.6 m). can not be covered up with soil in time, it will
Sometimes the weight of culm is considered, leach, and volatilization will happen
but it is calculated from the circumference at and ammonia (HN3) from (NH4)2CO3, will
eye-height. This method has encouraged the damage the bamboo culm. Fertilising in
production departments to use nitrogen, and furrow can be both in the whole stand or
neglect the proper proportions of the different around the base of culm. If in the whole stand
fertilizers. Nitrogen no doubt improves the along the contour, a ditch should be dug at
vegetative growth of both height and thick- every meter 20 - 30 cm in depth and width.
ness of the culms. The potassium will The fertilizer should be evenly applied and
improve the hardiness and it will not then covered up with soil. Though this
increases the size of the culm. It has been method is a little complicated compared with
proved from many trials that according to the the former, the volatilization and washing
method of current measurement nitrogen away of fertilizer can be avoided. Fertilizing
increases the yield when applied as urea at around theculm base means that around the
300 kg ha-. If it is the first application the culm base, a half circle ditch will be dug, after
bamboo culms wood increases by 30 - the fertilizer is put in, it is covered up with soil.
50%. But the results from the application of Due to the close distribution of bamboo roots
phosphorus and patassium are not so good. around the culm base, the fertilizer will be
As the processing and utilization of bamboo absorbed soon. This method is better than the
culm wood are increasing, there is a need to two mentioned above. Recently, a study of
improve the quality of bamboo wood. new fertilization methods has been started in
In the case of bamboo shoots, the edible China, i.e. foliage dressing/spray, stump
parts should be large as well as tender fertilization, and fertilizing in wide and deep
and of good taste. So people have paid furrow.
more attention for the proper application Fertilizing in wide and deep furrow: The
of different fertilizers which contain dif- whole stand or Mao Zhu (Ph. pubescens) will
ferent nutritients. Since 1982 the Inter- be divided into two parts, the mother bamboo
national Development Research Centre of area and the shoot digging area and after
Canada (IDRC) has given financial support to several years these two parts will be
the study of bamboo fertilization in China, the separated. One of the keys for this method is
purpose of which is to increase the yield of to dig a ditch at the common boundary area
Mao Zhu (Ph. pubescens) stand. The fertilizer between the mother bamboo area and the
trials with different dosages and proportion of shoot digging area, which is 70 cm in depth
nitrogen and other fertilizers have been laid and 50 cm in width. The mixed fertilizer
out to increase wood stands and pulp stands (organic and commercial one) will be placed
in Anji Uhang and Fuyang Counties of in the ditch. The bamboo rhizome wifl be led
Zhejiang province. The preliminary results of into the deep soil and the shoots formed in
the experiment, which are in progress at dif- the following year will be bigger and of good

115
 quality. After the rhizomes from shoot digging transported to other organs soon, and that
area grow into the mother bamboo area one there is a certain relationship between the
after another. the ditch should be covered up absorbed quantity and the physico-chemical
with soil (see Fig. 1). properties of the solute. To test the absorption
efficiency, fertilizing around the bamboo roots
32
and injecting the bamboo culm-wall with P -
were adopted, It was found that
the absorption efficiency of injection exceeded
Mother bamboo area that of fertilizing around the roots very much.
wide and (see Fig. 2).
eep ditch

Fig 1 Fertillzing in a wide and deep ditch. which IS 50

cm n wtdth and 70 cm In depth

Foliage dressing: The fertilizer solution

sprayed to the foliage, will be absorbed by
leaves. An experiment with P32-NaH2PO4 was
laid out to determine that bamboo leaves can
absorb phosphorus actively and then trans-
port it to other organs. The result from 1977
trial with spraying the urea solution of 1
and 2% (once a week, total three times) to
Ph. iridenscens before shooting period has
shown that the treated bamboo leaves
became greener than control. Earlier workers
sprayed the 2% urea solution to Mao Zhu
(Ph. pubescens) before shooting. The
dosage was 75 kg ha- (once two weeks, During the Mao h u (Ph Pubescens)
total three times). The yields increased by shooting period of 1978. an experiment of
respectively. In 1985 they injection with urea solution at culm base was
have attempted to spray fertilizers by carried out, Each culm in the treated plots was
aeroplane. If the bamboo stand is located in given 2 injections e per two weeks with
such places where the water resource is rich; urea solution of 20 , 30-50 ml. The control
transport is convenient, and topography is (untreated plot) was injected with water The
suitable, this method is worth adopting. results are shown in table I,
Stump fertilization: the solid commercial From Table 1, it is cle r that increment of
fertilizer will be placed in the hole made of yield was higher, But it sh uld be pointed that
bamboo stump, The authors studied the it is expensive to inject each culm and after
absorption capacity of the inner-wall of injection the utilization value of culm will be
bamboo culm for pesticide by labelled com- reduced. It has also been proved that stumps
pounds. The C 14-Bavistin (C 9 H 9 O 2 N 3 ), was have limited absorption capacity. A stump
rapidly absorbed by bamboo inner-wall and fertilization trial was laid out in Yongfu
the absorption rate was higher. Then an injec- County, Jiangxi province, and almost at the
tion of phosphate solution was carried out. It same time a similar one w
was found that both NaH2PO4 solution and Qiuantai in Anji C
(NH 4) 3PO 4 solution could be absorbed in Both of them gave
rather big amounts, But the absorbed quantity fertilization does not e d soil preparation,
of NaH2PO4 was greater because of high solu- Fertilizer will not
bility than (NH4)3PO4 which has a low SOlU- away, and it can
bility, This confirms that nutrition elements can bamboo stump. so it is worth to popularise this
be absorbed by inner-wall of bamboo hole and technique.
 Table 1. Fertilisation effect from the bamboo cavity-wail injection.
Original culms New culms Increace
Treatment Treated proportion %
area (ha ) Number A (cm) Number A (cm) number A
Injection 0.067 284 29.4 40 35.7 18 6
Control 0.067 315 31.3 3433.7 - -

A !" . Circumference at eye-height (1.6m)

Kinds and Dosages of Fertilizers They found that the importance of three *main
elements in N K P. The finest prescription
The distribution of Mao Zhu (Ph. is urea 15 kg + Ca(H2PO4)2 20 kg + K2SO4
pubescens) in China is very wide, the situa- 15 kg per mu (Chinese unit of measurement, it
tion of sites varies much, and the soil fertility equals 667 M2), the N P K proportion of which
are very different. So the kinds and dosages is 1: 0.4: 1.2 (N: P2O5: K2O). Compared with
of fertilizers should also be different at differ- control, the yield of bamboo wood increased
ent places. Here the results obtained with 452 kg and the net income increased 59%.
Mao Zhu stands in north-west Zhejiang pro- The finest prescription for shoot stand is urea
vince, will be discussed. 2 0 kg + Ca(H2SO4)2 & CaSO4 20 k g +
K2SO4 5 kg and its N P K proportion is 1: 0.3:
The fertility of the soil in the Mao Zhu 0.3 (N: P2O5 K2O). All the results from the
stands of north-west Zhejiang province is above trials have proved that a) N fertilizer is
better; its mineral nutritive elements are rather the more important for the yield of Mao Zhu
rich, the nitrogen content is in the middle, but stand, and the reasonable application of
the phosphorus is low. Table 2 shows the nitrogen will give obvious effects for its yield
analysis of the soil samples from Anji, increment. b) P and K are necessary when a
Yuhang, Fuyang County in Zhejiang pro- lot of N has been used. Especially for red soil,
vience. (Qiou, 1979). P is rather important. c) The kinds of fertilizer
As mentioned earlier the minerals are used, their proportion and dosage should be
absorbed during Mao Zhu growth and it decided by the fertility of soil and the purpose
should be supplemented by fertilization. It of management. There has been few reports
was reported that the application of urea, 225 on the effects of the application of silicate
kg ha- can increase yield by 17% & 9% and fertilizer from abroad, and in China we have
product value of 19% & 8% in Anji County also done some experiments on it. But it is still
and Yuhang County respectively and that the a problem which we should study further.
high dosage (675 kg ha-) is better than the
low one (225 kg ha- 1), the increments of
yield and product value are 17% and 147% Fertilization Time
respectively. The result from another trial, a
comparison between N, P, K, Si mixed ferti- According to the growth pattern and pro-
lizers, which have two types i.e. I & II, and duction cycle of Mao Zhu stand, another
urea (Ma Naixun & Wang Zhuyi et al., 1983), important problem exists, that is, to choose a
is that when the same dosage was applied reasonable time for fertilization. Not enough
the, increments of yield and product value attention and no systematic study has been
from I and II are 13.7%, 14.8% and 16.8%, done, in this area.
12.5% respectively. The details of com-
Most of the Mao Zhu stands in China can
ponent and proportion for mixed fertilizers
be divded into on-year stand and off-year
are shown in Table 3.
stand, i.e. in a certain year some of them
Hong Shungshan and Jiang Yigeng shoot a lot (on-year stand). the others shoot
(1984) laid out a field trial with different very few (off year stand). In the following year
dosages and proportions of N P K in 1984. the-situation changes with each other. So a

117
 Table 2. Determined nutrition value of soil inAnji Yuhang, Fuyang County
in Zhejiang provience,

Site Soil type Organic Total N Total QuickactingP QuickactingK

matter % P2O5 PPM PPM
%
Guanshanwu red soil 4.64 0.228 0.056 2.8 123.2
Anji Xiaoxiwu red soil 4.26 0.204 0.054 0.3 128.7
Gangkou red soil 4.70 0.209 0.115 0.2 100.4
Yinjiangling red soil 2.76 0.149 0.095 0.40 64.9
Shanchawan red soil 3.70 0.174 0.067 0.62 73.1
Fuyang Chiaoxiwu red soil 4.47 0.221 0.091 1.53 69.7
Xiaqinwu red soil 3.36 0.165 0.091 0.95 70.1
Hen he red soil 3.95 0.159 0.046 1.39 88.7
Yuhang
Jiudongling red soil 3.59 0.184 0.071 2.19 120.9

Table 3. The nutrition component of proportion for special mixed fertilizers of Mao Zhu.
nutrition containing % Proportion
Name of fertilizer N P2O5 K2O Sio2 N: P: K: Si

B a m b o o fertilizer I 16.42 8.23 8.46 12.85 2: 1: 1: 1.5

B a m b o o fertilizer II 17.70 8.85 4.47 13.8 2: 1: 0.5 1.5

two year production cycle is formed, The temperature and moisture are also suitable,
growth patterns of on-year and off-year stands thereby helping assimilation.
have been shown in Figure 3a &b. In practice the fertilizers are applied at the
There are four growth periods in the period of shoot bud differentiation. Its effects
growth of Mao Zhu stands. a) winter-shoot for yield increment is obvious, By fertilizing
renewal period, b) spring-shoot growth soil or poor soil with 15-20 kg urea per mu
period, c) leaf growth period, and (667 m2) the range of yield increases by
d) rhizome growth period. 30-50%. even with poor soil it can still be l0-
20%. Another suitable time to fertilize is the
A trial with application of urea has been
period of leaf renewal. The current culms of
done in spring-shoot growth period by the
Mao Zhu change leaves once a year, but the
authors and the results are shown in table 3. older, once every two years. In the districts of
We can see from Table 3 that one or two north Zhejiang province. it is in April to May.
months before shooting, the application of If fertilizing is late, it will show up in leaf area
urea has given some yield increments. At and in the content of chlorophyll. Because of
the mid-period of spring shoot growth there is the lack of data, it is difficult to say that
no effect. The reason might be that approach- between this period and shoot bud differentia-
ing spring, bamboo is actively growing. This tion period which one is better to fertilise. In
needs good mineral nutrition and at that time the culture of shoot stand. it is common to fer-

118
 Fig. 3a. The growth rhythm of Mao Zhu stand

year the first year the second year

month
development 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
period
differentiation
of shoot bud
winter shoot
spring shoot
rhizome shoot - - - - I - - - - -
leaf renewal
Note: - on-year stand
--- mixture-year stand

Shooting a production
cycle

-on-year

-off -year

1 -
1 2 3 4 5 6 year
Fig. 3b. Growth patterns of on-year and off-year stand.

Table 3. The fertilization effects in and before spring-shoot growth period.

fertilizing time treatment increment of percentage of

urea (kg/mu) n e w culm yield increment %
number A (cm) number A* /

28, February 25 16 -0.3 31 -0.8

1 6 , March 25 16 0.6 31 1.8
1 2 , April 25 5 -0.7 7 2.3

tilize at shoot digging period i.e. a) When spring-shoots both in quality and quantity.
digging spring-shoot to put fertilizer solution
with low concentration into the cavity where
the shoot was taken away. b) When digging Discussion
winter-shoot to put solid fertilizer into the
cavity. As discussed above there are no 1. It is proposed that two methods - the
obvious benefits from fertilization at mid- stump fertilization and the furrow one around
shooting periods so application af winter- the culm base are adopted, for it is easy
shoot digging time, will improve the to apply and the efficiency of fertilizer appli-
cation is high. The organic fertilizers should be nutrient cycle in Mao Zhu stand, i.e. how
put into furrow or spread and then burried much is absorbed by the bamboo stand. In
in soil. this case, the small water shed study may be
2. Both- the organic fertilizer and the useful.
commercial fertilizers should be used widely. d) To study the relationship between
Among them N is the most important one fol- using fertilization and its effects, both in
lowed by P and K. quality and quantity. The nutrients can be
3. As regards dosages, 50 kg ha- is supplied at appropriate time according to the
better for Nitrogen (net N). If the soil lacks P production needs, and the fertility of soil can
and K, the proportion N:P:K = 2:2:1 could b e maintained or even be raised. Finaily it is
be adopted or the N P K mixed fertilizer could necessary for scientists working on soil, with
be used. silvi culture ecology, and economics to co-
operate with one another. Improved results
4. The period of shoot bud differentiation will bring the abound benefits.
and that of leaf renewal are suitable for fertiliz-
ing. As to the shoot stand, it could be fertilized
when the shoots are dug out in winter: Ferti- References
lizer application is very important. The
foresters are increasingly aware of the new Anon. 1974. Bamboo stand Culture edited
fertilizing system. Further improvements are by Bamboo research division, Nanjing
necessary. Forest Institute.
a) An evaluation should be made on the Hong Shungshan & Jiang Yigeng. 1984. A
fertility levels of soils for the present bamboo Study on Fertilization in Bamboo Stand,
stands, i.e. a systematic investigation of the (in press).
soils in bamboo stands should be made so
Ma Naixun & Wang Zhuyi. 1983. A Study in
that different soil types and their fertility can
be divided. Special Mixed Fertilizer for Ph.
pubescens, (in press).
b) The qualities of different nutrients
which are needed by the present yield and Qiou Fugeng. 1979. The Permeability of the
Cavity-wall of Phyllostachys pubescens
the maximum yield should be calculated. This
Culm and its Use, Forestry Science,
means that plant samples should be analysed.
No. 2, pp. 157.
c) It is also necessary to learn more of the

120
 Effects of Photoperiod and Temperature
on the Growth of Mosochiku
Phyllostachys pubescens seedlings
Etsuzo Uchimura
Forestry & Forest Products Research Institute
P.O. Box 16, Tsukuba Norin Kenkyu Danchi-nai
Ibaraki, 305, Japan

Abstract type is the clump forming, which is common

in the tropical region. 4 There are two methods
Mosochiku (Phyllostachys pube- of bamboo multiplication. One is the asexual
scens), which is the most useful and popular propagation such as rhizome cutting (: offset
bamboo species in Japan hardly flowers and planting), culm cutting and layering, and the
euen if it flowers, it is very difficult to get fertile other is the sexual propagation by seeds and
seeds. Effects of photdperiodism and tem- seedlings. Mosochiku flowers rarely and there-
perature on the growth of Mosochiku seed- fore, the seeds are very precious2. For this
lings are determined, Long term seed storage reason, studies on bamboo seedling are very
without treatment is difficult and percentage few. This paper describes the effects of photo-
germination of seeds differ. Temperature periodism and temperature on the growth of
higher than 30C is not suitable for contin- seedlings.
uous growth of Mosochiku, but long day light-
ing is good for the growth.
Materials and methods

Mosochiku seeds were collected from

Introduction many forests in Japan during 1978 to 1979,
and seed fertility was tested by X-Ray television
Mosochiku (Phyllostachys pubescens) , which is commonly called Softex or Softex
one of the typical useful Japanese bamboo television. This is widely used in medical fields
species grows widely throughout the country and industries. Softex model 25-l can be used
except Hokkaido in northern Japan. Most of to observe the internal structure of endo-
the bamboo forests in Japan are cultivated for sperm, embryo and so on. Twelve seeds were
edible sprouts or for the production of bam- laid on a moderately wet filter paper within 12
boo culms. Bamboo sprout and culm produc- cm petri dish in diameter, and kept at con-
tion, is increasing year after year keeping with stant 25OC in fixed temperature box. These
the demand for culms which are used for con- tests were repeated five times, and observed
struction. Mosochiku, Madake (Phyllostachys for three weeks.
reticulata) and other useful bamboos, how-
Thermal effect of growth on bamboo
ever, are indispensable and important needs
for Japanese family life and culture. Bamboo seedling was tried in the Phytotron with fixed
species are widely distributed in the area from temperature at 2OOC - 15C (: Day time)
temperate region to tropical region with two a n d a t 3OC - 25C (night) in each
chamber. Temperature at 2OC and 30C of
different growth types of bamboo rhizome.
day time represent the natural temperature in
The first growth type is the non-clump North and South of Japan.
, forming type which mainly is common in tem- Ten days old seedlings were planted in
perate and subtropical region, and the second the one ten thousandth Wagners..pot hold

121
 Table 1. Composition of the nutrient solution

Salts used Elements Concentration (ppm)

NH4NO3 N 50.0
NaH2PO4.2H2O P2O5 25.0
KC1 K2O 30.0
CaC12.2H2O CaO 20.0
MgSO4.7H2O MgO 10.0
EDTA-Fe Fe2O3 1.0
EDTA-Cu cu 0.1
EDTA-Mn Mn 0.1
EDTA-Zn Zn 0.1

H3BO3 B 0.1
MoO3.2H2O MO 0.1

with vermiculite as medium of culture soil, and percentage decreases rapidly. Nearly 40%
kept on the trolley. Trolleys have been seedlings die after three weeks of germination,
devised for bamboo culturing and to circulate Seedlings maintained at 30C grew 4.6 cm in
water between upper and lower tanks con- height with 5.8 leaves culm on an average of
trolled by two timers. Composition of the 29 pots. Other details are given in Table 2.
culture solution is given in Table 1 and it was Growth with Treatment I was better, but leat
used 100 ppm, with initial pH 5.3. Relative
humidity was fixed 75 7% and with natura1
light intensity. Different light periods tor 6
hours, 12 and 24 hours per a/day was used in
each chamber.

Results and Discussion

Number of seed setting per culm of Moso-
chiku is shown in Fig. 1. There is no clear rela-
tionship between culm size diameter and seed
setting, but in general, bigger culms have
manv branches and leaves. Seed. production
is high and they are viable. Seeds collected
from different places such as Shizuoka,
Tochigi, Kagoshima, Yokohama and others
were compared for their germination percen-
tage. There was 25% to 65% variation with
minor differences for individual bamboo culm.
Germination percentage was 34% for fresh .
seeds 27% after one month storage, and 7% 10 20 30 40
Culm Size D.B.H. (cm)
after two months. This shows that germination
Fig. 1. Number of seed setting/culm,

122
 Photoperiodism

The leaf area increase under long clay

treatment (24 hours light in a day) was greater
than under short day treatment (6 hours
lighting in a day). The above results may prove
helpful to raise bamboo seedlings of various
species.

References
Suzuki, S. (1978) Index to Japanese Bamboo
5 10 15 20 ceae Gakken , Tokyo.
Germination in days Uchimura, E. (1968) On the gregarious
flowering phenomenon of Phyllostachys
pubescens p. 25 - 26. Bamboo Vol. 7
Fig. 2. Relationship between germination period and Kyoto.
total germination percentage of P. pubescens seeds.
Uchimura, E. (1978) Ecological studies on
cultivation of tropical bamboo forest in the
Philippines Bulletin of the Forestry &
Forest Products Research Institute Ibaraki
area increase was better in Treatment II (Table
79 - 118.
3). The colour of oral setae was normal brown
in Treatment I and in Treatment II it was white. Uchimura, E. (1979) Studies on multiplication
Some leaves suffered chlorosis and the seed- of bamboo by different growth types of
lings died after the second month. This pheno- bamboo rhizomes. The reports of Fuji
menon was noticed in tropical plantations3. It bamboo garden Vol. 23 Gotenba 36 - 52
seems that temperate bamboo species are not Watanabe, M. et al. (1982) Flowering, seed-
suitable for tropics. Colour in Treatment II was ling, germination, and flowering period-
dark green and Treatment I, light green. Dif- icity of Phyl1ostachys pubescens. Journal
ferences in growth and leaf areas are shown of the Japanese Forestry Society Vol. 64,
in Figs. 3,4 and Table 3. 107 - 111.

(cm2,
30

25

Fig. 3 Leaf area classified by every stage

2 3 4 of propagated culm
Stages of propagated culm

123
 Table 2. Treatment of temperature and growth of seedling.

Date of observation
Treatment Items
July 19 Aug. 16 Sep. 20 Nov. 4
l-5.8 l-8.3 l-10.3 l-11.0, Z-12.9
Stage of leaf 2-4.1 2-7.3 3-10.9, 4-9.5
- Number of leaf 3-1.0 3-4.1 5-6.2
4-3.3 6 to 9-15.5
30Oc
1.4-6 l-6.0 l-7.1 l-7.8, Z-17.3
Culm length 2-7.9 2-12.6 3-21.8, 4-22.3
3-2.5 3-13.5 5-21.4
4-10.2 6 to 9-21.2

l-6.1 l-7.5 l-8.0 l-6.1, 2-9.3

Stage of leaf 2-2.5 Z-5.1 3-9.4, 4-8.7
- Number of leaf 3-2.9 5-4.2
4-2.5 6 to 8-11.1
O
20 C
l-4.3 l-5.3 l-7.0 l-8.0, 2-16.1
Culm length
2-3.6 2-9.8 3-18.1, 4-17.1
3-6.0 5-13.2
4-5.0 6 to 8-9.0

Table 3. Leaf area classified by stage ofculm growth.

Stage of culm growth

Treatment Items
1 2 3 4 5 6-9 Average/
Total
Leaf area 4.7 10.9 14.7 15.2 18.7 20.0 14.0
3oC
Total
Leaf area 51.7 140.6 160.2 144.4 115.9 310.0 922.8

Leaf area 5.5 13.2 14.9 21.2 32.5 33.0 20.0

20C
Total
Leaf area 44.0 212.5 269.7 362.5 429.0 894.3 2212.0

124
u s e e ays a

(1) Treatment at 20C

125
126
Growth and Propagation

127
 Studies on Branching Pattern of
Monopodial Bamboos
Hsiung Wenyue, Din Zhufu, LiYoufen and Lu Ping
Nanjing University of Forestry, Nanjing China

Abstract unlayered cells. Between the tunica a n d

corpus there is a layer of cells with outward
The bud initiation, bud types and branch- walls uniform and inward walls distorted
ing patterns are discussed in the species of known as a transitional layer. Both the tunica
Arundinaria, lndocalamus, Phyllostachys and and corpus are active in division as seen in
Sinobambusa. Figs. 1 and 2 which show the apical structure
of a culm shoot
- 2 a rhizomal shoot and differ-
entiation respectively. (Hsu, 1944, Lee and
Introduction Chin, 1960, 1962, Cutter, 1965, Clowes,
Branching on nodes is a general charac- 1961, Esau, 1965).
teristic of plants that affects stem form, crown In the lower part of apical meristem a leaf
form and foliage distribution. On the other (sheath) primordium is initiated from the
hand, branching pattern is also determined by tunica cells and becomes visible as a small
leaf order and bud structure. Bamboo plants protrusion. With further apical activity the
are of alternate phyllotaxy with distichous primordium develops into a young sheath,
branch order. In the case of individual nodes another new leaf primordium occurs at
and axillary buds, however, their number, the opposite position alternatively. The
size, length and occurring sequence vary young sheath grows circumaxially by its
greatly with species. This paper mainly dis- apical, intercalary and marginal divisions and
cusses the bud structure and branching pattern embraces the internode and node to which it
of monopodial bamboos. is attached and overlaps l/5 - l/4 on the
opposite side after its full development. At the
Materials and Methods same time, another young sheath develops
from the other side of the upper node and
In 1984 and 1985, some species of indo- develops in a reverse way. As a result, two
calamus, , Phyllostachys, Sinobambusa, adjdining sheaths are superposed in a sym-
Chimonobambusa and Arundinaria in the metrical manner. Such a crossoverlapping
Bamboo Garden, Nanjing Forestry University continues until the shoot ceases to grow (Fig.
were investigated. The sheath initiation, bud 3). At the sheath axil a primary bud primor-
formation and structure, branching sequence dium is initiated from the peripheral meristem
and development were carefully examined and appears as a protrusion which finally
and observed. Slides of shoot apices and develops into a primary branch. It may be
branching nodes of young culms were pre- solitary or ramificate at its basal nodes
pared for comparative studies. depending on the species (Fig. 4). The lowest
leaf primordium of the primary branch bud
develops into a prophyll which encircles it
Bud Initiation and Structure entirely or partially, while the culm sheath
embraces the axis and the bud. At the locus
The apical meristem of a culm shoot of a lateral bud procambia (provascular
consists of tunica and corpus. The tunica is a strands) are derived from the peripheral
mantle of two to four layered cells which are meristem and arranged in axial rows. Their
relatively-uniform in size and dense in arrange- cells are packed in bundles with large nuclei
ment, while the corpus is an interior mass of and active division and differentiation. Axial

128
 Fig. 1. Shoot tip of Phyllostachys pubescens showing apical meristem with leaf (sheath) primordia, young sheaths
and their axillary buds which develop into primary branches. Fig, 2, Growth tip of rhizome shoot of Phyllostachys
pubescens showing apical meristem with leaf (sheath) primordia, young sheaths and their axillary buds which
develop into new rhizomes or culm shoots.

I
i

c
N
S

b c

Fig 3, Mirror image symmetry overlapptng pattern of sheaths (S) showing the I of primary bud : 1) and
proliferating order of secondary branch buds ( 2 3, 4, 5) on nodes (N) of culms (C) a Double branching
(Phyllostachys); b Triple branching (Slnobarnbusa). c Multiple branching (Arundinaria. Chimonobambusa,
Gelidocalarnus~

129
 a b d

e f
Fig. 4. Loci of primary branch buds and their ramificating order of secondary branch buds. Note the sheath and
prophyll scars. a. Single branching bud (Indocalamus); b. Double branching bud (Phyllostachys); c. Triple branching
bud (Sinobambusa); d-f. Multiple branching bud (Arundinaria, Chimonobambusa and Gelidocalamus).

division commonly occurs in provascular angles are generally small, less than 20 0.
cells, but radial division is often seen, too, As Branches are nearly erect and close to the
culm growth progresses, provascular bundles culm as seen in species of Indocalumus (Figs.
increase gradually and become curved trans- 4a, 5).
versely at the position of young sheath where Double branching bud: A primary bud
a new node is in the making. The newly bears a lateral bud at its first node which is so
formed node separates the meristematic close to its base that seems paired buds from a
tissue into two parts known as intercalary common base (Fig. 4b). The primary bud
meristem. As a result of shoot growth a culm and its lateral one elongate simultaneously to
is divided into a number of nodes and inter- develop into two branches. The primary axis
nodes which are called stem units. (Grosser becomes dominant over the other. In most
and Liese, l971, Hsiung et al, 1980, 1980a, species of Phyllostachys 7080% of small
1981, Usui, 1957, Ueda, 1960). branches are situated on the overlapping side,
the rest on the overlapped side (Fig. 3a), but
Bud Types and Branching Phyllostachys aureosulcata f sepectabilis has
Pattern al1 its small branches located or the overlapp-
Branching pattern is determined by the ing side. Occasionally triple branching occurs
primary buds of which the locus, number and in the double branching group by lateral bud
size of buds and constriction of basal inter- initiated from the second basal node of the
nodes vary greatly from species to species. primary branch as seen on midculm nodes of
Single branching bud: Primary buds are Phyllostachys pubescens. Angles between
solitary and elongate promptly to develop culm and branches and between branches
solitary branches, each with three to five con vary from 60 to 80 that results in a wide
stricted budless nodes at its lower part. The spread crown horizontally (Fig. 6).
branch size is somewhat smaller than the culm Triple branching bud:A primary bud
from which it protrudes. Its Jateral buds com- produces two lateral b u d s alternatively at its
monly occur at the higher nodes. Culm-branch first and second basal nodes which are so close

130
Fig. 5. Single branching pattern a. Solitary branch with constricted budless basal nodes; bl. Cross view of singie
branching pattern; b2. Whole view of single branching pattern: C - culm, S - sheath, P - prophyll, B - branch.

Fig. 6. Double branching pattern. a. Primary branch with a secondary (lateral) branch from first basal node;
bl. Cross view of double branching system; b2. Whole view of double branching system. C - culm, Sl - sheath,
Pl - prophyll around primary branch (I) and secondary branch (II), P2 - prophyll around only secondary branch.

131
 a

Fig. 7. Triple branching pattern. a. A dominant primary branch with two secondary (lateral) branches on its
constricted basal nodes. Note their joined base at an almost same level; bl. Cross view of triple branching system;
b2. Whole view of triple branching system. C - culm, Sl - sheath around culm and primary branch and its lateral
ones, Pl - prophyll around primary branch (I) and its lateral ones, P2 - prophyll around first lateral branch (II),
S3 - around primary branch (I) and second lateral branch (III), P3 - prophyll around only second lateral branch
(III).

together as to be formed from a common approximately the same level (Fig. 8).
base at the same level (Fig. 4c). Three buds Several metamorphic modes can be distin-
elongate almost simultaneously into three guished. (1) The joined basal stump of the
branches. In the centre is the primary branch primary bud and its two laterals is narrow and
which develops from the primary bud and strongly adnate to the culm. Two or three
becomes dominant over the laterals on either budless nodes in their lower parts become
side. Their loci are clearly fixed in an order fairly constricted. Branching occurs on their
according to an alternate reverse overlapping higher nodes with small culm-branch angles
pattern of sheaths as indicated in Fig. 3b. as seen in Arundinaria amabilis (Fig. 8a). (2)
Angles between culm and branches are about The joined basal stump of branches is relatively
40-50 and those between branches about wide with larger culm-branch angles. Their
30-40. Such a branching pattern is clearly lower internodes are closely constricted.
s e e n in species of Sinobambusa and From either side of their basal nodes branches
Indocalamus (Fig. 7). proliferate more new branches that makes
branch complements as illustrated in
Multiple branching bud: On the basis of Arundinaria muculata a n d Gelidocalamus
triple branching, more proliferation occurs at tessallatus (Fig. 8b, c, d). As this pattern
the basal nodes of a primary bud (Fig. 4d, e, becomes conspicuous, more branching can
f): A branch complement at the midculm be expected in a single node particularly with
nodes comprises a primary branch dominant increase in culm age. A similar trend can be
over the lateral ones. Their basal nodes are visualized acropetally in a single culm (Fig. 9).
closely constricted in a packed order at In general, the more subsequent proliferation

132
 b
d2

Fig. 8. Multiple branching pattern. a, b, c. Three different types of primary branches with multiple secondary
(lateral) branches; dl. Cross view of multiple branching system; d2. Whole view of multiple branching system.
C - culm, Sl - sheath around culm and primary branch, PI - prophyll around primary branch (I) and its lateral
ones, S3 - sheath around primary branch (I) and its second lateral branch (III), P3 - prophyll around second
lateral branch (III) only, P4 - prophyll around third branch (IV), P5 - prophyll around fourth lateral branch (V).

133
 a

Fig, 9. Branching variations of a single culm in Arundinaria muculata from lower nodes (a, b) to middle nodes
(c) and upper nodes (d).

134
results in the shorter secondary branches. Grosser, D. and Liese, W. 1971. On the
Consequently the culm crown becomes more anatomy of Asian bamboos, with special
narrow and the nodal ridge becomes reference to their vascular bundles.
prominent. (McClure, 1967). Wood Science Tech. 5: 290-312.
Hsiung, W.Y., Din, Z.F. and Li, Y .F. 1980.
Conclusions Intercalary meristem and internodal
elongation of bamboo plants. I,
Intercalary meristem and internodal
In bamboos, sheaths embrace the inter- elongation of culm shoots. Acta Silva
nodes circumaxially and overlap alternatively Sinica 16: 81-89.
in a reverse way that shows a mirror image
Hsiung, W.Y., Qiao, S.Y. and Li, Y.F.
symmetry pattern along either side of the
1980a. The anatomical structure of culms
culm and indicates the arrangement of
o f Phyllostachys pubescens. Acta
the branching order of individual nodes.
Botanica Sinica 22: 344-348.
Branching system of monopodial bam- Hsiung, W.Y., Din, Z.F. and Li, Y .F. 1981.
boos is monophyletic. A primary bud Intercalary meristem and internodal
develops into a primary branch. On its basal elongation of rhizome shoots in bamboo
nodes lateral buds occur to develop secon- production and utilization. Proceedings
dary branches. The basal internodes are so of the Congress Group 5.3A, XVII
closely constructed that they look paired or
IUFRO World Congress, Kyoto, Japan,
arising clumped axes at an approximately September 6-17, 1981.
same level from a common base. The primary
bud and its lateral ones elongate almost simul- Hsu, J. 1944. Structure and growth of the
taneously, though their initiation differs in shoot apex of Sinocalamus beechyana.
time sequence. Branching behaviour varies Amer. J. Bot. 31: 404-411.
greatly even in a species. A typical branching Lee, C.L. and Chin, T.C. 1960. Anatomical
always occurs at the midculm nodes of crown studies of some Chinese bamboos. Acta
with more above and less below. Multiple Botanica Sinica 9: 79-97. .
branching with short internodes may increase Lee, C.L. and Chin, T.C. 1962. Further
foliage leaves that favour the physiological anatomical studies of some Chinese
activity of bamboos. bamboos. Acta Botanica Sinica 10: 17-
28.
References McClure, F.A. 1967. The bamboos. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge.
Clowes, F.A.L. 1961. Apical meristem. Ueda, K. 1960. Studies on the physiology of
Botanical Monographs, Oxford. Black- bamboos. Resources Bureau, Prime
well Scientific Publications. Ministers Office, Japan,
Cutter, E.G. 1965. Recent experimental Usui, H. 1957. Morphological studies on the
studies of the shoot apex and shoot mor- prophyll of Japanese bamboos. Bot.
phogenesis. Bot. Rev. 31: 7-30. Mag. Tokyo 70: 223-227.
Esau, K. 1965. Plant Anatomy. John Wiley
&Son, New York.

135
 Flowering and Seed Characteristics
of Bamboos in Thailand
Anan Anantachote
Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University,
Bangkok 10903, Thailand

Abstract Bamboos can be propagated both vegeta-

tively and by seeds. Rural people generally
Most commercial bamboo species in Thai- propaqate bamboos vegetatively by rhizomes
land flower sporadically and the flowering and culm cuttings. However, for large scale
occurs in small areas or in a few clumps. Every plantation, these methods are not appro-
year, flowering is observed approx- priate. Due to the scarcity of planting material
imately over five months between October to and transport costs, it is also not economical.
April depending on the species. The exis- Success of propagation depends on age, sea-
tence of the geographic variation in flowering son, nature and Iocation of propagating
of some bamboo species is also observed. material, and it can be poor (Guha et al, 1976;
Seeds of bamboos are very different, espe- White, 1947, Ueda, 1960; Hasan, 1977;
cially in weight. Within species, there are Cabanday, 1957). On the other hand, pro-
also variations. Big seeds show higher per- pagation through seeds is not always possible
centage germination than small ones. Germi- due to inadequate supply. Generally, bam-
nation is highly correlated with moisture con- boos have long intervals between flowering.
tent of the seed. Seeds were infected by fungi Moreover, it is impossible to predict the
which destroy the seeds during storage, as exact year or age at which bamboos will
proper seed storage is very necessary to facili- produce seeds. However, studies have been
tate bamboo propagation by seeds. done to determine the exact seedling cycle
(from seed year to seed year) of some bamboo
species (Blatter , 1929- 1930; Blatter and
Introduction Parker, 1929; Bowden, 1950; Wang and
Chen, 1971). The results of these studies
indicate the diversity of the bamboo flowering
Bamboo is one of the most commercially
and seeding cycles.
important multipurpose plants in Thailand.
The uses of bamboos, as food, versatile con- In Thailand, bamboos flower and seed
struction material, manufacture of farm every year involving different species and
implements, various household utensils and locations. In some locations, more than one
raw materials for the cottage industry are well species will flower and seed. Therefore, to
known. The rural people of Thailand depend establish bamboo plantations in future, pro-
on bamboos in many facets of their daily pagation through seeds would be the most
lives. This heavy dependence has in recent promising method. Further research into
years seen a drastic reduction of bamboos the flowering and seeding characteristics is
in the country except for a few restricted areas. essential. The study of flowering and seeding
People grow bamboo unmindful of any silvi- of bamboos in Thailand reported here was ini-
cultural, biological and ecological importance tiated in February, 1983 with financial support
of the species. Selection and gropagation of from IDRC.
good quality bamboos in the different parts of In general, bamboos flower sporadically
the country are made with inadequate infor- and gregariously. With the exception of
mation. Gigantochloa hasskarliana in Kanchanaburi

136
Province, where they flower every year in seeding, possess the potential for propagation
small areas or in a few clumps. G. hasskarliana in large scale plantations.
sometimes flowers well in Kanchanaburi
Province. The earliest flowering starts in
October and ends in February when seeding
begins. Seeds are transferred four months
later. Bamboos flower over five months in Seed Characteristics Of Some
Thailand regardless of locations. The species Bamboo Species
that flower every year are Arundinaria pusilla,
Bambusa arundinacea, B. nutans, B. The characteristics studied included seed
blumeana, Cephalostachyum pergrade, C. weight, germination, and seed-borne patho-
virgatum, Gigantochloa albociliata, G . gens. Seed samples were collected from 43
hasskarliana, G. apus, Thyrsostachys oliveri, locations in nine provinces of the northern
and T. siamensis. These are commercial and central parts of Thailand (Table 1, Fig. 1),
species and, given this characteristic of annual of which 11 were commercially important. All

Table 1. Bamboo seed collection in Thailand.

Seed Location
number Species District, Province Weight (gm)

1 Dendrocalff mus strictus Mae Sarauy, Chiangrai 138.3

2 D. strictus Mae Sarauy, Chiangrai 582.9
3 D. strictus Mae Sarauy, Chiangrai 214.3
4 D. strictus Muang, Maehongsorn 19.4
5 D. strictus Muang, Maehongsorn 59.8
6 D. strictus M u a n g , Maehongsorn 4.6
7 D. stricfus Maerim, Chiangmai 25.3
8 D. strictus Maerim, Chiangmai 125.3
9 D. strictus Chiangdao, Chiangmai 3.4
10 D. strictus Watbost, Pitsanuloke 348.3
11 D. strictus Watbost, Pitsanuloke 15.2
12 D. strictus Srisatchanalai, Sukothai 27.6
13 D. strictus Boploy, Kanchanaburi 279.7
14 D. strictus Boploy, Kanchanaburi 36.3
15 D. strictus Ngao, Lampang 127.3
16 D. strictus Ngao, Lampang 24.3
17 D. strictus Ngao, Lampang 29.9
18 D. strictus Jaehom, Lampang 208.0
19 D. gigan teus Muang, Tak 90.2
20 D. hamiltonii Mae Sarauy, Chiangrai 54.4
21 D. hamiltonii Chiangdao, Chiangmai 12.5
22 Bambusa nutans Ngaw , Lampang 60.1
23 B. nutans Ngaw, Lampang 34.9
24 B. nutans Ngaw , Lampang 1,625.8

137
 Table 1. Bambao seed collection in Thailand. (contd)

Location
number Species District, Province weight (gm)

25 B. arundinacea Song, Prae loo.4

26 B. arundinacea Thongpapoom,Kanchanaburi 292.2
27 B. arundinacea Thongpapoom, Kanchanaburi 139.6
28 B. arundinacea Boploy, Karnchanaburi 118.1
29 B. arundinacea Muang, Tak 27.9
30 B. arundinacea Ngao, Lampang 11.0
31 Gigantochloa compressa Srisatchanalai, Sukothai 12.2
32 G. hasskarliana Thongpapoom, Kanchanaburi 532.7
33 G . albociliata Maesarauy, Chiangrai 121.3
34 G. albociliata Watbost, Pitsanuloke 137.7
35 G. albociliata Watbost, Pitsanuloke 94.6
36 G . albociliata Ngao, Lampang 28.1
37 Melocalamus compactiforus Boploy, Kanchanaburi 15.3
38 Thyrsostachys siamensis Boploy, Kanchanaburi 10.4
39 T. siamensis Muang, Tak 14.5
40 T. siamensis Ngao, Lampang 82.1
41 T. siamensis Watbost, Pitsanuloke 2.0
42 T. siamensis Cna-urn, Petchaburi 706.0
43 Schizostachyum blumii Srisatchanalai, Sukothai 12.2

the seeds were separately cleaned and stored condition. Germination percentages were
in the refrigerator at approximately 5C prior determined by counting the total number of
to measurements. the germinated seeds. Of the 40 seed trials,
Seed weight characteristic: In order seeds of 26 germinated (Table 4), whilst those
to determine the variation in seed weight, five of others did not germinate due to immaturity
of the seeds. The % germination ranged from
groups ofrandomly selected seeds, 40 per
86 to 1 percent and T. siamensis from
group, were sampled (Table 2). The weights
of bamboo seeds varied specifically. There Petchaburi Province had 86% germination.
were also variations in seed weight of D. There were also geographic variations in seed
strictus collected from different locations germination.
(Table 3). The results of the study can be used Correlation was found between
as the basic information for future seed collec- germination percentage and the moisture
tions. In general, big seeds produced larger content of seeds. The species used and the
seedling than small seeds. With this fact, seed places of collection are given (Table 5, Fig. 2).
weight may be used as the key in selection for This information can be used in conducting the
predetermining the quality of the seedling. storage experiments for the specific bamboo
seeds, in order to prolong the viability of the
The samples of 100 randomly selected seed fqr the future uses.
seeds from each of the collected samples Seed-borne pathogens of some bam-
were used in determining percentages, All boo species:Seed-borne pathogens of
seed samples were separately sowed in the D. strictus, B. nutans, B. arundinacea, G.
sterilized sand trays under open greenhouse hasskarliana, and T. siamensis were studied.

138
 Table 2. Variations in seed weight of some bamboos in Thailand.

Location Standard
Species (Province) Mean (g) Deviation C.V. Range
Dendrocalamus strictus Kanchanaburi 0.4327 0.0352 8.139 .0241
D. strictus Chiangrai 0.9450 0.0907 9.5955 .2494
D. strictus Lampang 1.2120 0.0293 2.4194 .0901
D. strictus Chiangrai 1.4180 0.1449 10.2221 .4754
D. strictus Lampang 0.7360 0.0559 7.5925 .2002
Thyrsostachys siamensis Petchaburi 0.6190 0.0141 2.2843 .0398
Bambusu nutans Lampang 0.2750 0.0205 7.4615 .0601
B. nutans Prae 0.4770 0.0161 3.3754 .0434
Gigantochloa hasskarliana Kanchanaburi 0.3810 0.0230 6.0484 .0884
Bambusa arundinocea Kanchanaburi 0.4160 0.0148 3.5641 .0471

Table 3. Geographic variation in seed weights ofDendrocalamus strictus in Thailand.

S.O.V. df. S.S. M.S. F

Locations 5 3.28292 0.65658 112.79644 !

Errors 24 0.13970 0.00582

Total 29 3.42262

!" *Significant at the 0.01 level of probability.

S.O.V. = source of variance
df. = degree of freedon
S.S. = sum of squares
M.S. = mean square
F = frequency
Table 4. Germination percentage of bamboo seeds.

Seed Species Location Germination

No. Local Name: Scientific Name District: Province %
1 Pai Pak: Gigantochloa hasskarliana Thongpapoom: Kanchanaburi 3
2 Pai Rai: G. albociliata Mae Sauy: Chiangrai 3
3 Pai Rai: G. albociliata Ngao: Lampang 3
4 Pai Rai: G. albociliata Wat Bost: Pitsanuloke 1
5 Pai Sangbom: Dendrocalamus strictus Ngao: Lampang 70
6 Pai Sangbom: D. strictus Mae Sauy: Chiangrai 4
7 Pai Sangbom: D. strictus Jaehom: Lampang 83
8 Pai Sangbom: D. strictus Ngao: Lampang -
9 Pai Sangbom: D. strictus Srisatchanalai: Sukhothai -
10 Pai Sangbom: D. strictus Muang: Maehongsorn 83
11 Pai Sang: D. strictus Mae Sauy: Chiangrai 4
12 Pai Sang: D. strictus Wat Bost: Pitsanuloke 1

140
 Table 4. Germination percentage of bamboo seeds.(contd)

Seed Species Location Germination

No. Local Name: Scientific Name District: Province %

13 Pai Sang: D. strictus Thasanun: Kanchanaburi 9

14 Pai Sang: D. strictus Mae Sauy: Chiangrai 4
15 Pai Sang: D. strictus Maeteep: Lampang 2
16 Pai Sang: D. strictus Ban Maeprao: Lampang 3
17 Pai Sang: D. strictus Ngao: Lampang 6
18 Pai Sang: D. strictus Boploy: Kanchanaburi 35
19 Pai Hokyai: D. hamiltonu Chiangdao: Chiangmai -

20 Pai Hokjae: D. hamiltonu Chiangdao : C hiangmai -

21 Pai Hok: D. hamiltonu Mae Sauy: Chiangrai -

22 Pai Wan: D. giganteus Larnsang: Tak 3

23 Pai Sang: Kee: D. strictus Muang: Petchaboon 79
24 Pai Ruak: Thyrsostachys siamensis Larnsang: Tak 10
25 Pai Ruak: T. siamensis Chaum: Petchaburi 86
26 Pai Ruak: T. siamensis Ngao: Larnpang 7
27 Pai Bong: Bambusa nutans Boploy: Kanchanaburi 1
28 Pai Bong: B. nutans Song: Prae -

29 Pai Bong: B. nutans Ngao: Lampang -

30 Pai Bong: B. nutans Song: Lampang -

31 Pai Bong: B. nutans Song: Prae -

32 Pai Bong: B. nutans Ngao: Lampang 3

33 Pai Pa: B. arundinacea Ngao: Lampang -

34 Pai Pa: B. arundinacea Thongpapoom: Kanchanaburi 3

35 Pai Pa: B. arundinacea Boploy: Kanchanaburi 1
36 Pai Pa: B. arundinacea Muang: Tak 10
37 Pai Pa: B. arundinacea Ban Tungna: Kanchanaburi -

38 Pai Hangchang: Melocalamus Srisatchanalai: Sukhothai -

compactiflorous
39 Pai Kainai: - Srisatchanalai: Sukhothai -

40 Pai Hia: Cephalostachyum virgatum SrisatchanaIai: Sukhothai -

141
 /
"

!$
!
!
!
#

%! %! %! %!
" !% % &

T. siamensis

0. arundinacea
Petchaburi P.
" !% D.
%! %! %! %! %! %! %! "

P.

Petchaburi P.
T.
P.

moisture contend%)
Fig. 2. The correlation between germination percentage and moisture content of some bamboo species in Thailand.

Table 5. The correlation between germination percentage and moisture content of some
bamboo species in Thailand.

Species/location Y = a + b X R2 r S.D.

T. siamensis/Petchaburi Province 23.5 + 13.7X 0.724 0.851 6.6

T. siamensis,Kanchanaburi Province - 1.4 + 1.02x 0.369 0.607 1.1
D. strictus/Lampang Province 35.5 + 6.8X 0.623 0.789 3.8
D. strictus/Petchaburi Province 72.4 + 1.3X 0.734 0.856 1.4
B. arundinacea/Petchaburi Province 33.8 + 10.3x 0.785 0.886 4.0

R* = coefficient of determination
r = coefficient of correlation
S.D. = standard error of estimate

142
The determination of seed-borne fungi was perature in the incubator was 30 5OC. The
based on using the blotter method of the seed samples were incubated for the total of
International Seed Testing Association (ETA). five to seven days. After the incubation period,
Four hundred seed samples were tested. For seed-borne fungi were identified. The results
each species, 20 seeds were placed on moist indicated that there were altogether 48
filter paper in the petri-dish for a total of species of fungi obtained from seed samples,
20 replicates. Consequently, they were including 13 parasitic and saprophytic species
placed in the incubator that composed of the (127.1%) and 35 others (72.9%). (Table 6).
near ultraviolet lamps which automatically
turned on and off every 12 hours. The tem-

Table 6. Seed-borne fungi of some bamboo species of Thailand.

Species number Seed-borne fungi

1 Alternaria longissima !

2 A. tennuis !

3 Arthrinium sp.
4 Ascochyts sp.
5 Ascomycetes
6 Aspergillus flavus
7 A. niger
8 A. wentii
9 Beltrania sp.
10 Chaetomium sp.
11 Cladosporium sp.
12 Curvularia borreriae
13 C. brachyspora
14 C. cragrostidis
15 C. geniculata
16 C. lunata
17 C. oyzae
18 C. pallescens
19 C. senegalensis
20 C. stapeliae
21 Dinemasporium sp.
22 Drechslera halodes
23 D. hawaiiensis
24 D. papendorjii
25 D. rostrata
26 D. tetramera
27 Epicoccum sp.
28 Fusarium equiseti

143
 Table 6. Seed-borne fungi of some bamboo species of Thailand.
(contd)
Species number Seed-borne fungi

29 Fusurium semitectum !

30 Fusarium sp. !

31 Graphium sp. '

32 Memnoniella sp. !

33 Mucor sp.
34 Myrothecium sp. *
35 Nigrospora oryzae *
36 Nodulosporium sp.
37 Penicillium sp.
38 Periconia sp.
39 Periconia tiratupatiensis
40 Phaeotrichoconis sp.
41 Phoma sp. *
42 Phomopsis sp. !

43 Pithomyces sp.
44 Rhizopus sp.
45 Stachybotrys sp.
46 Stemphylium sp. !

47 Torula sp.
48 Trichoconis padwickii !

parasitic fungi

Some fungi were common and others were the major factors in developing bamboo
were seed specific. However, the parasitic plantation in the future.
fungi affecting seed and seedling quality are The propagation of bamboos through
the most important ones we need to be con- seeds is one of the most promising methods in
cerned with. The parasitic fungi that were cultivation of bamboos in Thailand. Most
found on the seeds of the studied bamboos are valuable bamboo species flower sporadicaily,
shown separately in Table 7. and seeds are available. Studies relating
to seed, e.g., selection of desirable char-
When compared with the other forest tree acteristic of bamboo for specific uses,
seeds, there were more fungi species on bam- genetics, variation pattern, determination of
boo seeds. This indicated that time of seed seedling establishment, seed dispersion, and
collection, cleaning processes, storage condi- natural regeneration, need to be investigated
tions, and duration of bamboo seed storage further.

144
 Table 7. Percentage of the bamboo seeds and the parasitic fungi by
using the blotter method.

Percentage of bamboo seed

D. B. B. G. T.
Parasitic fungi strictus nutans arundinacea hasskarliana siamensis
AIternaria longissima 1.25 - 0.25 - -
A. tenuis 9.75 0.50 - 0.25 0.75
Ascochyts sp. - 0.25 - - -
Curuularia lunata 11.00 2.25 1.25 4.25 5.50
Fusarium semitectum 13.50 1.25 0.25 89.00 0.25
Fusarium sp. - 2.50 1.50 - -
Graphium sp. - - 0.75 6.25 -
Myrothecium sp. - - 0.25 2.75 0.50
Nigrospora oryzae 61.50 1.50 - 0.50 -
Phoma sp. 2.75 0.25 - 0.75 -
Phomopsis sp. 0.25 - - - -
Stemphylium sp. 0.25 - - - -
Trichoconis padwickii 2.00 - - 0.25 -

References Guha, S.R.D., Singh, M.M. and Bhola, P.P.

1976. Beating characteristics of bamboo
Blatter, E. 1929. Flowering of bamboos. pulp in valley beater: Effect of tempera-
Journal of Bombay Natural History ture and consistency on power consump-
Society 32 : 899-92 1. tion and pulp sheet properties. Ippta
Blatter, E. 1930. Flowering of bamboos. 13 (1): 49.
Journal of Bombay Natural History Hasan, S.M: 1977. Studies on the vegetative
Society 33: 135- 141. . propagation of bamboos. Bano Biggyan
Blatter, E. 1930. Flowering of bamboos. Patrika, Forest Research Institute; Chitta-
Journal of Bombay Natural History gong, Bangladesh, 6: 64-7 1.
Society 33: 447-451. Ueda, K. 1960. Studies on the physiology of
Blatter, E. and Parker, R.N. 1929. Indian bamboo with reference to practical appli-
bamboos brought up to date. Indian cation. Prime Ministers Office, Resources
Forester 55: 541-562. Bureau, Science and Tee hnology
Bowden, E. 1950. Flowering of Strobilanthes. Agency, Tokyo, Japan, Reference data
Jaurnal of Bombay Natural History 34, 167 p. ; also in 1960, Kyoto University
Society 49:576. Press, Kyoto, Japan.
Cabanday , A.C. 1957. Propagation of Wang, T.T. and Chen, M.Y. 1971. Studies
kauayan-tinik (Bambusa blumeana) by on bamboo flowering in Taiwan. Tech-
various methods of cuttings and layerage. nical Bulletin Experimental Forest,
Philippines Journal of Forestry 8: 81-97. Taiwan University. 87. pp. 27.
Caleda, A.A. 1964. Planting bamboos by White, D.G. 1947. Propagation of bamboo by
seeds in Consuelo Reforestation Project, branch cuttings. Proceedings of Amer-
Sta. Fe. Nueva Vizcaya. Bureau of Fore- ican Society of Horticultural Science 50:
stry Research, Manila, Philippines, Note 392-394.
67.

145
 Studies on Vegetative Propagation of
Bambusa and Dendrocalamus Species by
Culm Cuttings
C.M.A. Stapleton

Forestry Research Project, c/o British Embassy, P.O. Box 106

Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract Short culm cuttings offer many advan-

tages over the traditional cutting. An average
Investigations have been undertaken to clump may provide only about five traditional
determine some of the factors that limit root cuttings each year without a severe reduction
production in culm cuttings of Bambusa in clump vigour and productivity, while up to
species. Whole culms of Bambusa nutans one or two hundred single-node culm cuttings
gave successfully rooted shoots in 8.8% of can be taken without affecting clump produc-
nodes and polythene tunnels did not improve tivity or disturbing the rhizome system.
the performance. The reasons for the high Traditional cuttings can weigh up to 40kg.
percentage of failure is explained. In com- each, making transport extremely difficult.
p a r i s o n 70 - 8 4 % c u t t i n g s of Dendro- Each culm cutting weighs about 1/2kg or less.
calamus hamiltonii and D. hookeri pro- Traditional cuttings retain certain advantages
duced rooted shoots. The reorientation of (Stapleton and Tamrakar, 1983). Nursery
noded cuttings in Bambusa nutans gave facilities are not required; survival is very
a n overall success rate o f 5 9 . 5 % . good even under extremely arduous condi-
Competition from strong non-rooting shoots tions; protection against grazing animals is
was shown to reduce rooting and a further much easier and establishment is quicker.
simple refinement of the planting technique The problems of communication and trans-
was shown to allow more shoots to root and port in the hills of Nepal and the simple nature
at the same time reduce competition, giving a of most forest nurseries impose severe restric-
75% success rate. Further improvements are tions upon propagation techniques.
suggested. Investigations as how to improve the
success of culm cuttings in Nepalese Bambusa
species which do not root readily have been
Introduction undertaken for the past three years. They
have shown a few interesting factors which
Large stature bamboos of the genera seem to restrict rooting and some methodsbf
Bambusa a n d Dendrocalamus are very overcoming the limitations which they
important in the rural economy of Nepal. impose.
Being multi-purpose species they provide
constructional materials, animal fodder, fuel-
wood, food, and woven products for agri- Literature review
cultural and domestic purposes, as well as
baskets for transport of most commodities It is known for a long time that bamboos
beyond the roadheads in the hills. Planting vary greatly in their ability to root from culm
large bamboos has in the past been severely cuttings and Troup (1921) recorded the
restricted by lack of seed and lack of know- relationship between rooting ability and the
ledge concerning improved vegetative pro- abundance of roots on the culm. McClure
pagation techniques, The traditional offset (1966) refined this method relating rooting
cutting has been used almost exclusively in ability to root abundance on central branch
Nepal until very recently. bases in the mid- culm region. Beyond these

146
basic observations it would appear that very experience in other plants that the optimum
little is known as to why this is or how reluc- time is often immediately prior to growth
tant species can be persuaded to root. It has initiation in the plants normal cycles.
been pointed out (McClure, 1966; Soderstrom McClure (1966) described this as the end of
and Calderon, 1979; Xiong et al, 1980) that the dry season for bamboos in his group I,
bamboos have received little attention in the although growth in branches usually com-
more fundamental aspects of morphology, mences several months earlier and exper-
physiology , and propagation and conse- ience has shown early spring to be best for
quently there does not appear to be a stan- these bamboos, (Gupta and Pattanath, 1976;
dard cutting, nor adequate guidance for Dai, 1981).
selection of the best material for propagation.
As far as simple vegetative propagation is In order to make the best use of finite
concerned there is a substantial amount of resources of cutting material it must be
information available, although it is widely planted in a manner which will give the great-
dispersed in the literature and often a little est number of plants. Cabanday (1957)
contradictory. undertook comparisons of whole cuims, two-
node cuttings, and single-node cuttings. From
Recently important advances have been
his results it would appear that single-node
made in the more sophisticated fields of pro-
cuttings gave the greatest number of rooted
pagation such as tissue culture and use of
shoots per culm used, although the success
several growth-regulating substances (Huang
rate was not the highest. Similarly Dai (1981)
and Murashige, 1983; Wang, 1981; Seetha-
showed that whole culms. partially severed
lakshmi et al, 1983) but such techniques are
between the nodes were more productive
not necessarily relevant to the basic forest
than uncut culms, although his culms still
nurseries often encountered in the less devel- had the rhizomes attached. Medina et al
oped countries, (1962) and others have reported that
For material selection both morpholog- horizontal cuttings are more successful
ical and physiological characters have been than vertical or oblique ones. Although it has
discussed. Riviere and Riviere (1879) were been observed that the environment is not the
among the first to appreciate the similarity limiting factor in many cases (Hasan., 1980),
between the swollen central branch base and Abeels (1962) reported that waterlogged con-
the rhizome in many genera and its potential ditions were not successful, and Khan (1972)
value in propagation. They found that inclu- found clay soil to be better than silty sand.
sion of a pact of the culm was essential for the McClure (1966) attributed some of his failures
branch base to successfully produce rooted to insufficient irrigation.
plants which was also supported by the
findings of Prange (1974). Gupta and Comparison of different trials is often diffi-
Pattanath (1976) showed that the physio- cult as most authors have used different cri-
logical state of the culms was important for teria. Some reports of success have been
subsequent shoot production, although Azzini based upon shoot production alone without
and Ciaramello (1978) could not improve any evaluation of rooting. Others have consi-
rooting by supplying glucose solutions. dered both shoot and root production as
McClure and Kennard (1955) showed how important and successful, Some authors only
different species had different optimum ages consider propagation successful when a
for taking cuttings, and McClure (1966) sug- clump has been established under field condi-
gested that this could be due to variations tions, which vary greatly, and this appears as
between bud development and the physio- a stringent criterion. McClure (1966) gave the
logical materials and food reserves in support- required features of a truly successful cutting
ing tissues. McClure (1973) and Hasan as one which carries a bud that developed
(1982) initiated studies into branch comple- into a rhizome from which new rooted shoots
ment structure and development and further had arisen. He used the term rhizome in
studies are needed for a good understanding ablack and white sense which may have
of. the correction factors. obscured the potential transition between
Physiological conditions of plants are partially rhizomatous shoot bases and true rhi-
important to obtain cuttings. It is known from zomes in his group I bamboos.

147
1983: Bambusa nutans trial rooted from the curving basal portion which
had a shorter first extended internode than
The method adopted in this first propaga- found in shoots which went straight upwards
tion attempt was the standard technique used and which never rooted (Fig. 1).
by McClure and Kennard (1955) in Puerto 3. Thirdly, shoots which arose too deeply
Rico: shallowly burying entire two-year-old in the soil and could not quickly reach the
culms severed above the rhizome in March light died before doing so.
with branches trimmed back to 10cm. The
environment was improved by shading and 4. Fourthly there were several shoots
irrigating the loamy beds and by putting which had rooted, but died. There seemed
sealed polythene tunnels over two treatments little reason for this but it was also noted that
with different irrigation regimes, Eighteen the successfully rooted shoots had not initially
twelve-meter culms were planted with a total grown as vigorously as others.
of 487 nodes, most of these bearing many Thus it was seen that while B. nutans
branches with viable buds, giving several appeared to be a very reluctantly rooting
thousand shoots from several orders of species, there were several identifiable factors
branching arising in different orientations at which limited rooting. It seemed there was
different soil depths. potential for improving the performance by
Evaluation after seven months showed an planting the material more suitably so that
overall mean production of only 2.2 rooted basal buds from the central branches faced in
the correct direction at the correct soil depth
plants per culm, with successful plants arising
from only 8.8% of the nodes, and no signifi- at all nodes.
cant differences between the treatments.
McClure and Kennard (1955) had obtained 1984: Dendrocalamus hamiltonii
between 9.4 and 28.7 plants from 12-meter
Iengths of four other Bambusa species, which and Dendrocalamus hookeri
suggests that Bambusa nutans is very reluc- trials
tant to root indeed. This is backed up by its
morphology. It is a bamboo of extremely fine To confirm and demonstrate the superior
form, with no trace of aerial root production rooting of Dendrocalamus species with abun-
or the nodal swelling associated with it. dant aerial roots two culms of each species
were planted with a further seven culms of
Limitations to rooting did not appear to be
Bambusa nutans for comparison. Conditions
environmental, as there were no significant
in the nursery were very arduous and only
differences between treatments with and with-
5.5% of nodes of B. nutans produced rooted
out polythene tunnels to prevent desiccation.
shoots. In contrast D. hamiltonii produced
To look for other reasons why the shoots had
rooted shoots from 70% of nodes while D.
not rooted, all nodes were excavated and
hookeri produced them from 84% of the
carefully examined. This yielded more useful
nodes. While branch development in
results than the quantitative evaluation of the Nepalese Bambusa species is very uniform
treatments. Four factors which had limited the
along the culm it varies considerably in Den-
development of rooted plants were
drocalamus species. Three types of branch
observed:
development were found. At the base of the
1. Firstly it was seen that at all except the culm the central branch was about the same
very basal nodes, the only buds which gave size as in Bambusa species. Higher up the
rise to rooted shoots were on the base of the culm, it was either represented by a large bud
central branch. Buds from no other branches or was well developed with a very large pro-
produced rooted plants, merely vigorous lifically rooting base bearing large buds. Both
shoots. Dendrocalamus species produced most abun-
2. Secondly it was observed that only dant rooting from the central branch as it
when these shoots underwent a reorientation developed, it had a bud at planting, or from
through the horizontal did they produce shoots from its basal buds if it had already
roots. In attaining the light and responding to been developed Shoots reorientated
gravitational stimuli they assumed a curving horizontally produced more roots than those
shape similar to the normal rhizome, and which were vertical.

148
 branch

Fig. 1. Reorientating and rooting lower shoot and non-reorientating non-rooting upper shoot from central branch
base in Bambusa nutans,

In addition, there were rooted shoots were cut at 2-4cm both to promote develop-
from several categories of branching which ment shoots from the central branch and to
did not produce rooted shoots in B. nutans, simplify orientation of the cutting.
and the overall rooting was much more pro- In order to allow optimum orientation of
lific with many nodes producing more than developing shoots at the correct depth the
one rooted shoot and several separate rooted culms were cut into single-node units. It had
plants (fig. 2). Under the arduous conditions been observed that the die-back from cut
development of the pre-existing roots was ends in 1983 was negligible. It was also real-
very limited and it was considered that the ised that water required for the rapidly devel-
greater success in Dendrocalamus species oping shoots had to enter the culm at the
was due to a greater overall inclination to pro- severed ends. Dividing it into fifteen or so cut-
duction of roots rather than the support of tings and planted horizontally increased the
pre-existing roots. surface area for water absorption by a factor
of about fifteen, In this manner all the cuttings
were planted in the same way as the nodes
1984: Bambusa sp (tharu bans) which had been successful in 1983, with
trial of single-node cuttings certain small improvements in materiai selec-
tion (fig. 3). Cuttings were made from ten
Bearing in mind the limitations to ade- culms; planted under hessian shades in April
quate rooting in Bambusa nutans seen in and watered daily until evaluation in
1983 a new technique of planting was devel- November.
oped for Bambusa species. Two-year-old The cuttings developed as expected,
culms with a reasonably strong central branch showing the close similarities between the two
were selected. The central branches were Bambusa species. Those cuttings which
only cut beyond the first elongated internode, rooted produced about the same number of
15-25cm from the cuim, while other branches roots as Bambusa nutans cuttings had pro-

149
 well rooted upper shoot
from central branch base

rooting shoot from lateral

(2nd order) branch base
rooting shoot from node
after first extended
internode on central
occasionally rooting shoot
branch base
from auxiliary (3rd order) \ \
branch base

Fig, 2. Rooting shoots from several categories of branching in Dendrocalamus hookeri

duced. Although 64% of rooted cuttings pro- production of only a very few roots on certain
duced less than three roots from any single shoots allowed the development of strongly
rooting shoot, and this was sufficient for rooted shoots from the basal buds giving
further new axes to develop from the basal viable plants in a predictable and fairly
buds of these shoots, with prolific rooting, uniform fashion.
successively larger dimensions, and a closer
similarity to full-sized rhizomes.
1984 Bambusa sp (tharu bans)
The overall success rate was 59.5% with
an average of 11.3 plants per culm. Exclud-
trial - details of development
ing the cuttings which came from the upper
regions of the culm where its diameter was While it had been observed in B. nutans
less than 3.5cm the success rate was 64.5% trial that only certain shoots in a particular
with productivity of 10.7 rooting nodes per orientation could root, the detailed develop-
culm. Although a strict comparison with the ment of such shoots and the interactions
Bambusa nutans trial of the previous year between shoots had not been followed
cannot be made as this is a different species closely. With three similar strong shoots aris-
planted in a different nursery, it certainly ing from the central branch it was realised that
appeared that by reducing the effects of the there was potential for more than one shoot
factors seen to limit rooting in B. nutans and to root, and also potential for relative compe-
planting single-node cuttings in the correct tition between these shoots and with the
orientation, a satisfactory response could be smaller shoots from the lateral and auxiliary
obtained in this very similar species which also branches.
has no aerial roots at all. The stimulation of Further studies in the removal of small

150
shoots suggested that they had not been cator of which way up the cutting should be
diverting resources excessively. There were planted, (Fig. 3). If this bud faces upwards
no significant .differences in root production there will almost always be two buds facing
between those cuttings with shoots removed downwards at the branch base.
(mean 3.41 roots, standard error of the mean The major remaining limitation to success-
(s.e.m.) 0.62) and those with shoots left ful rooting was suspected to be connected
intact (mean 3.94. s.e.m. 0.61). Further with the considerable delay between shoot
there was interaction between the upper and root production, which usually was
(from the top of the branch base) and lower around ten to fifteen weeks. Some healthy
shoots (from the bottom). Eighty-eight shoots still had not produced roots after as
percent of cuttings had a total of three shoots much as twenty weeks and several were
arising from the central branch base, ten per- damaged or had dried out before they could
cent had four shoots, and two percent had root. Preliminary inspection of ongoing trials
only two shoots. has indicated that altering planting depth may
Those cuttings with two shoots devel- be an effective and convenient way of con-
oping downwards obviously had more poten- trolling the timing of loss of apical dominance.
tial for producing roots than those with only
one, and produced a mean of 4.6 roots
(s.e.m. 0.59) as opposed to only 2.1 (s.e.m. Discussion
0.33) roots per cutting. Therefore it is desir-
able to plant the cuttings so that two shoots The superior rooting ability of shoots
will develop downwards, to maximise the arising from the base of the central branch, is
total rooting and also the number of rooted well known but appreciable rooting ability of
plants obtainable. The mean number of roots shoots from other branches in the comple-
per rooting lower shoot was significantly ment of readily rooting species such as many
higher in those cuttings with only one upper Dendrocalamus species does not appear-to be
shoot to compete with (2.52, s.e.m. 0.35) we11 known. This is important as it offers
than in those cuttings with two (1.63, s.e.m. potential for producing more rooted plants
0.27). from each node. The apparent effect of shoot
orientation on root production is very inter-
It was noted that the cuttings which have
no upper shoots at all would produce even esting but needs further investigation. An
more roots, and this is presently under experiment which aims to determine the
effects of different environments on shoots
investigation. It is clear that by planting the
reorientated in the same manner is under-
cuttings the correct way up, root production
way. The development of a standard method
can be enhanced greatly. In this trial, cuttings
planted the correct way up, produced a mean of planting cuttings with a quantitative
criterion of success offers scope for more
of 5.3 roots (s.e.m. 0.74) while those planted
accurate identification of limiting factors in
the other way up produced a mean of only
producing rooting species and evaluation of
2.5 roots (s.e.m. 0.43). Seventy five percent
techniques to overcome such poor responses.
of the cuttings in the former category success-
fully produced rooted shoots from the central
branch base. There was still some visible References
domination of lower shoots by single vigorous
non-rooting upper shoots however. To elimi-
Abeels, P. 1962. Multiplication of bamboos
nate this influence altogether the bud can be
Indian Forester 88.481-487.
destroyed at planting or the shoot removed as
it emerges. Azzini, A., Ciaramello, D., Nagai, V., 1978.
Vegetative propagation of the giant bam-
It is quite difficult to see the buds at boo (Dendrocalamus giganteus) Bra-
branch base at the time of planting as they are gantia 37. l- 111. (Portuguese).
covered by overlapping sheaths. However, Cabanday, A.C. 1957. Propagation of
the bud after the first extended internode on Kauayan-Tinik (Bambusa blumeana
the central branch is clearly visible, and Schultz) by various methods of cutting
because of the alternate arrangement the and layerage 1 he Philippine Journal of,
orientation of this bud can act as a simple indi- Forestry 13.81-97.

151
 lateral and auxiliary branches

central branch cut

beyond first extended internode

Fig. 3. a) Prepared single-node cutting of Bambusa species

culm ends well

covered by soil
soil surface

b) Planting technique with culm and branch horizonral and only branch base not covered by soil.

152
Dai, 0. H. 1981. Raising plants of bushy de P. 192. Propagacao vegetativa do
bamboos from brenched culms with b a m b u i m p e r i a l (Bambuse vulgaris
notched internodes Forest Science and Schrad var vittata A. et C. Riv.). Bragan-
Technology (Linye Keji Tongxun) No. 1. t i a (Boletin T e c n i c o d o I n s t i t u t e
3-6 (C hinese) Agrenomico de Sao Paulo) 21 (No. 37)
Gupta, B.N., Pattanath, P. G. 1976. Varia- 653-665 (Portuguese)
tion in stored nutrients in culms of Den- Prange, P W. 1974. Formacao de mudas de
drocalamus strictus and their effect on b a m b u i m p e r i a l ( B a m p u s a vulgaris
rooting of culm cuttings as influenced by Schrad var. Vittata A et C. Riv.) Brasil
their method of planting Indian Forester Florestal (5) 18. 47-53 (Portuguese)
102. 235-241. Riviere, A., Riviere, C. 1879. Les Bambous.
Hasan, S. M. 1980. Lessons from past studies Bulletin de la Societe Nationale dAccli-
on the propagation of bamboos Bamboo mation de France 5:221-253, 290-322,
Research In Asia Proc. IDRC Workshop 392-42 1, 460-478, 50 l-526, 597-645,
Singapore. 666-72 1, 758-828.
Hasan 1982. Studies on the structure and Seethalaksmi, K. K., Venkatesh, C. S.,
growth of bamboo buds in the light of Surendran, T. 1983. Vegetative propa-
their probable use in tissue culture. Bano gation of bamboos using growth pro-
Biggyan Patrika 9. 1-16. moting substances 1. Bambusa balcooa
Huang, L. C., Murashige, T. 1983. Tissue Roxb. Indian Journal of Forestry 6. 98-
culture investigations of bamboo I Callus 103.
cultures of Bambusa Phyllostachys and Soderstrom, T. R., Calderon C. E. 1979. A
Saso. Botanical Bulletin of Academia commentary on the bamboos (Poaceae:
Sinica 24. 31-52 Bambusoideae) . Biotropica 11. 16 1- 172.
Khan, M. A. W., 1972. Propagation of Bam- Stapleton, C. M. A., Tamrakar, S. M. 1983.
busa vulgaris-its scope in forestry. Indian Planting large bamboos bans by the
Forester 98.359-362. traditional method. Nepal Forestry Tech-
nical Bulletin 9. 15- 17.
McClure, F. A., Kennard, W. C. 1955. Pro-
pagation of bamboo by whole-culm cut- Troup, R. S. 1921. The SilvicuIture of lndian
tings. Proceedings of the American Trees. Vol. 2 Clarendon Press Oxford
Society of Horticultural Science 65. 283- England.
288. Wang, B. L. 1981. A new method of vegeta-
McClure, F. A., 1966. The Bamboos: a fresh tive propagation in Phyllostachys
perspective Harvard University Press pubescens Maze1 ex H de Lehaie. Scientia
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Silvae Sinicae 17 (3) 287-290 (Chinese)
1973. Genera of bamboos native to the Xiong, W. Y., Ding, Z. F., Li, YF. 1980. In-
new world (Gramineae: Bambusoideae) . tercalary meristem and internodal elon-
(ed. Soderstrom T. R.). Smithsonian gation of bamboo plants. Scientia Silvae
Contributions to Botany No. 9. 148pp. Sinicae 16 (2) 8189 (Chinese)
Medina, J. C , Ciaramello, D., Castro G. A.

153
 Research on the Raising of Phyllostachys
pubescens Seedlings
Yat Ying Cheung, Stanley Gibson Cooper, Timothy James Hansken
and Yat Chan Cheung

Panda Products, California, U.S.A.

*Guang Zhou, China

Abstract pubescens pollination and hence only about

10% of the flowers are pollinated. Seeds have
Growth stages of juvenile plants, flower- no dormancy period, and therefore the seeds
ing and fruit bearing characteristics of Phyl- must be sown as quickly as possible and the
lostachys pubescens are described.

Introduction
In China the land area covered by bam-
boo forest exceeds 3,400,000 acres, compris-
ing one-fifth of the worlds bamboo forest area.
Approximately 80% of the area is covered by
Phyllostachys pubescens. Further P. pube-
scens is spread throughout every province
south of the Chang Jiang River and Taiwan.
The vast area covered by this bamboo means
that it grows in a wide range of climates where Fig. 1. Flower of P. pubescens
rainfall, drought, variations in the quality of
soils, overcrowding and thinning become percentage germination is around 50%.
Under room temperature conditions, the
important factors which influence the
flowering cycle in a given place. Because of seeds remain viable for half a year, but ger-
this, at any given time, P. pubescens is flower- mination percentage is reduced to l0-20%.
After about eight months the percentage ger-
ing somewhere, and it is possible to collect
seeds, though language, transportation and mination is almost zero. However, by keeping
government plant export restrictions hamper the seeds at 4-5O centigrade below zero,
any effort. higher % germination can be obtained up to
one year. As seeds are scarce and have a low
Flowering and Fruit Bearing Charac- germination rate, it is recommended that the
teristics;P. pubescens is a perennial plant, seeds be germinated and raised indoors. The
which in China, generally only flowers once seeds will germinate within seven days at 20-
every 50-60 years. In each of the provinces 25OC. In the same group of seeds, germina-
south of the Chang Jiang River, P. pubescens tion can be as far apart as one month and this
flowers generally from April to August and the may be due to variations in seed maturity.
seeds mature somewhere between June and Before planting, it is best to soak the seeds
October. After maturing, the seeds will fall or in warm water (20-25C) for 24 hours. The
be naturally dispersed by the wind. soil for planting the seeds should be loose and
P. pubescens is an anemophilous (wind humus-rich, with a pH of roughly 5-7. A thou-
pollinated) plant. Each flower has three sand husked P. pubescens seeds will weigh
stamens. The filaments are long and slender, from 8-15 grams and when unhusked weigh
approximately 5 mm in length (Fig. 1) protrud- approximately 15-25 grams. Taking several
ing from the flower. The ovary is conical or factors into consideration, the age, number,
three-sided, about 3 mm in length. The stigma weight (husked or unhusked) of seeds, one
has three vents which look feathery. The pistil can estimate potting soil, pots and space to set
is generally wrapped in the flower or to a small aside for a nursery. A long range projection
extent protrudes outside the flower. This can also be made about the land needed later
feature appears to be unconducive for P. for planting out larger areas permanently.
154
 When the seeds germinate, the rate of
growth of the tap root is one or two times
greater than that of the seed leaf. The stem
grows upward slowly, putting out new leaves
to become the first generation of bamboo
culmlets. If while seeds are in the process of
germinating soil moisture content is insuffi-
cient, the tap root growth will be faster and the
young stems growth will be retarded. If the
moisture level is excessive, the situation will be
reversed - the growth rate of the stem will be
faster and the growth of the tap root will be
retarded. Such a seedling cannot be raised to
be strong and healthy. Generally soil with a Fig. 2. Three leaf period seedlings. A&B. Healthy &
water- holding capacity of 70-80 % is best. The normal. C&D. YUellowed. sickly & stunted.
soil should not become soggy and water stag-
nant. It should be pointed out that the ability of
bamboo rhizomes to endure being submerged
in water (during flood experiments) is com- With the subsequent growth of the young
seedlings, the feeder root system is, little by
paratively good. Two-year-old plants were
used in these flooding tests in which the root little, taking in nutrients from the soil. Around
systems of the plants were kept submerged in the time the third leaf appears the nutrients in
fresh standing water. Under these conditions, the seed have just been used up. The seedling
in which water was not over the tops of the then starts to depend completely upon the
plants, there were no visible manifestations of root system for its intake of nutrients and
debilitating effects for half a month and the water. If the seed quality is not high (mainly
plants were still alive after two months, at depending on the difference in maturation
which time the leaves began to yellow and stop within seeds of the same group), the root
growing. system is weak during the three leaf period
(Fig., 2). The seed nutrients are exhausted.
Growth Stages in Juvenile Plants: The underdeveloped root system cannot
After the seeds germinate and produce the take over the responsibility and function of
first generation of culmlets, they will grow to drawing up moisture and nutrients for an
their full height within one or two months. advanced culmlet which makes oversized
Their height is mainly under 15 cm and they demands. This appears to be the reason why
will put out 10-18 leaves. There are no side the young seedlings die,
branchlets. The dying off of a portion of the young
About the time that the first generation seedlings is not necessarily a negative pheno-
culmlet is putting out its third leaf, the seed- menon. It serves the function of the natural
ling growth has reached a key period. We selection process, weeding out the weak from
call it the three leaf period. During this time the strong. Of course, if the quantity of seeds
one will frequently find that a certain portion is really small and especially since seeds are
of the young seedlings deveiop yellowed hard to come by, extreme care can save some
leaves, stop growing, and gradually wither of these young seedlings.
and die. Even though they may have had
excellent care the above-mentioned pheno- Development of Shoot Types
menon is unavoidable. From statistics When the first generation of culmlets have
gathered during the times we have raised grown to their full height, basal shoots will
seedlings, this sort of death eventually comes start to grow. Generally one basal shoot will
to about 25% of the total amount of seedlings grow, but under rare circumstances they will
originally germinated. From experienced send out two shoots at the same time (Fig. 3).
observational research, we believe that since With good care they will send out six to eight
the nutrients needed for the growth of the basal shoots in one year, each new shoot
young seedling during the initial stage comes becoming larger and thicker than the last. In
from the seed itself, the fault lies in the seeds the second year it is possible to have a small
quality. clump of 40-50 culmlets. There are some

155
 Type A: Mainly the first generation of culmlets.
Their special characteristic is that they will not
have, or will have very few side branches.
The culmlets will radiate outward in all direc-
tions.

Type B: When the second year basal shoots

come forth, most will grow straight up. At the
nodes, side branchlets will appear. At the
lower nodes only one side branchlet will grow
out. From the upper nodes two branchlets will
grow next to each other. At this time, from
outward appearances, the bamboo clump will
clearly manifest its tiered quality (Fig. 4).

Type C: During the later part of the second

year or beginning of the third year, shoots will
start to grow from the base. Of these shoots
some will grow straight upward to become
Type B culmlets, but some, after growing out-
ward horizontally 1-2 feet, will then curve
upward to become culmlets (Figs. 5,6).
Fig. 3. Illustrating shoot development. A. Too Type D: In the third to fourth year, real rhi-
deep-underdeveloped new shoot, mock shoot at node.
B. Normal with one new shoot. C. Advanced with two
zomes will grow from the basal part and shoots,
new shoots. which will afterward become true culms, will
grow out of the side rhizomal bud. In the
fourth to fifth year new culms will resemble
slight differences between a seedling clump of the mature plant (Fig. 7),
P. pubescens and other bamboos. We divide
the clumping stage into four categories. It could be that the above-mentioned

Fig. 4. Clump at approximately 12 months.

156
Fig. 5. Illustrating two-year-old plant. A. Lower portion
showing first 12 months of growth. B. Upper portion
showing second 12 months of growth. Fig. 7. Fourth to fifth year culms.

changes in the clump reflect a stage of devel- to a true runner. Because of this some people
opment in the evolution of P. pubescens; believe that Phyllostachys and other running
from a clumping variety to a mixture of bamboos in general are more advanced from
clumpers with runner characteristics and finally the evolutionary standpoint than clumpers.

157
Care of the Young Seedlings About a month after the seedlings have
One of the basic rules of agricultural pro- germinated, a 37% mixture of urine or
duction is 30% planting and 70% care. another nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium sul-
The following few points are important for the phide at 57% strength) can be employed.
care of young seedlings, Generally nitrogen is the most important, with
demand for potassium second. Fertilizers
Protective shade:Bamboo seedlings need should be given once every two or three
shade because of their large juvenile leaves weeks. As the plants grow, the concentration
and the excessive transpiration these cause, of the fertilizer can be appropriately increased.
and also due to the fact that their root system
dries out easily, The practice of supplying Topping to promote secondary shooting:
adequate shade protection can promote When the seedlings have produced shoots for
seedling growth, early secondary shoots, the third time, reached their full height and
more secondary shooting and deep green stopped growing, cutting off the tops of the
healthy leaves. If shade is not provided the culmlets to just a couple of inches above the
seedling will be stunted, the leaves will soil and increasing watering and fertilizing will
yellow and the secondary shoots will be greatly encourage otherwise latent buds to
affected. However, if there is excessive shade start shooting. This is one method of encour-
the culms will be long, slender and weak. aging 30-70% more shoot growth.
There will also be an obvious decrease in the Transplanting seedlings: The question of
number of basal shoots. The degree of shade how deep the seedlings should be planted is
and penetrable light is optimal at 40-50%. always ignored. Generally it is best to make
Shade protection is most important in the sure the base of the plant is about 1 cm below
summer to avoid strong direct sunlight. But in the surface of the soil. If planted too shallow
autumn or winter the shade material should the basal shoots will often be affected by
be slowly removed to let the seedlings harden extreme changes of temperature, moisture
their culms. Around this time permanent and dryness. If planted too deeply, the shoots
planting of the seedlings is possible. at the basal portion cannot grow. Instead, the
node branchlet nearest the surface of the soil
Watering and fertilizing: The soil moisture will grow a mock shoot; these mock shoots
should be maintained at sufficient levels. The are extremely detrimental (Fig. 8). If
soil moisture level of 70-80% mentioned this circumstance goes unnoticed for several
above is best.

Fig. 8. Illustrating proper soil

level. Ail seedfmgs 6 months.
A. Three mock shoots. B. Too
deep, mock shoot at node.
C. Proper depth. D. Above soil,
new shoots and roots exposed to
weather.

158
months,, removing excess soil to the proper
level will have no effect. The remedy in this
case is to apply soil up to the level slightly
covering the mock branchlet. After a time a
new root system will start to grow and the
seedling will begin shooting from the branchlet
within two weeks to a month. However, these
node sprouters will lag far behind properly
planted seedlings in growth.

Weeding and loosening soil: In the young

stage of the plant, seedling growth is gradual.
Because of this, attention must be paid to get-
ting rid of weeds, It should be especially
pointed out that during the fall and winter
period it is best to cultivate the soil once, to a
depth of around 10 c-m. Cultivation promotes
secondary root growth by cutting or breaking
off the terminal portions of roots, thereby caus-
ing more lateral root growth and developing a
more efficient root system (Fig. 9). Done occa-
sionally, according to need of weather, culti-
vation not only takes care of weed problems
but at the same time increases aeration of the
soil.

Fig. 9. Illustrating effect of cultivation on lateral

root growth.

159
 Techniques of Bamboo Propagation with
Special Reference to Prerooted and
Prerhizomed Branch Cuttings and
Tissue Culture
Ratan La1 Banik

Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 273, Cittagong

Bangladesh

Abstract far known with a high cellulose content. It is

estimated that six or seven times as much
cellulosic material can be obtained per unit
Bamboo is an important multipurpose area from a bamboo forest as from a pine
plant in Bangladesh. forest (Sineath and Daugherty 1954). It is
The seeds are short lived and can be common in tropical forests and widely culti-
stored up to 18 months under c&trolled con- vated in the villages throughout south and
ditions. Seed longevity varies from species to southeast Asia. In many countries of the
species. After each gregarious flowering and tropics, bamboo plays an important role in the
fruiting wild seedlings canbe*collected from village economy. It is extensively used as a
the forest floor and successfully utilized for material for housing, fencing, food, fuel,
bamboo plantation programs. A bamboo novelties and agricultural implements.
seedling may be multiplied 3 times by rhizome In Bangladesh, bamboo is found naturally
separation. The process would help in con- in the forests either in association with
tinuous annual supply of small size t r a n s p o r - other species or in pure stands. Because
table propagating materialsfor a number of pf its immense economic importance. it is
years. Thick-walled bamboo species may be widely cultivated in the villages and the major
successfully propagated through prerooted species in the forests of Bangladesh are
and prerhizomed branch cuttings. Vegetative Melocanna baccifera Trin., Bambusa tulda
propagation of thin-walled bamboo species is Roxb., Dendrocalamus longispathus Kurz,
very difficult. Propagationof bamboo through Oxytenanthera nigrociliata Munro, and
tissue culture is possible.Inoculation of dor- Neohouzeaua dullooa Camus. These species
m a n t culm b u d t i s s u e o n m o d i f i e d M S are generally thin-walled (less than 1.0 cm)
medium amended with activated charcoal, and 4.0 to 20.0 m tall with diameter of 2.0 to
benzyladenine and naphthalene aceticacid 8.0 cm, and mostly used for walling,
initiates shoot proliferation and root growth. partitions, ceilings by interweaving the splitted
Varietal and germ plasm collection and their and flattened culms. The widely cultivated
regional exchange via in vitro techniques bamboo species in the villages of Bangladesh
provides immense opportunities for the are Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. Bambusa
development of a regional gene bank for balcooa Roxb., Bambusa longispiculata
important bamboo species. Regional seed Gamble. ex Brandis, and Bambusa nutans
exchange should also be encouraged. Munro. Sometimes Dendrocalamus gigan-
teus Munro, Bambusa arundinacea Wild,
Bambusa polymorpha Munro, and Dendro-
Introduction calamus strictus Nees are also cultivated
sporadically in different villages. Cultivated
Bamboo is a perennial giant woody grass species, mostly used in structural works, are
belonging to the sub-family Bambusoidae. taller (10.0 to 35.0 m), wider in diameter (6.0
They are the fastest growing plant species so to 20.0 cm at base) and thicker (1.16 to 1.63

160
cm wall thickness at mid culm) than the in third flush (Banik 1980). The interval
species growing in natural forests. between flowering is generally 1 to 3 years
Research on the development of tech- and varies from species to species (Table 1).
niques for large scale bamboo propagation Most of the plants (species) (except four
viz. seed propagation, vegetative propagation clumps of B. longispiculata) died on comple-
and tissue culture are being conducted in the tion of flowering. Four clumps of B. longis-
Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI) piculata in the central bambusetum of BFRI
at Chittagong for the last 10 years and the have been sporadically flowering and produc-
details are as follows: ing seeds every year since 1978. Selfing,
achieved by bagging, generally resulted in less
seeds per pseudospikelet. Four to five
Seed And Seedling Propogation times more seeds were produced when cross
pollination was done among the flower-
Flowering nature and seed yield: Like ing clumps of D. longispathus. In fact, grasses
other grasses most of the bamboo species are are generally cross pollinated in nature (Arber
monocarpic and the number of bamboo 1934, Evans 1964).
species which flowered in different parts of Some bamboo species sometimes pro-
Bangladesh during the last 10 years are given duce flowers and seeds in a few clumps in
(Table I). It has been observed that all the between its normal interseeding period.
species start flowering between January and Seeds from these out-of-phase flowering
March. and continued till August. Flowering varieties may be utilized for bamboo planta-
is. however, not continuous but occurs in three tion programs even in the absence of normal
successive flushes with two dormant interval seeding year. Plants originating from out-of-
periods. Seeds from the first two flushes gen- phase seeds are expected to maintain the
erally germinated better than those produced same period of cycle as the normal species

Table 1. Flowering of different bamboo species in Bangladesh during 1977-1985.

Flowering duration Seed Yield

Species Flowering nature
Date Year Yes No
Bambusa arundinacea 1979 1 gregarious ! ,

B. balcooa 1983-84 2 sporadic - .

1984-85 2 sporadic , !

B " $!#%&'(&')( 1977-78 2 sporadic ! ,

B . Iongispicu la t a 1978-85 8 or more sporadic ! ,

1983-85 2 gregarious ! ,

B. nutuns 1978, 79 1 sporadic .

B. polymorpha 1981-82 2 gregarious .
B. tulda 1976-77 2 gregarious * -
1978-79 2 gregarious . -
1982-83 2 gregarious . -
1983-84 2 gregarious ! ,

*+" vulgaris 1980-8 1 2 sporadic , !

1983-84 2 sporadic , !

Dendrocalamus strictus 1983-84 2 gregarious ! ,

D. longispathus 1978 1 gregarious ! ,

1978-79 2 gregarious L -
1977-79 3 gregarious I -
Oxytenanthera nigrociliata 1978 1 gregarious ! ,
 Table 2. Seed weight, germination and seed longivety in different bamboo species
in Bangladesh. Seeds of B. tulda were only stored in desiccator over silicagel.

Seeds/l0 gm Germination % Seed tongivety (days)

Species
(Nos (fresh seed)
Room condition Controlled condition

Bambusa arundinacea var. 1320 7.0 52.3 65

spinosa

B. glaucescens 151 2.5 40.2 33

B. tulda 1.1 48.0 35 540 (

Dendrocalmus longispathus 2.2 50.0 55
D. strictus 3.6 42.0 -
Oxytenanthem nigrociliata 1.1 39.0 -

but they flower at different times (Banik 1980, flowering without leaving any offspring, the
Hasan 1980), It will be interesting to maintain existence of their race is also in danger. It is
the record of flowering cycles of these out-of- interesting to note that one out of 6 clumps of
phase varieties. However, so far 31 out- B. vulgaris survived even after flowering
of-phase varieties of 10 bamboo species though ail of them were growing in the same
have been collected from different parts of locality (Banik 1979). It is assumed that the
Bangladesh and these have been centralized genetic makeup of this clump might be
in the bambusetum of BFRI. different from the others and, therefore.
this clump was centralized and preserved in
In 1977 B. tulda, flowered precociously the central bambusetum of BFRI for future
though these plants are said to flower nor- cionai propagation. This clone of B. uuIgar,is
mally in a 25 years cycle (Banik 1980). Such responds well to branch cutting propaga-
early flowering (18 months) behaviour was tion technique.
transmitted in subsequent populations of F1,
F2, F 3 , F 4 , a n d F 5 generations and after Sizes and shapes of seeds vary from
flowering they died. Such flowering be- species to species. Bambusa and Oxyten-
haviour seems to be genetically controlled anthera spp. produce wheat shaped seeds but
and the responsible gene(s) is segregated and in Derdrocalamus these are ovoid arc ovoid. Seeds
expressed in each generation. The indications of B. tulda arc heavier than those of other
obtained from the above observations need B a m b u s a s p . . Oxytenanthera sp.. and
Dandrocalamus sp. studied (Table 2). Bam-
further confirmation which may unveil some
of the facts about flower induction in bam- boo seeds generally germinate within 5 to 10
boos. These may help us to understand seed days of sowing in the soil and seedlings
production and regeneration in bamboos. attain l-leaf stage in 7 days (Plate 1). Percen-
tage of germination is higher when seeds are
Seed germination and longevity: sowed directly in polyethylene bags than in
Generally the vegetative period in bamboo is nursery beds. For example, direct sowing of
very iong and irregular. Therefore, the scope seeds of B. tulda resulted in 24.78 germina-
of annual propagation of this plant by seeds is tion against 5.5% in nursery beds (Banik
very limited. The bamboo species that have 1980). Freshly collected bamboo seeds germi-
so far flowered in Bangladesh in the last 10 nated better than those stored at room condi-
y e a r s have produced seeds, except B. tion. The longevity of seeds varies from
balcooa (Banik and Aiam; in press) and B. species to species and generally it is up to 1 to 2
vulgaris (Banik 1979). These two species are months (Table 2) although the period can be
widely cultivated and flower gregariously increased under controlled storage condition.
produce seeds (Gamble 1896, McClure It has been observed that seeds of B. tulda
1967). The species died after flowering. AS stored in a desiccator over silica gel maintained
the clumps of these two species die after their longevity even after 18 months.

162
 regeneration as well as for any artificial plan-
tation activities (Banik 1985).
Seedling Several
methods of vegetative propagation are com-
mon in grasses like using tillers, culms,
rhizomes or stolons (Langer and Ryle 1958).
Like many other grasses, bamboo has the
inherent proliferating capacity and offset
planting capability to reproduce itself probably
due to its long interseeding period.
A bamboo seedling produces new culms
at the age of 30 to 40 days and at this stage
the rhizome development also starts. If seed-
Bambusa tulda Roxb. lings are raised in polyethylene bags in July,
a. glumed caryopsis b. deglumed caryopsis they attain the 4 to 5-culm stage in the follow-
C. ?-days old seedling d, 30-days old seedling ing April or 9 months later with well devel-
oped root and rhizome systems. Seedlings. at
Plore I Seeds and seedings of Bambusa tulda Roxb this stage, are ready for multiplication Soil
from the roots should then be washed off with
W i l d b a m b o o seedlings: P r o f u s e water, and the rhizomes separated and be
natural regeneration of several bamboo planted in polyethylene bags. A seedling at 4
species by seeds usually appears on the forest to 5 culm stage may be separated into 3 units
floor after each gregarious flowering, Ripe in, such a way that each piece has roots, old
seeds fall on the ground between May and and young rhizome, shoots and rhizome buds
August and a thick mat of seedlings may be (Plate 3). Seedlings are then kept in shade for
seen on the forest floor if not disturbed other- nd watered twice a day. After that.
wise (Plate 2). Suppression by weeds and seedlings need to be brought into the nursery
interseedling competition usually affect the
regeneration and establishment process. To
minimize the competition, weeding should be
regularly done and the seedlings from the
regenerating areas should be thinned out.
Wild seedlings of B . tulda a n d D, longis-
pathus at 2-leaves stage were thinned out
from the densely populated areas of the forest
floor and brought to the nursery for potting.
These seedlings survived well in the nursery
and have been replanted after 6 months in the
forest under half yearly weeding practice for 2
years (Table 3), Thus, thinning of wild bam-
boo seedlings from the densely regenerating
areas of forest could be useful for natural

Table 3, Survival percentages of the wild bamboo seedlings after potting in nursery and
- - - - - - -
Wild seedlings Nursery bed Field (forest)
Species Survivcld (% )
2nd yr 3rd yr

Bambusa tulda 5000 4805 96 1 88 3 73 4 70 :3

Dendrocalamus longispathus 5000 4330 86 6 82 4 70 2 66
rhizome division. 3new seedlings developed

able technique for bamboo propagation

bed under the sun. This practice in the nur- at least for a few years.
sery stage ensures little or no casualities. Every
year the seedling gets multiplied 3 times (as in
the case of B. tulda) of the intial stock. Out of Vegetative Propo
this, two-third of the seedlings may be planted
in the field. The rest can again be multiplied Offset and rhizome plantings are the most
after nine months (April-May} and the process common methods of propagating bamboos in
can be repeated every year for a period of the villages of Bangladesh. Use of these pro-
time. As an extra advantage the proliferated pagules are practicable only in cultlvating a
seedlings remain small in size due to contin- few clumps. particularly within a s m a l l
uous rhizome separation. thereby making it accessible area. Their availability in huge
easy to handle and transport them. However, numbers is very much limited and too expen-
the process of seedling multiplication should sive for any large scale bamboo planta-
not be continued for a long time (e,g. not t i o n program ( B a n i k 1980) However.
more than 10 years. in B. tulda) as the time a proper scientific know ~ how about this
gap between the last multiplication and method is essential for obtaining better results
flowering gets shorter, Multiplied seedlin in homestead bamboo cultivation. Generally
a r e c l o n e s a n d b e c o m e physiologically offset from 1-2 years old culms give better
older as the time passes from the date of results as the rhizome is young, vigorous and
mother seedling germination, Under such possess active culm buds. Culm buds on the
condition, the last multiplied seedlings are rhizome of older offsets (4-7 years of age) are
likely to start flowering due to their physiolog- mostly dead and therefore they fail to pro-
ical maturity before attaining the merchand- d u c e a n y n e w culm. T h e s u c c e s s o f t h i s
able culm size. This method of seedling multi- method depends on both vitality of the culm
plication has been practiced for some years in bud in the rhizome and the time of the year
B. tulda, a thin-walled bamboo species, in when the offset is planted, The months of
BFRI Chittagong. Detail scientific study is March and April are the most favourable time
e s s e n t i a l o n s u c h a macro-proliferation of for offset planting in Bangladesh as culm buds
bamboo seedling to develop a new depend- in the rhizome become active during that time
due to an increase in temperature and propagules in B. vulgaris and D. giganteus
humidity. The desirable length of the culm (Banik 1984b, Serajuddoula 1985). M.
part of an offset is 1 to 1 .5 m with 3 to 4 baccijera did not respond to any of the Iayer-
nodes bearing viable branch buds. Success of ing methods. April and May are the best
offset planting in thin-walled bamboo species period of the year for such layering works.
is relatively poor and vary greatly from Normal branch cutting versus pre-
species to species. Hasan (1977) reported rooted a n d pre-rhizomed branch
that the ultimate establishment of offset was cutting: Propagation of bamboo through
5% in M. baccifera, 9% in B. tulda, 33% in branch cutting could be a useful approach
0. nigrociliata and 40% in D. longispathus. due to availability and ease in their handling.
The success is relatively better, reaching 100 Previous studies showed that the ultimate
percent, in some thick-walled (e.g. B. vulgaris) establishment (rhizome development) of
bamboo species. normal branch cuttings in bamboo was
Generally part-clump planting of M. p o o r e v e n after abundant root produc-
baccifera shows better success (35%) as this tion (60 to 75%) .by rooting hormone (White
type of planting material has more than one 1 9 4 7 , A b e e l s 1 9 6 1 , Hasan 1 9 7 7 ) . l n
rhizome with many buds than offset having most cases bamboo cutting rooted well with
only one rhizome and limited number of hormonal application but majority of them did
buds. Buds on the rhizome start growing at not produce any new culm mainly due to the
the end of the winter, During the monsoon failure of rhizome development (Hasan 1977,
period in May and June, the apices (new culm) Banik 1980). For successful establishment
emerge above the soil at about 1.0 to 1 .5 -and growth, a bamboo propagule must
meters away from the mother culm due to possess all three structures - well developed
long rhizome neck (Banik 1983b). Collection root system, rhizomes, and shoots. Some
of planting material is easy during this period. researchers (Chaturvedi 1947, McClure
1967, Banik 1980) have stressed the impor-
Culm-cutting and layering: Culm seg- tance of selecting the branch cuttings that
ments 0.5 to 1 . 0 m long are used for pro- have spontaneous in situ rooting and rhizome
pagating bamboos. CuIm cuttings are gen- tips at their base. Studies on the artificial
erally placed slanting about 45OC, 7 to 15 cm induction of such in situ rooting and rhizome
deep in any rooting medium (preferably formation at the branch base has also been
coarse sand). Rooting medium should be suggested and such principles be termed as
inert, pathogen free, well drained, moist and prerooted and prerhizomed branch cuttings
warm. Propagation structure like poly (Banik 1980). Artificial induction is possible
ethylene or fibre glass tent provides favour- by chopping the culm tops and removal of
able environment for rooting by raising the newly emerging culms (Banik 1984a)
media and air temperature 3 to 5OC and Regular removal of emerging culms
relative humidity 10 to 20% above the produced more (3.4 to 83.8%) prerooted
normal atmospheric condition. An experiment and prerhizomed branches per bamboo
on this aspect showed that 45 to 56% cutting clump than chopping the culm top (9.1 to
of different thick-walled bamboos such as B. 27.3%). Aerial roots and rhizomes, of such
vulgaris, B. polymorpha a n d D. giganteus cuttings are not always fully active and
and 38% of B. nutans gave successful pro- therefore needs maxing them. Such cuttings
pagules. Culm cuttings of thin-walled bamboo perform better than normal branch cutting
species l i k e M. b a c c i f e r a , B. tulda, D . (Table 4) (Banik 1984). Normal branch cut-
Iongispathus and 0. nigrociliata failed to pro- tings require 6 to 12 month for rooting and 12
duce any propagules. Preparation of culm to 30 months for rhizome development
segments in the month of April-May from the (Hasan 1977).
mid-zone of a young culm is critical for
Cuttings with profuse active roots and rhi-
obtaining successful results.
zomes are then transferred to the polyethy-
Success was achieved by both air and lene bags and kept in the nursery till next
ground layering in bamboo mainly in the mid- monsoon before planting in the field (Plate 4).
culm zone but it varied from species to Survival of those cuttings in the field is high.
species. About 10% of the branches/nodes almost 90 - 100%. They maintain good
ouot of the total in a culm produce roloted growth and health after quarter yearly weed-

165
 Table 4. Percentage of successful propagules (active rooting and rhizome formation)
prdduced by normal as well as prerooted and prerhizomed branch cuttings in different
bamboo species of Bangladesh (Hasan 1977, Banik 1984).

Species Normal branch cutting Prerooted and prerhizomed branch cutting

Rooting % Rhizome formed Rooting % Rhizomed formed %
%

Bambusa nutans 2.7 0.0 80.0 80.0

B. balcooa 18.5 0.0 60.0 60.0
B. polymorpha 61.2 7.4 93.3 90.0
B. vulgaris 40.0 34.2 96.7 93.3
Dendrocalamus giganteus 40.7 0.0 66.7 66.7
Melocanna baccifera 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

tissue culture has reached a point where it can

be considered applicable in solving economic
problems. The advantages of cell cultures
over the conventional agricultural or horticul-
tural production o f p l a n t imaterials a r e
numerous (Murashige 1974). The techniques
of tissue culture have been successfully
employed for year round propagation pro-
gram of some plant species which are gener-
ally difficult to propagate by any conventional
vegetative means. Until now most of the suc-
cessful in vitro cultures of different grass
species are either from tissues of immature
inflorescences or caryopses (Conger 1981).
Complete plantlets of a bamboo species
(Bambusa arundinacea), in vitro, from
somatic embryos (Usha et al, 1982), were
obtained using bamboo grains (seed) as
explant tissue. Use of grains restricted the
direct application of their findings for in vitro
mass propagation of species as availability of
the grain is uncertain due to the long interval
of flowering. Thus the investigation on the
use of vegetative tissues (leaves, stems, buds
P l a t e 4 . Successful prerooted and prerhizomed branch
cuttings (6 months old) of Bambusa vulgaris. Placed
etc.) as explants is of immense importance to
in nursery bed, develop an efficient mass propagation tech-
nique for bamboo plants through tissue cul-
ture. In fact Heinz et al (1977) were able to
ing in the first year and then half yearly weed- obtain plantlets in sugar cane, a close relative
ing for the next 3 years. Like the layering and of bamboo, from roots, leaves and paren-
cutting techniques, the thin-walled bamboo chyma of internodal tissue via tissue culture
species also did not show any promising
techniques. With this view, a series of explo-
results in branch cutting and it may be due to ratory experiments with young branch nodes,
the presence of much less undifferentiated dormant culm buds, non-dormant culm buds,
tissue at the branch base (Hasan 1980). and emerging shoot (culm) tips has been un-
Propagation through tissue culture: dertaken using Bambusa glaucescens, a thin
Recent progress in the field of plant cell and walled bamboo, (Banik

166
 The dormant bud explants grew, while
other explants did not develop. Key steps of
the experiments included the dis-infestation
of the tissue with 20 to 30% Javex (5 to 6%)
sodium hypochlorite) ; MS medium modified
to include 4% sucrose, 3g l- * activated char-
coal; the use of dormant culm buds as explant
with 1 mgl- benzyladenine (BA) for initiation
under 14 hour photoperiod and a temperature
of 28C, followed by two successive transfers
of explant on fresh modified MS medium sup-
plemented with activated charcoal and 5 mgl-
B A a n d 1 mgl-1 napthalene acetic acid
(NAA) . The culture proliferated and produced
7 to 9 cm long shoots. Extensive root develop-
ment was observed after 31/2 months (approxi-
mately 105 days) of culture and successive
transfers on the same type of medium with
progressively higher levels of BA (from 1 mg to
7 mg 1 -I) and NAA (from 0.5 mg to 1 mg 1 )
(Plate 5). The plantlets attained 12 cm height

Plate 6. Tissue culture of B. glaucescens Siebold: A

healthy bamboo plantled with 48 cm long shoot ufter.5
months of transfer to the soil.

after 4 months (120 days) of tissue culture

and these were successfully transferred to
moist sterile soil in perforated transparent
polyethylene cover After 5 months of
transfer to the soil, the plants were 48 cm
tall with more shoots (Plate 6). Therefore, it
appears that the frequent transfer of tissues
into fresh media supplemented with activated
charcoal and BA is an important procedure
for in vitro culture of bamboo. However,
a detailed study on the physiological
requirements for bamboo tissue culture is
necessary to optimize the procedure
Knowledge o n tissue culture in B.
glaucescens gives a definite hope for the mass
propagation of thin -walled bamboo species of
Bangladesh which are generally not
amenable to any known vegetative methods.

Plate 5 Tissue culture of Bambusa glaucescens Siebold: Conclusions

Shoot and root dvelopment from dormant culm bud after
culturing 31/2 months on modified MS medium The studies revealed that some of the
supplemented with BA (from 1.0 mg to 7.0 mgl- j widely cultivated thick-walled bamboo species
and NAA (from 0.5 mg to 1.0 mgl-

167
(e.g. Bambusa vulgaris, B. polymorpha, B. cescens Siebold). Master thesis, Univer-
balcooa) of Bangladesh may be successfully sity of Saskatechewan, Canada.
propagated through prerooted and prerhi- Banik, R.L. 1983b. Emerging culm mortality
zomed branch cuttings. Almost all the forest at early developing stage in bamboos.
species (thin-walled) of the country so far Bano Biggyan Patrika. 12: 47-52.
showed poor or no success in reproduction Banik, R , L . 1984a. Macropropagation of
through any of the macropropagation tech- bamboos by prerooted and prerhizomed
niques. Shoot proliferation and rooting of branch cutting. Bano Biggyan Patrka, 13:
explant tissues of both thick and thin-walled 67-73.
bamboo in in vitro culture is possible. It is
Banik, R.L. 1984b. Studies on the propaga-
therefore worthwhile to study the techniques
tion techniques of different bamboo
of tissue culture and bud culture in bamboos.
species of Bangladesh. Paper presented
The cloning of desired genotypes and the
in the workshop on the Contract
recovery of new variant types provide addi-
Research Projects, Bangladesh Agricul-
tional opportunities for improvement of bam-
boos which are difficult to manipulate with ture Research Council (BARC). 17-20
November, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
conventional genetic and breeding methods.
Banik, R.L. 1985. Management of wild bam-
boo seedlings for natural regeneration
Acknowledgements and afforestation programme. Proc. of
10th Ann. Bangladesh SC. Conf., p. 78-
The author is thankful to the staff of the 79., 22-27 March, Dhaka. Bangladesh.
Silviculture Genetics Division, Bangladesh Banik, R.L. and Alam M.K. (in Press). A note
Forest Research Institute, for their assistance on the flowering in Bambusa balcooa
during the research work. Support of this Roxb. Bano Biggyan Patrika.
work by International Development Research Chaturvedi, B. 1947. Aerial rhizomes in
Centre (IDRC) is also gratefully acknow- Bamboo culms. Indian Forester 73: 543.
ledged.
Conger, B.V. 1981. Agronomic Crops, In:
Conger, B.V. (ed.) Cloning agricultural
References plants via in vitro techniques. CRC Press.
Boca Raton, Florida.
Abeels, P. 1961. Propagation of bamboo. Evans, L.T. 1964. Reproduction. (126-153)
Bulletin Agricultural Congo. 52: 59 l- In: Barnard, C. (ed.) . Grasses and Grass-
598. lands. Macmillan Company. New York.
Anon, 1983. Bamboo cultivation. Editorial, Gamble, J.S. 1986. The bambuseae of
The Bangladesh Times. 24 November, British India. Annals of the Royal Botanic
Dhaka, Bangladesh. Garden, Calcutta. 7. Bengal Secretariat
Arber, A. 1934. The Gramineae, A study of Press, London.
cereal, bamboo and grass. Cambridge, Hasan, S.M. 1977. Studies on the vegetative
Universsity Press. Cambridge, propagation of bamboos. Bano Biggyan
Banik, R.L. 1979. Flowering in Baijjya Bansh Patrika (Journ. of Bang. For. S C.). 6(2):
(Bambusa vulgaris). Bano Biggyan 64-71.
Patrika. 8: 90-91, Hasan, S.M. 1980. Lessons from the past
Banik, R.L. 1980. Propagation of bamboo by studies on the propagation of bamboos.
clonal methods and by seed. 139-150. 131-138. In: Lessard, G. and Choui-
In: Lessard, G. and Chouinard, A. nard, A (eds.) Bamboo Research in Asia.
(eds.). Bamboo Research in Asia. Proc. Proc. of a workshop. Singapore. IDRC
of a workshop, Singapore, IDRC and and IUFRO, Canada.
IUFRO, Canada, Heinz, D.J., Krishnamurthi, M., Nickell,
Banik, R.L. 1983a. Macropropagation of L.G., and Maretzki, A. 1977. Cell, tissue
bambusoid grass Phragmites communis and organ culture in sugar cane improve-
(cav.) Trin and Stend. and micropro- ment. 3-16 In: Reinert, J. and Bajaj,
pagation of bamboo (Bambusa glau- Y.P.S. (eds.). Plant cell, tissue and organ
culture. Berlin, Springer-Verlag.

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Langer, R.H.M. and Ryle, G. J.A. 1958. busoideae; by Soderstrom, R.T. and
Vegetative proliferations in herbage Calderon, E.C. 1979. Biotropica ll(3):
grasses. Journ. of the British grassland 161-172.
Society. 13: 29-33. Serajuddoula, M. 1985. Propagation of Bam-
McClure, F.A. 1967. The bamboos; a fresh busa vulgar-is Schrad. and Melocanna
perspective. Harvard University Press. baccifera Trin. by layering. Proc. of 10th
Mass., USA. Ann. Bangladesh SC. Conf., p. 79-80.,
Murashige, T. 1974. Plant propagation 22-27 Dhaka. Bangladesh.
through tissue cultures. Ann. Rev. Plant Usha, M., Ramanuja Rao, I.V., and Mohan
physiol. 25: 135-165. R a m , H.Y. 1 9 8 2 . S o m a t i c embryo-
Rahman, M. 1984. A study on supply and genesis in Bamboo. 109-110. In: Fuji-
demand of bamboos and canes in Bang- wara, A. (ed.) : Plant tissue culture 1982,
ladesh., a part of Project BGD/78/010. Proc. of the 6th International Congress of
UNDP, FAO. Dhaka. 69 p. Plant tissue and Cell culture. Abe Photo
Printing Co. Ltd., Tokyo. Japan.
Sineath, H.H. and Daugherty, P.M. 1954.
Bamboo - Plant with a future. The Res. White, D.G. 1947, Propagation of bamboo
Eng. 9(2): 3-6. Reported in A commen- by branch cuttings. Proc. Amer. Soc.
tary on the Bamboos (Poaceae): Bam- Hortic. SC, 50: 392-394.

169
 In Vitro Callus in Bamboos Schizostachyum
and Thyrsostachys Species
A.J. Dekkers, A.N. Rao and C.S. Loh

Department of Botany, National University of Singapore,

Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 0511

Abstract applied for propagation, with good or partial

success. an urgent appeal is also made for fur-
ther experimental research to use the modern
The scarcity of woody material either for
timber or fuel is a serious problem facing man- methods of plant tissue culture (Lessard and
Chouinard, 1980).
kind, at present. The usefulness of bamboos
and the dependency of a large population of The availability of seeds and their regular
people in the developing countries on bam- supply is very uncertain or almost impossible
boo resources is well known. The traditional since bamboos are very irregular in their
methods of propagation are said to be inade- flowering habit, The alternative of using the
quate to increase the desired Ievels of produc- vegetative materials has many limitations.
tion and tissue culture methods seem to offer Under these circumstances, tissue culture
great promise. In vitro callus induction in two methods offer promise and in vitro culture
bamboo species of Schizostachyum and work has started in some of the Asian coun-
Thyrsostachys is briefly reported. The tries like India, Malaysia. Japan, Thailand,
importance of selecting the suitable vegetative Bangladesh and others. A few publications
materials for culture work is stressed under have resulted so far (Mehta et al., 1982). The
discussion. present paper is a preliminary report based on
the in vitro culture work conducted on two
local bamboos in our laboratories.
Introduction

The shortage of forest products both at Materials And Methods

present and in the next two decades will be a
serious problem unless the forest biomass The species of bamboos growing in Singa-
production is urgently increased. The pore are listed in another paper published in
demand for timber and paper will increase by this proceedings (See Rao. 1985). Young fast
a factor of two to three. The world annual growing culm shoots of two species Schizo-
consumption of timber and fuel wood at pre- stachyum brachicladum and Thyrsostachys
sent is 1,300 and 1,500 million cubic metres, siamensis are used for culturing. After surface
respectively. It is estimated that in the north- sterilization with water and alcohol, the culm
ern half of the world the average paper con- sheaths are removed one by one until the
sump&n at present is 150 kg/year/person tender parts of the axis are exposed. The
while in the south it is 5 kg. Almost half of the nodal regions, axillary buds and smooth basal
human population of the developing world parts of culm sheaths are clearly seen at this
(2.7 billion) will face serious shortage of both stage. The lower parts of the sheaths are cut
timber and fuel wood by the year 2000. At into smaller pieces of about 1 cm long and
present, bamboos are used for one of the half cm wide and used as inoculae.
above purposes in many countries. Due to a N6 medium is used supplemented with
variety of reasons there is an urgent need to sucrose (3-5%), casein hydrolysate (0.1 g/l)
augment the bamboo cultivation in various and 2.4-D (0.5- 10 mg/l) _ The cultures are
developing countries of Asia. While traditional maintained under 16 hrs daylight regime at
methods of using seeds or cuttings are largely 25 2OC.

170
Observations And Results growth is uniform, the surface directly in
touch with the medium growing more vigor-
ously and incurling over the surface exposed
In the two species selected for the present
to the air. Small areas of original inocuium
study Schizostachym brac~ic~a~um repre-
not so actively grown appear as leftover
sents the thick and Thyrsostachys siamensis
crevices or cavities, darker in colour than the
represents the thin types of bamboos. The
well formed callus part (Fig. A, 8, 9). Small
bamboos grow all the year round due to
papillae are distinct on the growing callus,
the uniform humid climate in Singapore. This
some are more emerging than others. Any
also facilitates ail the year round availability of part of the inocuium torn or segmented and in
suitable vegetative shoots. Like in other parts contact with the medium would also form the
the flowering is very rare in locally grown
callus (Fig. A, 7, 9).
bamboos and there is no hope of obtaining
seed materials frequently. Therefore, suitable Sections of the developing callused seg-
vegetative materials need to be used. The ments reveal the origin of the callus from the
cuim shoots are the tender axial regions of the leaf tissues. The cuim sheath in transection
growing bamboos and at any one time differ- shows distinct upper and lower epidermis, the
ent sized shoots can be collected which former with thicker cuticle (Fig. B, 1). The
ensure a steady supply of materials for experi- mesophyii tissue is undifferentiated and the
mental work. (Also the advantages are many vascular bundles are closer towards the upper
which shall be discussed later.) epidermis. Fig. B, 1 is a cross-section of the
two week old inoculum showing ruptured
The cuim sheaths are separated in basi- upper epidermis with many enlarged or
petal order up to the point of obtaining the elongating cells emerging out of the surface.
solid stem axis with regular nodes and axiliary The mesophyii towards the lower epidermis
buds (Fig. A, l-3). The nodes are condensed remains intact and at this stage, many ceils
and closely arranged representing the pre- show active cell divisions (Fig. B, 2). In the
elongation phase of the internodes. The cuim well formed old callus the tissue arrangement
sheaths are arranged spirally and closely is loose and the individual ceils can be easily
packed over one another. Each sheath has a separated from one another either by squash-
basal and an apical region. Nearly 60-70% of ing the tissues under the coverslip or applying
the sheath represents the basal part, which is pressure by thumb. The individual cells thus
smooth and cream coioured. The upper part separated appear somewhat angular, oval,
is dark, somewhat triangular with epidermai round or elongated (Fig. B, 3, 4). The
outgrowths and these are rejected. Only the elongated cells develop into ionq fiiamentous
basal parts of culm sheath are suitable to be structures and many divide to form two or
used as inocuium. The cut pieces are placed three celled filaments. The thickness of the
either horizontally or vertically on the medium wail is uneven. Each ceil has a prominent
(Fig. A, 4-6). nucleus surrounded by a number of granular
brown bodies and in squashed preparations
The initial swelling of the inocuium is they easily get dispersed into the mounting
observed in about l0-12 days and most of the medium.
units appear as fluffed structures with many
ridges and grooves (Fig. A, 4-7). When Further work is in progress.
removed from the container and examined
under the binocular microscope, the uneven
nature of tissue growth becomes clear in Discussion
many cases with ruptured epidermis. The
early growth is restricted to cut ends of the By comparison the in vitro culture studies
segment (Fig. A, 4, 7) which shows formation on members of Gramineae is very recent
of smooth, homogeneous, white tissue (Fig. (Vasii 1982). Sugar cane and rice tissues or
A, 7). Later the growth extends to other parts embryos are grown under in vitro to improve
of the segment and nearly 20-30% of the the genetic varieties as part of the breeding
inoculae used would give massive, uniform programmes (Swaminathan, 1982; Sondahl
callus (Fig. A, 5, 6, 8, 9) and others show et al. , 1983). Of late, the results of work on
limited growth. In the well grown mass, the several other cereals are published (Vasii,

171
Fig. B, 1-6. Fig. 1. T.S. culm leaf showing epidermis and mesophyll outgrowth, Note the position of vascular bundles.
Fig. 2. Lower epidermis and mesophyll enlarged showing active cell divisions, Note the pocket of collenchyma tissue.
Figs. 3-6. Isolated or free cells obtained, enlarged to show the cell characteristics. Fig. 6 has a two-celled filament,

1982; Bhojwani and Razdan, 1983). Seeds of another at callus level or by their cell charac-
Bambusa arundinacea give callus tissues teristics. As far as the authors are aware, this
which differentiate into many embryoids. is the first report where the in vitro growth of
Also, individual embryos are obtained- from vegetative tissues of bamboos is reported.
free cells which regenerate into plantlets, all Using the vegetative materials, especially the
under in vitro, This excellent work has laid the leaf base, have many definite advantages over
foundation to grow bamboo tissues in vitro seeds or embryos, since bamboos are notor-
(Mehta, 1982). The present studies indicate ious as they rarely flower and produce any
the possibility of using the vegetative or leaf seeds. Further the seeds are of limited viability
tissues to obtain callus which serve as the most or recalcitrant and adequate supply of good
important source material that can be used for seeds is scarce, Hence, seeds are not reliable
further organ differentiation to obtain regen- as experimental materials to establish contin-
erated plantlets or to obtain protoplasts for uous cultures and for mass propagation. The
fusion. axillary buds on mature shoots are available
The tissues of the two bamboo species but they are not for these two reasons:
used presently show uniform growth and
hardly they can be differentiated from one 1) Bud scales are hard to remove and

173
 obtaining clean material is a problem. boo research in Asia, Proc. Workshop in
2) Many buds remain empty inside since the Singapore, IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
inner tissues are damaged either by Mehta, U., Rao, I.V.R. and Mohan Ram,
rotting or insects or fungus, especially H.Y. 1982. Somatic embryogenesis in
under humid conditions. Bamboo. 109-110. In: Proc. Intl. Con-
gress on Plant Tissue and Cell Culture.
The technical problems for initiating or in-
ducing callus are many and these have to be (Ed.) A. Fujiwara, Maruzen Co., Tokyo,
solved at each plant species or variety level. Japan.
These problems are solved for the two species Sondahl, M.R. Sharp, W.R. and Evans, D.A.
studied presently. The results obtained so far 1983. Biotechnology of cultivated crops.
help to plan further work and pursue the 98-l 14. In: ASEAN-EEC S e m i n a r ,
same either at cellular or tissue level. Proto- Singapore.
plasts are also obtained both from the fresh Swaminathan, M.S. 1982. Perspectives in
and in vitro grown tissues and these results Biotechnology research from the point of
will be reported in a subsequent paper. view of Third World Agriculture. In:
Priorities in Biotechnology Research for
International Development. Proc. Work-
shop. National Academy of Science,
References Washington, D.C., USA.
Vasil, I.K. 1982. Somatic embryogenesis and
Bhojwani, S.S. and Razdan, M.K. 1983. plant regeneration in cereals and grasses.
Plant tissue culture. Elsevier, Amster- 101-104. In: Proc. Intl. C o n g r e s s o n
dam. Plant Tissue and Cell Cuhure. (Ed.) A.
Lessard, G. and Chouinard, A. 1980. Bam- Fujiwara, Maruzen Co., Tokyo, Japan.

174
 Studies on the Chromosome Number of
Some Bamboo Species with
Clump Rhizomes
Zhang Guang-zhu
Forest Research Institute of Guangdong Province, China.

Abstract 0.75M kc1 solution for 15-20 minutes.

3. Immerse roots in 3% cellulase a n d
The chromosome numbers of 16 bam- pectinase mixture (1:l) for 3 hours.
boos species from South China are recorded. 4. Wash with distilled water, 1-2 times,
The material was collected from the bamboo immerse roots in distilled water, Let it stand
garden in Forest Research Institute of Guang- for 2-4 minutes. 5. Drain off water, squash
dong Province. Many bamboo species have the root tips with dissecting needles. 6. Pour
somatic chromosome number of 2n = 64, 3:1 methyl alcohol and glacial acetic acid
a n d ccm b e e a s i l y h y b r i d i z e d w i t h s t r o n g mixture on it and fix for 20-30 minutes.
affinity. From the study it is apparent that 7. Drain off precipitates. Suck several drops
there are different basic chromosome of cell solution, drop it in prefrozen slides, and
numbers in various bamboos studied. dry slides quickly in oven. 8. Immerse the
slides in pH7.2 Giemsa solution, stain for 30
Introduction minutes. 9. Take the slide out, wash, let dry
and observe under microcopic.
Chromosome is the carrier of hereditary Dispersed chromosomes were selected,
substance. By investigating the chromosome chromosomes counted and photographed.
number of plants, one can understand the For each bamboo species, at least 60 cells
relationship between species and explain were counted. Living plants of bamboo were
heredity phenomena. This report is on the kept in the garden, Forest Research Institute
chromosome number of 30 bamboo species of Guangdong Province.
with clump rhizomes. Studies on the chromo-
some number of bamboo have been reported
earlier (1). It is generally agreed that the Results
somatic chromosome number 2n = 72 and
2n = 48, in the tropical and subtropical bam- In table 1, the chromosome numbers of
boo. The basic number is x = 12 and tetra- bamboos not reported in China is listed. The
ploids and hexaploids are formed. results show that:

1. Many bamboo species have 2 or more

Materials and Methods chromosome numbers in their somatic cells.
Root tips of bamboo were obtained from The chromosome number in Bambusa per-
fresh roots. One year old secondary uariabilis is 2n = 64, and 56, and occasionally
branches of bamboo were wrapped in moist 72. This phenomenon is quite often found in
towel, then put in 25OC, and newly emerged bamboo with clump rhizomes. The chromo-
fresh roots were used. Preparation of speci- some number of a certain bamboo species
men was based on the low osmotic method referred to is in fact the number found most
removing cell wall (Chen and Sang, 1982). commonly.
The procedures are as follows: 1. Immerse 2. In addition to the chromosome
tender roots in 5/l0000 Colchicine and numbers of 2n = 72 and 2n = 48, many bam-
0.002M8-Hydroxyquinoline mixed solution boo species have 2n =64. Bambusa pervar-
for 3-5 hours. 2. Then immerse roots in iabilis, B. textilis, B. lapida, B. dissemulater

175
var. albonodia, B. sinospinosa, B. sp. A 5. Ir, Dendrocalamus Iatiflorus and D.
species of bamboo in Guangxi has the same minor 2n = 72, the same number reported
chromosome number of 2n =64. This indi- in Dendrocalamus genus.
cates that 2n =64 is a common feature in 6. Lingnania chungii 2n = 72; Sino-
some bamboo groups. calamus affinis 2n = 70.
3. It is confirmed that hybrid No. 1, B.
pervariabilis x (Dendrocalamus + B. textilis)
and hybrid No. 14, B. textilis x (Dendro- Discussion
calamus latiflorus + B. pervariabilis) are true
hybrids. The two sets of mixed pollination From the observations made, it is pro-
show that only one of the pollen is effective posed, that Sinocalamus stenoauritus is a
in fertilization, the other one acts as a mentor. natural hybrid of B. textilis x D. latiflorus. The
Because the chromosome number of their FI. reasons are: (1) S. stenoauritus has thinner
is 68, this is equal to the sum of chromosome wall, smaller buds, a character of branching at
numbers in the gametes of B. pervariablis and higher level, small main branch; lateral
D. latiflorus or in those of B. textilis and D. branches with nearly same size, moderate
Iatiflorus. (The chromosome number in the sized leaves. All these morphological char-
gametes is half of that in the somatic cell). acters are very similiar to the artifically polli-
nated B. textilis x D. latiflorus hybrid No. 11.
4. The chromosome number of Sino- (2) It has a chromosome number 2n =68,
calamus stenoauritus is 2n = 68. Probably, it
that exactly equals the sum of the chromo-
is a natural hybrid. 2n = 96 of B. vari-striatus some number in the gametes of the two
is the largest chromosome number hitherto
parents added together. (3) Pollen of S.
reported, stenoauritus are highly sterile, and nearly no

Table 1. Chromosome numbers of some

bamboo species with clump rhizomes
in China

Scientific name No. of chromosomes

Bambusa pervariabilis 64,56,72
Dendrocalamus latiflorus 72.64.48
Bambusa textilis 64,56,72
Cheng Ma Qing No. 1 68
Qing Ma Cheng No. 14 68
Sinocalamus stenoauritus 68
B a m b u s a lapida 64,52
Bambusa chungii 72,64
(Lingnania chungii)
Bambsa emeiensis 70
(Sinocalamus affinis)
Bambusa biciatricatus 64,72
(Sinocalamus biciatricatus)
Dendrocaiamus minor 72
B a m b u s a vario-striates 96,84
Bambusa sp. Guabgxi 64
Bambusa dissemulater 64
var. albonodia
Bambusa rutila 64
Bambusa sinospinosa 64

176
seed setting (Same results in Lins paper different from each other, they can be easily
(1980). This agrees with the fact that FI cross is hybridized and have strong affinity to each
sterile. other. The author proposes that, D. latifiorus
2n = 72, octopioid, a basic number of 9; B.
(2) Bambusa vario-striatus is a natural
pervariabiis and B. textiiis 2n = 64, octopioid,
mutant, because it has a very large chromo-
a basic number of 8. The basic number of 8 is
some number of 2n = 96 (Table 1, 2). Fur-
a derivation from x = 9, with one chromo-
thermore, no crossing from of any two bam-
some eieminated from the genome. Their
boo species has the number of 2n =96, so
chromosomes are homogeneous, therefore,
probably this is not a hybrid. Bamboos with
bamboos with 2n = 72 and 2n =64 can be
2n = 64, in abnormal reduction division,
crossed with each other. This explains why 2x
would produce gametes without reduction,
then fuse with a normal gamete to form 3n = 64 is fertile, because it is an octopioid with a
basic of 8. Generally an even number eupioid
(3n = 3 x 32 = 96). Though B. vario-striatus
flowers easily, the percent of seed setting is is fertile.
very low. From this point of view, it may be an (4) Chromosome numbers of bamboos
odd basic number of a poiypioid. adapt to variation of temperature zones.
(3) In addition to the basic number of Previous research pointed out: clump bam-
x= 12, othe r basic number also exists. Since boos in the tropical zone mostly have 2n = 72;
the new finding of 2n =64, the only basic dispersal bamboos in the warm temperate
number 2 x 2/2 is questionable. If this is true zone mostly have 2n =48. Our cytological
then bamboo with 2n = 64, should be study on bamboos in southern subtropical
2n=64=5x 12+4 a n odd number zone shows that they mostly have 2n = 64.
aneupioid. From the genetic standpoint, fer- The number is in the range between 72 and
tility of ail odd number aneupioid is very low. 48, the difference in chromosome number is
Statistical data have shown that only 25% of affected by climatic condition, numbers
tripioids gametes with a basic number of 3 decrease gradually from the tropical zone to
and 12.5% of its gametes with a basic the subtropical zone (72- 64- 48-). It is
number of 4 are alive. That means, the higher expected, if 2n is less than 48 woody bam-
the basic number, lesser the number of living boos will exist and they can only be found in
gametes. Triploid with a basic number of 6 or the colder regions, viz. on high latitude or at
more will be completely sterile. high elevation.
(4) Accordingly an aneupioid of 2n = 64 China covers a large area with a wide
= 5 x 12 + 4, will be completely sterile too. ranging climatic condition, and has many
But this is in contradiction to the present bamboo species, Cytological studies in China
results. Both of B. textiiis and B. pervariabiiis will help to explain the origin, evolution and
have chromosome number of 64, and they derivation of bamboos, and may solve
are fertile, especially B. sinospinosa. The per- many taxonomic probiems. To understand
cent of seed setting is quite high. Our conclu- the relationship between bamboo species,
sion is that 2n = 64 should not be an odd chromosome study alone is not sufficient, and
number aneupioid and it must be considered studies on karyotype analysis, together with
as an even number eupioid. This shows that compatibility experiment are needed. By
Bamboos have a basic number of x = 12 and comparing the results obtained, more correct
other basic numbers as well. conclusions can be drawn (Soderstrom, 1981;
Even though the chromosome number of Lin, 1980; Roes and Jones, 1977; Anon
B. pervariabilis, D. Iatiflorus and B. textilis is 1976,1980).

177
 Table 2. Chromosome numbers reported in previous
work-outside China.

Species No. of chromosome Species No. of chromosome

Arudinaria iwatekensis 48 Ph. bambusoides 48
A. gigantea 48 Ph. striata 48
A. simonii 48 Ph. marliacea 48,72?
Bambusa arundnacea 72 Ph. flexusa 54?
B. floribunda 72 Pleioblastus fortunei 48
B. multiplex 72 P. gramineus 48
B. polymorpha 72 P. hindsii 48
B. tulda 72 P. communis 48
Chimonobambusa marmorea 48 P. chino 48
C. falcata 48 P. simonii 48
Cephalostachyum pergraciie 72 P. pygmaeus 54?
Dendrocalamus brandisii 72+2B Pseudosasa japonica 48
D. giganteus 72 Sasa kazsa 48
D. hamiltonii 72 S. kurilensis 48
D. logispathus 72 S. paniculata 48
D. strictus 72,70? s. sp (3x) 36
Gigantochloa macrostachya 72 Sasamorpha purpurascens 48
Guadua capitaya 46 Semiarunfinaria yashadake 48
G. chacoensis 46 Se. pamtiingii 48
G . paraguayana 46 Sinobambusa tooksik 48
Indocalamus wightianus 48 Tetragonocalamus agulatus 48
Melocanna baccifera 72 Thamnocalamus aristatus 48
Phyllostachys aurea 48

Reference6
Anon, 1976. Guangdong Forestry Institute. cytology study. Plant chromosome and
Preliminary report on the hybridizayion of staining technic 99- 114.
Bamboos. China Forestry Sciences 1976 Lin, W. T. 1980. New Bamboo species in
(2) : 47-52. Guangdong, 1980. North-East Forestry
Anon, 1980. Guangdong Forestry Institute. A College. Plant research department No.
promising hybrid Bamboo Cheng Ma 6.89-93.
Qing No. 1 Forestry Sciences, 1980, Vol. Roes, H. and Jones, R. N. 1977. Chromo-
16. Supplement. somr Genetics., London.
Chen, S. Y. and Sang, M. G. 1982. A new Soderstrom, T. R. 1981. Some evolutionary
method cell wall low osmotic, in plant trends in the Bambusoideae (Poaceae)
chromosome specimen preparation in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 68: 26-29.

178
 Studies on Bamboo Hybridization
Zhang Gang-zhu and Chen Fu-qiu

Forest-ResearchInstitute of Guangdong Province

China

Abstract
There are very few papers published on There is a long or short interval between the
hybridisation i n bamboos. The biological successive groups of plants. During early
characters of flouters, the pollen viability, the spring, the interval between plants is about
process of hand pollination, seed productivity one month or longer. As the weather gets
and their germination are discussed. Many warm, the interval shortens by 2 weeks from
successfully viable hybrids resulted from May to July,
the crosses m a d e b e t w e e n Bambusa, The flower structure of bamboo is com-
Phyllostachys and Dendrocalamus species. posed of lemma, palea, stamen, pistil and
The criteria for selecting the good hybrids are lodicule. When flowering, floral glumes open,
discussed. stamens stretch out and the stigma separates
in three directions. The flowers last for about
Introduction 2 - 3 hours, and then close. When the
weather is dry, they will close more quickly.
In some species of e.g. Dendrocalamus lati-
Bamboo grows fast, producing useful florus, the pistils first extend out of gfumes,
timber. Once planted a bamboo stand can be
followed by stamens few days later. In case
cut repeatedly for a long period. So, devel-
the glumes do not open it is difficult to know
oping bamboo production is of great signifi-
when the bamboo flowers are suitable for
cance not only to promote economical pollination. Therefore the anthesis should be
gains but also to help rural commodity
determined before pollination. Pollen scatters
economy and increasing farmers income.
after the flowers have opened for about one
Guangdong province in Southern China hour and it will be earlier if the temperature is
enjoys warm climate all year round and rain-
high and the humidity is low.
fall is abundant and suitable for bamboo
growth. In order to cultivate the new type of The Viability of Pollen and the Methods of
bamboo that shows fast growth, provides its Preservation: Sucrose solution at 5 -
quality timber, has wide adaptability and 10% with 5 p.p.m. Borax were used to test
higher economic value the research on pollen germination in several bamboo
bamboo hybridisation has been undertaken. species (Table 1). Better percentage germina-
tion correlated with high seed selfing. In some
the values are low.

Flowering and Formation of Table 1. The percentage pollen

Caryopsis germination in some species.

Prior to flowering, the growth of the plant Bamboo species Extent of pollen
abates, the yield is reduced and the shoot germination
emergence i s earlier than usual with percentage (%)
deformed branches and leaves. The wood
Phyllostachys pubescens 26.5 - 64.1
becomes fragile. Bamboos can flower in all
the four seasons, but the main period of Dendrocalamus latiflorus 5.4 - 40.4
regular flowering is from February to June. Bambusa pervariabilis 2.9 - 14.8

179
Bambusa textilis 3.4 - 7.2 severe damage of the whole inflorescence.
Bambusa sinospinosa Sometimes, 90% of the flowers are
4.3 - 14.3
damaged.
The bamboo pollen begins to germinate in
about 15 - 20 minutes. The length of pollen
tube exceeds the diameter of pollen grain in 20 Technique of Hybridization
- 30 minutes. The percentage germination
stabilises in 30 - 60 minutes. The tips of
some pollen tubes burst. The pollen swells by Because of the low percentage of natural
absorbing nutrients and when it is dry they seed setting, more attention was paid to
shrink. The percentage of pollen germination understand the biological characters of bam-
declines. When it is dry the pollen would loose boo flowering. The following effective mea-
viability in about half an hour. Therefore for sures were taken to raise the percentage of
successful hybridization of bamboos the seed setting.
viability of pollen should be maintained, if the 1. Bamboo clumps were transplanted in
other species which are to be hybridized are special nusery or in a large pot. Fertilisers only
not flowering at the same time. The pollen can with phosphporous and potassiam were
be stored in refrigerater to preserve viability. applied. Light conditions were improved. The
For this the fresh anthers are placed in a finger flower buds develop normally so as to pro-
like bottle about one-third of its capacity, and mote seed setting. While transplanting the
closed with a ball of wet cotton to maintain the experimental material was cut into dwarf
moisture of anthers. The bottle is stored in the plants in order to pollinate the flowers con-
refrigerator under a temperature of 4OC. In veniently.
this way the anthers do not dehisce and scatter
pollen during the period of storage. By using 2. During the period of February.of June,
this method, the pollen of Phyllostachys especially from May to June, bamboos flower
pubescens, can be stored. After five days of in great quantity. Generally speaking, the
storage, the percentage of germination is earlier the flowering, the better the seed
reduced by 28.3% but stored pollens can still setting. Because the tempereture is low at that
be used for pollination. time and it results in a longer period of seed-
ripening. The seeds grow large and give a
Seed Setting: The seeds of the sympodial high percentage of germination. A great
bamboo ripen in about 15 to 30 days after quantity of seedling is produced. With the
pollination, but the monopodial type of bam- higher temperature the ripening period of
boo, such as Phyllostachys pubescens takes a seeds shortens gradually, which helps to
longer period of 50 to 70 days. The ripe seeds reduce the low quality of seeds. Therefore, it
are easily released and drop off naturally. The is preferable to do the hybridization work in
percentage of natural seed setting under the the early part of the season.
condition of irregular flowering is usually very Some species of bamboo, such as Phyl-
low. The reasons are as follows:
lostachys pubescens a n d Dendrocalamus
1. Both insufficient nutrition and low light Iatiflorus, produce a small quantity of flowers
intensity in bamboo stands affect the normal in November and December. Although in
development of flower buds, very few pollen, this period the quantity of flowers is not as
so that the percent of fertility is considerably great as those formed in May and June, the
low. percentage of caryopsis bearing is quite high.
2. The bamboo pollen easily lose their ger- 3. During the season many flowers are
minability under conditions such as severe tormed but all of these cant be pollinated so it
sunlight, heavy rainfall and low humidity. In is reasonable to remove some of them in
such conditions flowering may be high but order to reduce nutritive consumption, The
percentage seed set is low. flowers in the middle part of the spikelet
5. Small sucking insects usually assemble develop much better than those at the top
on the stigma of flower, and lay eggs in the of the spikelet. More than 60% of seed is
floscules. The larvae are hatched with the set in the middle part. Therefore it is
glumes and they bore into the ovary, causing better to select the flowers in the middle part

180
of inflorscence to pollinate for the purpose of takes 5 or 10 days to germinate. When the
getting larger percentage of seed setting in height of the seedling is about 10 to 15 cm, it is
hybridization. necessary to transplant it into a larger pot for
4. Bamboo flowers generally open from further growth. The seedling should be
5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and close at noon. It is watered with a nutrient solution every 10 or 20
necessary to pollinate in the early morning. days. When the seedlings reach a height of a
because it is cooler, atmospheric humidity is third of a meter it can be transplanted in the
higher, which is good for doing controlled field.
pollination.
5. Bamboo pollen loses viability very
quickly. In order to get the fresh pollen, bam-
Hybrid Combinations
boo plants need to be transported in separate
batches preferably during September to Hybridization trial of 21 groups has been
November and February to May. By doing done including 4 genera and 7 species of
this the early and less flowering varieties may bamboos. The relationships are as follows:-
be made to overlap. In this way fresh pollen
can be collected for the experiment almost 1. The hybridizing affinity of the different
every day. bamboo species under the same genus is
6. Precautions should be taken against closer, For instance, the percentage of
bad weather, which affect the ger- caryopsis bearing in the hybridized combina-
minating ability of pollen. During and soon tion of Dendrocalamus minor X D. latiflorus is
after pollination the plant should be left out of 22%; Bambusa textilis X B. pervariabilis is
sunshine and rainfall. The parent material 13.6% ; and Bambusa textilis X B. sinospinosa
should be grown in large pots, and they is 10%.
can be moved under the sun or shade as the 2. The hybridizing affinity of the species
case may be. under different genera but with similar ecolog-
7. It is necessary to control pests dur- ical characteristics varies tremendously. For
ing flowering. T.T.V. solution with a con- instance, the percentage of caryopsis in the
centration of 0.1% was sprayed 2 or 3 times hybridized combination of B. pervariabilis X D.
and this helped to control the pests effec- latiflorus or B. textilis X D. latiflorus is 8.1 to
tively. 14.5%, but that of B. sinospinosa X D.
latiflorus is only 0.6 to 1.6%.

Seed Collection, Seedling 3. The hybridizing affinity of the species

Development in different genera and with various ecological
characteristics is more distant. For example,
the percentage of caryopsis bearing in the
About 7 to 10 days after controlled pollina- hybridized combination of B. pervariabilis X
tion, the experimental plants should be
Phyllostachys pubescens is 1.3 to 3.8%; that
checked for seed development. If the flowers of B. textilis X Ph. pubescens is 1.0 to 2.0%:
are exposed to sunlight a green shadow the and B. sinospinosa X Ph. pubescens is 0.47
size of a rice grain may be visible. This is the
to 1.56%.
ovary ready for seed development. A few days
following this the mature flower should be 4. The percent of caryopsis bearing in
enclosed in a transparent plastic bag to collect distant hybridization may be raised by mixed
falling seeds. pollination of bamboos in different genera
and with various ecological characteristics, For
The hybrid seed should be sown at instance, the percent (8%) of caryopsis
once, in a nutritive container with burnt- bearing in the hybridized combination of B.
soil mixed w i t h l - Z % o f superphos-
pervariabilis X (Ph. pubescens + D.
phate. The seed should not be covered too latiflorus) is higher than that (1.3 to 3.8%) of
thick with soil and it should be watered pro-
B. pervariabilis X Ph. pubescens; similiarly
perly. In general, the condition should be that (3.7%) o f B . s i n o s p n o s a x (Ph.
suitable for seed germination. The soil should
pubescens + D. minor) is higher than that
be wet but not water logged. The seed
(0.47 to 1.5%) of B. sinospinosa x Ph.

181
pubescens. done to compare the productivity of hybrid
It is important to study those species with clones and their parents which is commen-
close hybridising affinity. Stronger affinity surate to the intermediary experiment before
indicates that the relationship is very close; popularization. Final selection is done accord-
weaker affinity indicates that the relationship ing to the above procedure. And several
is more distant with regard to breeding. When selected hybrids with good characters are pro-
a bamboo species hybridizes with a closely vided for popularization or for further experi-
related one, their offsprings (F1) grow nor- ments.
mally, from which hybrids with good char.- 1. The hybrid of Bambusa pervariabilis x
acters can easily be selected. On the contrary (B. textilis + D. latiflorus) No. 1, has the fol-
if a bamboo species hybridizes with a distantly lowing good characteristics. A) The culm is
related one, most of their offsprings (F1) grow very high and wide in diameter (up to 13 - 15
abnormalIy, from which a desirable hybrid M height 6 - 9 cm in diameter). The shoot
can hardly be chosen. For instance, in the grows rapidly and-develops into a mature culm
hybridized combination of B. pervariabilis X in a short time (6 - 18 culms per clump each
Ph. pubescens , 12,000 flowers were polli- year). B The mechanical strength of its timber
nated but only 34 seeedlings were obtained is similar to that of B. pervariabilis and better
none of which is the ideal hybrid. Therefore, than that of D. latiflorus. It is not easily broken
more attention must be paid to the bamboo when used out doors. The timber is useful for
species with close affinity, for future scaffolding in construction and as support for
hybridization trials. banana plants. C) The shoot is a delicacy.
Another significance of studying affinity There are apparent stripes of yellow alternat-
between bamboo species is to provide experi- ing with green on the surface of its culm. It is a
mental data that may help classification of good ornamental plant in a garden. Besides its
bamboos. The affinity between B. pervariabilis culm the big branches in the upper part of the
x D. latiflorus is considerably close. But culm can be used for propagation.
according to the present classification system,
they are not only in the different genera but 2. The hybrid of Bambusa pervariabilis x
also in the different subtribes. It is suggested Dendrocalamus latiflorus No. 25, is suitable to
that the taxonomic position of these two be used as papermaking material, because of
species may be checked again. long fibre (2332), great ratio of length/width
(139), and high ratio of fibre tissue (47.1%)
The properties of mechanical strength of un-
Selection and Identification of bleached pulp are as follows: Breaking Length
Species for Hybridisation 6830 7620 M, Burst 5.21 5.52 kg/cm2,
Folding Endurance 1464 - 1648 times,
Selection of species depends on the breed- Tearing Strength 162 - 178 g. The pulp has
ing objective. For instance, in order to get great strength properties. At the age of 6, its
good timber for construction. the mechanical culm develops into mature timber with a
strength and durability of bamboo timber maximum diameter of 7.1 cm, height of 13 m,
should be the major factors of selection. fresh weight of 8.5 kg per culm. On an
For papermaking, the morphological char- average, there are 7 culms per clump each
acters of fibers and the rate of fiber tissue year and the yield of fresh weight is more than
formation should be important in selection. 2000 kg per m on moderate sites.
The steps of hybrid selection we have taken 3. The hybrid of Bambusa textilis x
are as follows: (1) Observe the growth Dendrocalamus clatiflorus No. 4 and No. 11,
performance of hybrids, and select the have straight culms, with branches at high
superior hybrids with good growth. (2) position, and good appearance. They are suit-
Observe the anatomical characters of the able for planting in gardens, the timber is also
bamboo timber of the selected hybrids, and suitable for papermaking, because of the mor-
then propagate them by means of vegetative phological characters of their fibres.
propagation. The hybrids should be tested
further for adaptatability, mechanical strength 4. The hybrid of Dendrocalamus minor x
and durability. (3) Experiments need to be D. latiflorus No. 5, has a straight culm with

182
branches at high position. It would be the first affinity between bamboo species the cyto-
grade timber for papermaking according to the logical observations have to be done. The
morphological and anatomical characters of its results obtained on somatic cells of 30 bamboo
fibres. The shoot is edible and delicious. It is a species show that the basic chromosome
kind of bamboo with good comprehensive number of many bamboo species in South
characters, suitable both for edible shoots and China is 64 and 72, as against 48 reported
used for paper making. from other studies done aboard. The new
In order to reduce the quantity of breeding chromosome number (64) negates the con-
work, the research in the early identification of clusion that there is only one cardinal number
timber quality of hybrids has been done so that (x = 12) of chromosome in Bambusoideae.
good hybrids can remain and bad ones would For D. latiflorus (2n = 72) can hybridize with
be eliminated. Some of the forest manage- B. pervariabilis (2n = 64) and B. textilis (2n =
ment work would be in vain because the time 64), the authors think that the bamboo species
required from propagating to cutting is about 7 with the chromosome number (2n = 64) is an
- 8 years. The result of character correlation octoploid with the chromosome cardinal
analysis shows that two characters, namely number (x = 8), which is derived from x = 9,
density of vascular bundles and ratio of fibre with one chromosome eliminated from the
tissues may be used for predicting the timber genome. The affinity relationship is very close,
quality of hybrids. so that compatibility in hybridization is higher.
According to the anatomical data, we Such results also suggest that Hybrid B.
make the following standards: A) The pervariabilis x (D. latiflorus + B. textilis) No.
bamboo timber with large density of vascular 1, has the qualities of B. pervariabilis x D.
bundles and high ratio of fibre tissues may be latiflorus. The chromosome number is 68, the
considered as the hybrid of good quality. sum (32 + 36 = 68) of the gamete
B) The bamboo timber with large density of chromosome number of B. pervariobilis (2n =
vascular bundles and low ratio of fibre tissues 64) plus that of D. Iatiflorus (2n = 72). The
or small density of vascular bundles and high pollen of B. textilis only acts as a mentor which
ratio of fibre tissues may be considered as the does not take part in the insemination.
hybrid of moderate quality. C) The bamboo Besides, Bambusa vario-striatus the chromo-
timber with small density of vascular bundles some number 2n = 9 6 h a s t h e h i g h e s t
and low ratio of fibre tissues may be considered chromosome number ever reported so far. It
as the hybrid of poor quality. Based on the probably is a natural mutant, and also a triploid
above standards, and the evaluation made for (n = 32).
9 samples the results are almost same as the
result of tests on mechanical strength. Signi-
ficant tests of the correlation coefficients
Dominating Characters in
between the data obtained for anatomical Hybrids
characters and the data from the mechanical
In the studies made the following genetic
strength experiment ( a = 0.1; p = 1 - a =
characters of hybrids are apparent:
90%) show that it is possible to predict the
bamboo timber quality at the early stage. The 1. The morphological and anatomical
anatomical work on hybrids may usually be characteristics such as the size of leaves, the
done on one year old bamboos. However, the width of culms, the symmetry of sheaths, the
mechanical strength experiment of hybrids can hairy trait of culms, the size, shape of distri-
only be done on bamboo 6 - 7 years old. The bution of vascular bundles, etc. are distinct in
evaluation of hybrids by anatomical data can hybrids. A hybrid usually is the intermediate
be made 4 - 6 years ahead, so that the good type between its parents.
hybrids can remain and bad hybrids can be
2. Some new characters appear in a few
eliminated, which would save a lot of breeding
hybrids including those from parents. For
work and wastage of time and labour.
instance, the fibre length of hybrid B. pervar-
iabilis x D. latiflorus, No. 25, is 2332u .
Cytological Observations of However, the fibre length of its parents, B.
pervariabilis 1778 ,U and D. latiflorus 1530
Hybrids and Their Parents u respectively. Hence this character of the
In order to establish the relationship of hybrid surpasses that of its parents. Further-

183
more, there are no stripes on the culms of D. become interested in bamboo hybridization
Iatiflorus and D. minor, but some stripes of and utilization of good quality hybrids.
yellow alternating with green on the culm
base of their hybrid D. minor x D. Iatiflorus
No. 4. Besides, there is a thicker layer of wax References
on the culm surface of some hybrids. The
specific gravity of bamboo timber of some Forest Research Institute of Guangdong
hybrids is larger than that of others. These Prov. An observation of the biological
specific variations would probably be valuable characteristice of floscule flowering and
in selection. caryopsis bearing of Bambusa pervari-
abilis and B. textilis, Newsletter, of
3. The suitability of hybrids for vegetative Forestry Science and Technology in
propagation is usually higher and the survival Guangdong. 1973, No. 3.
rate of their seedling is also higher. In addition
to genetical factors, there is greater vitality in Forestry Research Institute of Guangdong
hybrids. Prov. A report on the test of the viability
and preservation of bamboo pollens.
Bamboo plants can easily be grown by
Newsletter of Forestry Science and Tech-
way of vegetative propagation. A good hybrid nology in Guangdong. 1975, No. 3.
created in hybridization can be propagated
into many plants infinitely. The advantage of Forestry Research Institute of Guangdong
vegetative propagation is that the good char- Prov. Preliminary report on the hybridi-
acters of hybrid can last for a long time with- zation of bamboo. Zhonggue Linge
out character divergence. In South China, the Kexue. 1976,2.
isolated flowering phenomenon of bamboo Forestry Research Institute of Guangdong
plants is not rare. In order to improve the Prov. The report on sexual hybridization
traits of bamboo species and create some new of bamboo (continued). Newsletter of
cultivation types it is of great significance to do Forestry Science and Technology of
some hybridization experiments at the time China. 1977, No. 1.
when bamboo plants are flowering sporad-
ically. Furthermore, it can provide some Zhang Guang-Zhu, Chen Fu-Qiu, Superior
experimental data to clear up the present mis- sexual hybrid of bamboo. Scientia Sinica
Silvae. 1980, Vol. 16, supplement.
understanding in bamboo taxonomy. The
flowering frequency of bamboo plants is rather Zhang Guang-Zhu, Chen Fu-Qiu. Studies
long which delimits bamboo hybridization. on the early identification of culm quality
The parents for hybridization work can of bamboo hybrids. Bamboo Research.
not be freely selected. However, it is fore- 1983, No. 2.
casted that with better understanding of Zhang Guang-Zhu. A study on chromo-
flowering physiology of bamboo, it is likely some number of some bamboo species
that bamboo flowering can be controlled and with clump rhizomes. (unpublished)
regulated. More and more researchers may

184
 Morphological studies on the Prophylls and
their Systematic Significance
Hiroshi Usui
Faculty of Agriculture, Utsunomiya University, 321Utsunomiya,
Japan

Abstract (Car-r.) Mitf. var. pubescens (Mazel) Ohwi

(Mousou chiku), 13. Phyllostachys hetero-
Japanese bamboos are classified into six cycra var. heterocycla (Mazel) Ohwi (Kikkou-
genera according to the arrangement of pro- chiku), 14. Phyllostachys nigra (Lodigges)
phylls in the bud and these are:1. Sasa Munro var. henonis (Bean) Stapf. (Hachiku),
2. Arundinaria, 3. Shibataea, 4. Phyl- 15. PhylIostachys nigra var. nigra Munro
lostachys, 5. Chimonobambusa and (Kurochiku) , 16. Phyllostachys bambusoides
6. Bambusa. The bud morphology in sieb. et Zucc. (Madake), 17. Phyllostachys
Shibataea and number of stamens in bambusoides var. aurea (Sieb.) Makino
Bambusa and Sasa are helpful in identifying (Hoteichiku), 18. Chimonobambusa mar-
the genera. morea (Mitf.) Makino, 19. Chimonobam-
busa quadrangularis (Fenzi) Makino,
20. Semiarundinaria fastuosa (Mitf.) Makino
Introduction (Narihiradake) , 2 1. Bambusa multiplex
(Lour .) Raeuschel (Houraichiku),
In 1957, the author reported Morpho- 22. Bambusa multiplex f. Alphonso-Karri
logical studies on the prophyll of Japanese (Satow) Nakai (suhouchiku) 23. Bambusa
Bamboos in the Bot. Mag. Tokyo. The muItipIex f. .variegata (Camus) Hatsushima
report dealt with four different genera classi- (Houshochiku)
fied according to the arrangement of pro- The buds of new shoots were fixed in
phylls in their buds. The present paper is a Bouins fluid. The samples were embedded in
revision. paraffin wax (m.p. 56-58C) and 10 nm thick
The branching of bamboos is regulated by section were obtained and stained with tannic
the arrangement of prophylls in a bud. This is acid ferric chloride and Haidenhains iron
an important characteristic of the genus. haematoxylin.

Results
Materials and Method
1. Sasa type: The prophyll is of a two-
The bamboos studied are: 1. Sasa nip- keeled form and the species produces
ponica Makino (Miyakozasa), 2. Sasa pani- onIy one branch. (Fig. 1)
culata Makino (Chimakizasa), 3. Sasa kuri-
lensis makino et Shibata (Chishimazasa), 2, Arundinaria type: This type has at least
4. Sasa ramosa Makino (Azumazasa), three two-keeled prophylls and produces
5. Sasa borealis (Hack.) Makino (Suzutake), at least three branches. There are species
6. Sasa veitchii (Carr,) Rehd. (Kumazasa), having seven to nine branches at a node,
7. Arundinaria hindsii Munro (Kanzanchiku) , but these develop from secondary buds.
8. Arundinaria graminea (Bean) Makino (Figs. 2, 7)
(Taiminchiku), 9. Arundinaria simonii 3. Shibataea type: The two outermost pro-
(Carr.) Riviere (Medake) , 10. Arundinaria phylls are not of the usual two-keeled
chino (Fr. et Sav.) Makino (Azumanezasa), form. Two are separated, while the
11. Shibataea kumasaca (Zollinger) Makino others P3, P4, P5, P6 are two-keeled. Shi-
(Okamezasa), 12. Phyllostachys heterocycla bataea produces five branches. (Fig. 3)

185
 4. Phyllostachys type: The cross section of
this type is the same as the right half of
the Shibataea type. This type usually pro-
duces two branches or often three.
(Fig. 4)
5. Chimonobambusa type: This type pro-
duces three branches. These are charac-
terized. by three separate prophylls and
the three branches are independent up to
the base. (Fig. 5)
6. Bambusa type: This type produces
numerous branches at a node. The outer-
most prophyll shows the usual two-
keeled form, but others do not. There are
several leaf groups in a bud, and their
prophylls have pointed tips. (Fig. 6). Fur-
ther details are given in Figs. 8-14.

Fig. 2. Arundinaria type bud and branching. Abbreviations:

PI, the outer prophyll: P2, the second prophyll in th axil
of the p : P3, the third prophyll in the axil of the first foliage
leaf: 1st. l., the first foliage leaf of the first branch:
2nd. l., the second foliage leaf of the first branch : M.Ax.,
main axis: L., a leaf on the node of main axis (= culm
sheath).

Fig: 1. Sasa type bud and branching. Abbreviations:

P-prophyll: lst, the first foliage leaf: 2nd, the second foliage
leaf: M.Ax., main axis: L, a leaf on the node of the main
axis (= culm sheath). The black leaf represents a foliage
leaf and the white one a prophyll.

Fig. 3. Shibataea type bud and branching; note that the

outermost prophylls are not the usual two-keeled form, but
separated,

186
 Fig. 4. Phyllostachys type bud and branching; note the peculiar branching.

Fig. 5. Chimonobambusa type bud and branching diagram. Three branches and their prophylls are each separated.

187
 M. AX.

Fig. 6. Bambusa type bud and branching. Each prophyll shows a pointed tip.

Discussion Arundinaria type. That is, the prophyll is a

lateral organ, and one of the keels has a main
1, True nature of prophylls bundle.
The true nature of prophylls has been the This interpretation agrees with those of
topic of numerous discussions from the 19th Arber (1925), Bugnon (1924) and Guilland
century. The usual two-keeled prophyll is (1924) and the opinion of Blaser (1944); the
thought to be of double origin. That is, two prophylls and the foliage leaves are not distin-
separate prophylls are fused together on the guishable and both are merely leaves.
adaxial side. In another interpretation, the 2. Pieioblastus or Aru ndinaria
prophyll is an adaxial organ, and the bundles
found on the keels are not the main bundle, In 1966, Dr McClure of Smithsonian Insti-
but side ones. The main bundle disappeared tution, quoted the authors 1957 report in
during evolution. The cross section of the Shi- The Bamboos and pointed out that Pleio-
bataea type revealed that the outermost pro- blastus is the same as Arundinaria, and
phylls (PI, P2) are separated and not fused. If described Arndinaria amabilis in detail. The
the prophyll of P1 elongates further and bud of A. amabilis has been explained and its
covers P2 (Fig. 7) it becomes the same as the cross section very closely resembles Arun-

188
dinaria simonii found in Japan. T. Nakai who Sasamorpha and Sasaella are of this type.
did much early work on bamboos was per- Only pseudosasa have three stamens and the
plexed about Pleioblastus and later proposed other two genera are less important.
the new genus Nipponocalamus. Several 2. Arundinaria type: This type includes
Pleioblastus species belong to Arundinaria as Semiarundinaria, Sinobambusa, Pleioblastus,
described by T. Makino. and Nipponocalamus. The Iast two should
belong to Arundinaria, as explained above.
Semiarundinaria is distinguished by a long
3. Phylogenic considerations bract covered with spikelets. Sinobambusa is a
The transformation from the Shibataea to distinct genus. 3. Shibataea type and
the Arundinaria type is shown in Fig. 7. 4. PhyIlostachys type are easy to distinguish.
Section A shows a cross section of the Shi- 5. C himonobambusa type Tetragono-
bataea type; B, the initial stage of Shibataea calamus was once classified as Chimonobam-
when branch IV and V are not yet developed; busa. Tetragonocalamus is not considered to
C, prophyll (P1) which covers branch II extend be an important type. 6. Bambusa type is
to the right and cover the prophyll (P2) which very distinct.
covers branch I and III; D, the opposite side of
From the above standpoint, Sinobam-
P1 produces a second keel, assuming the busa, Pleioblastus, Nipponocalamus,
same features as of the Arundinaria type. (Fig. Sasaella, Sasamorpha and Tetragonocalamus
7). The right half of the Shibataea type are considered to be of little importance. The
(branch I and III covered by P2) is the same as
classification depends on the flower charac-
the Phyllostachys type. The peculiar Shi-
teristics, and in the bamboo tribe, the genus
bataea features reported in 1957 indicated
type should be considered.
that they led to the Arundinaria and Phy-
lostachys types.
Japanese bamboos can be divided into
two groups those having six stamens and
those having three. The former are Bambusa
and Sasa, and the latter are Phyllostachys,
Arundinaria, Semiarundinaria, Sinobam-
busa, Shibataea and Pseudosasa. The Sasa A
species seem to have been derived from
southern Bambusa or Dendrocalamus acquir-
ing the characteristic of underground pro-
pagation by rhizome. These considerations
can be summarized as follows:
Bambusa or Protosasa -Sass B
Dendrocalamus
Shibataea Arundinaria Pseudosasa
Phyllostachys
4. Significance of genus type
C
Makino, the first to study the taxonomy of
Japanese bamboos, established the following
new genera in different years: 1901: Sasa;
1912: Shibataea; 1914: Chimonobambusa;
1918: Semiarundinaria; 1918: Sinobambusa;
1920: Pseudosasa; 1929: Sasaella; A f t e r
1925, Nakai continued this work: 1925:
Pleioblastus; 1930: Sasamorpha; 1933:
Tetragonocalamus; 1944: Nipponocalamus; Fig. 7. Diagram showing the transformation from the
(Makino 1912 - 1925, Nakai 1925 - 1933). Shibataea type to the Arundinaria type. Note the
The relationships between these genera outerprophyll (P1) developing to envelope the inner leaf
are as follows: 1. Sasa type: Pseudosasa, (the 1st foliage leaf) which subtended the first and third
branches.

189
 Figs. 8-14 8. Sasa paniculata Makino 9. A
rundinaria amabilis McClure
Riviere 11. Shibataea kumasaca (Zollinger) Makino. 10 Arundinaria simonii (Carr.)

Figs. 12-14. 12. Ph y 11

OS ac
h bamb
usoides Sieb. et Zucc
14. Bambusa multiplex (Loureiro) RaeuscheI. 13. Chimonobambusa matmorea (Mitford) Makino

190
 Acknowledgement Makino, T. 1912. Shibataea Makino nov.
Gen. Bot. Mag. Tokyo.
The author is grateful to His Majesty the Makino, T. 1914. Chimonobambusa Makino
Emperor of Japan and the staff of Imperial nov. Gen. Bot. Mag. Tokyo. 28 (329)
Household Agency for granting permission to Makino, 1918. Semiarundinaria Makino nov.
collect bamboo samples and for sending the Gen. J. Jap. Bot. 2 (2).
author new shoots of bamboos. The author Makino, 1918. Sinobambusa Makino nov.
wishes to acknowledge the kind suggestions of Gen. J. Jap. Bot. 2 (2).
the late Professor Fumio Maekawa of the Uni- Makino, 1920. Pseudosasa Makino nov. Gen.
versity of Tokyo during the authors studies in J. Jap. Bot. 2 (4).
1955.
Makino, 1929. Sasaella Makino nov. Gen.
J. Jap. Bot. 51 (7).
References McClure, F. A. 1966. The Bamboos, Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Arber, A. 1925. Monocotyledon, a morpho-
Nakai, T. 1925. Two New Genera of Bam-
logical study, Cambridge, U.K.
busaceae, with special remarks on the
BIaser, H. W. 1944. Amer. Jour. Bot., 31: related Genera growing in eastern Asia,
53-64. Jour. Arnold Arboretum 6: 145-153.
Bugnon, P. 1924. Mem. Soc. Linn. Nor- Nakai, 1932. Sasamorpha Nakai nov. Gen.
mandie No. 21. Bot. Mag. Tokyo.
Guilland, M. 1924. Bull. Soc. Lind. Norman- Nakai, 1933. Tetragonocalamus Nakai nov.
die Ser. 7,7: 41-99. Gen. J. Jap. Bot.
Lin, W. 1974. Studies on Morphology of Suzuki, S. 1978. Index to Japanese Bam-
Bamboo Flowers, Taiwan For: Res. Inst. busaceae, Gakken, Tokyo.
No. 248. Usui, H. 1957. Morphological studies on the
Makino, T. and Shibata, K. 1901. On Sasa, a Prophyll of Japanese Bamboos Bot. Mag.
new Genus of Bambuseae, and its Affin- Tokyo. 70: (829-830) 223-227.
ities Bot. Mag. Tokyo 15.

191
 Three Genera of Bambusoideae from China
Wen Taihui
Zhejiang Research Center of Bamboo, China

Abstract of 38 genera. They extend up to a.s.l.3700 m

at Xicang. In the last 10 years, 190 new
The taxonomy of bamboos is well studied species have been discovered.
in China and in the last 10 years 190 new Three new genera
species have been discovered, Three of the
genera Gelidocalamus, Clavinodum and Gelidocalamus, Clavinodum, Ampelo-
Ampelocalamus are briefly discussed here.
calamus have been named by the present
author together with others. They are:
Introduction Gelidocalamus Wen, Journ. Bamb.
Res. l(l):20-21. 1982. (Fig. 1).
China is a big country with about 3.4 This genus is a natural group, because of
million ha. of bamboo forest, widely distributed
its speciefic characteristics. It differs from
in 22 provinces, and with about 400 species,
other genera of Bambusoideae in very

Fig 1. Gelidocalamus ste

1. flowering branch; 2. branch and leaf; 3. rhizome; 4 . outside of culm-sheath. 5 inside of culm-sheath: 6 lemma;
7 . palea: 8. lodicules; 9, stamens: 10. gynoecium

192
 short branches which do not rebranch in
the same year; large grass-like panicle and
quite small spikelets. Gelidocalamus Wen
is shrubby, with amphipodial rhizomes;
its internodes cylindrical. unfurrowed,
with 7-12 branches at a node; the
branches are short and slender, simple,
having 2-3 nodes, usually with one leaf
on it, and the branch sheath is longer than
the internode. The bamboo shoots swell in
winter, sheath persistent, sheath-auricles
rudimentary or lacking, and sheath-ligule
extremely short, curve or wedge shaped;
leaf-blades lanceolate to broadly lanceo-
late, acute at the apex and decurrented;
transverse veinlets obvious on both side.
lnflorescence piniculate, spikelet very
small, with 3-5 florets; the floret has
2 glumes, lemma with keels acuminated
and is shorter than palea; lodicules 3;
stamen 3; style 2. The type species is
Gelidocalamus stellatus Wen, distributed
in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces. The
type specimen was collected in Jinggang
Mountain, Jiangxi province. This genus is
distributed in Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Fig. 2. Clavinodum oedogonatum (Z.P. Wang et G.H. Ye) Wen
Guangxi, and Zhjiang provinces. 1. culm and branch; 2. branch and leaf; 3. bamboo shoot;
4. outside of culm-sheath; 5. inside of culm-sheath;
Gelidocalamus stellatus W e n , Journ. 6. apex of leaf-sheath: 7. inflorescence and piniculate;
Bamb. Res. l(1): 22-23. f. 1. 1982. Dis. 8 . lemma; 9. palea; 10. lodicules; 11. stamen; 12. gynoecium
Jiangxi Hunan
Gelidocalamus tessellatus Wen, Journ.
Bamb. Res. l(1): 24. f. 2. 1982. Dis. Research, at 1984. Shrubby or subar-
borescent,; amphipodial rhizomes; inter-
Guizhou , Guangxi.
nodes cylindical, nodes rigid irregular;
Gelidocalamus rutilans W e n , Journ. culm-sheaths persistent or late dropping,
Bamb. Res. 2(l): 66-67. f. 18. 1983. much shorter than internode; sheath-
Dis. Zhejiang. auricles well developed or wanting,
Gelidocalamus solidus C.D. Chu et C.S. sheath-blades subulate and recurved;
Chao, Journ. Nanjing For. Ins. 2:75. f. branches 3-5 at a node, slender. Deter-
2. 1984. Dis. Guangxi. minate inflorescence racemose, lateral, 3
Gelidocalamus latiflolius Q .H. Dai et T. spikelets; spikelet with 2-7 florets, cum
Chen, Journ. Bamb. Res. 4(l): 53-54. f. usually only one floret can be seen on a
1. 1985. spikelet. because the rachilla caducous;
Gelidocalamus kunishii (Hayata) Keng f. spike petiolule slender, zigzag; paleas tips
e t W e n , Journ. Bamb. Res. 2(l): 20. bilobed; lodiculous 2, sometimes 3,
1983. stamens 3-4, filament free. styles 2,
sometimes 3.
2) Clavinodum Wen, Journ. Bamb. Res.
3(2): 23-25. 1984. Tribus Arundinarieae Clavinodum oedogonatum (Z.P. Wang
Steudel. et G.H. Ye) Wen type species, in Journ.
Bamb. Res. Vol. 3. No. 2. 1984. Found in
Typus generis: CIavinodum oedogo- Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces,
natum (Z.P. Wang et G.H. Ye) Wen the type specimen was collected in the
(Fig, 2). Wuyi Mountain, Fujan province.
This genus was newly established by the
author also, in the Journal Bamboo Claoinodum globinodum (C . H . H u )

193
 Keng f. et Wen, in Journ, Bamb, Res. tive at margin, sheath-ligules long ciliates
Vol. 3. No. 2. Found in Guangdong at the apex; leaf-blades setose; deter-
province, Hainan. minated infloresence racemus; spikelet
3) Ampelocaiamus S.L. Chen Wen et petioled, with 5-7 florets; stamen 3; styles
C.Y. Sheng, Act. Phytotax. Sin 19(3): 2.
332-334. 1981. (Fig. 3). Owing to a lack of knowledge about
This genus is a rather perculiar one. It the features of its rhizomes and culms for
differs from other genera of Bambu- a long time, the genus was kept under
soideae by the following characters: sym- genera Pleioblastus, Arundinaria and
podial rhizome; culms slender climbing, Indocalamus for a time, in 1978, I col-
branches fine numerous, culm-sheaths lected an intact specimen in Hainan
much shorter than internode, both island, Guangdong province, thereby
sheath-auricles and leaf-auricles well clarifying the form of its rhizomes and
developed numerous long setose radia- culms. So wepublished this new genus.

Fig. 3 Ampelocaiamus actinotrichus (Merr. & Chun) S.L. Chen, Wen et G.Y. Sheng.
1. rhizome and culm. 2. flowering branch; 3. culm-sheath; 4-5. nodeculm; 6. apex of culm-sheath; 7. glumes and
pedicel; 8. floret; 9. palea; 10. lodicules; 11 stamen; 12. anther: 13 gynoecium; 14. a part of leaf; 15. a seta of
auricule-leaf.

194
Structure and Properties
 Anatomy and Properties of Bamboo
W. Liese
Institute of Wood Biology and Wood Preservation of the Federal
Research Centre for Forestry and Forest Products,
Leuschnerstr, 91, 2050 Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract chymatous ground tissue. At the peripheral

zone of the culm the vascular bundles are
The numerous alternatives in the use of smaller and more numerous, in the inner
bamboo depend on the unique properties of parts larger and fewer (Figs. 1, 2). Within the
its culm. In order to understand the anatom- culm wall the total number of vascular
ical and chemical make-up and its ensuing bundles decreases from bottom towards the
mechanical properties, an attempt has been top, while their density increases at the same
made to summarize the accessible informa- time. The culm tissue is mostly parenchyma
tion. and the vascular bundles which are com-
posed of vessels, sieve tubes with companion
Anatomy cells and fibres. The total culm comprises
about 50% parenchyma, 40% fibre, and
Gross anatomy: The properties of the 10% conducting tissues (vessels and sieve
culm are determined by its anatomical struc- tubes) with some variation according to
ture. The culm consists of internodes and species. The percentage distribution and
nodes. At the internodes, the cells are axially orientation of cells show a definite pattern
oriented, whereas at the nodes, cells provide within the culm, both horizontally and ver-
the transverse interconnections. No radial cell tically. Parenchyma and conducting cells are
elements, such as rays, exist in the inter- more frequent in the inner third of the wall,
nodes. Within the nodes an intensive branch- whereas in the outer third the percentage of
ing of the vessels occurs. These also bend fibers is distinctly higher. In the vertical direc-
radially inward and provide transverse con- tion the amount of fibres increases from
duction through the nodal diaphragms, so bottom to top and that of parenchyma
that all parts of the culm are interwoven. The decreases (Fig. 3) The common practice of
outer part of the culm is formed by two epi- leaving the upper part of a cut culm unused in
dermal cell layers, the inner appearing thicker the forest is therefore a waste with regard to
and highly lignified. The surface of outermost its higher fibre content.
cells are covered by a cutinized layer with a Parenchyma: The ground tissue consists
wax coating. The inner parts of the culm con- of parenchyma cells, which are mostly ver-
sist of numerous sclerenchyma cells. Any tically elongated (100 x 20 urn) with short,
lateral movement of liquids is therefore much cube-like ones interspersed in between. The
hindered. Pathways for penetration are thus former are characterized by thicker walls with
only the cross ends of the culm and to a much a polylamellate structure (Fig. 4); they
smaller extent the sheath scars around the become Iignified in the early stages of shoot
nodes. growth. The shorter cells have a denser cyto-
The gross anatomical structure of a trans- plasm, thinner walls and retain their cyto-
verse section of any culm internode is deter- plasmic activity for a long time. The function
mined by the shape, size, arrangement and of these two different types of parenchyma
number of the vascular bundles. They are cells is still unknown.
clearly contrasted b y the darker colored Of interest in the structure of parenchyma
sclerenchymatous tissue against the paren- walls is the occurrence of warts in many taxa

See also recent GTZ publication: Bamboos - Biology, Silvics, Properties, Utilization by Liese, 1985 - Ed,

196
 Figure 2. Overview of 6 culm s e c t i o n , Dendrocalamus giganteus.

2.10.18.26. 2 10.1826. 2.10.18.26

internodes
Ftgure 2. Three-dlmenslonal view of culm tissue with
vascular bundles. parenchyma fi bres

vessels, phloem
like Bombusa, Cephalostachyum, Dendro-
calamus, Oxytenanthera, Thyrostachys, Figure 3. Percentage of cell type in the vertical direction
which have not been observed so far in the of a culm;Cephalostachyum perqracile.
parenchyma of hardwoods. Genuine warts
have to be carefully distinguished from cyto-
plasmic debris, which are also frequent in chyma cells of bamboo is perhaps an expres-
parenchyma cells after the death of the proto- sion of the close association of lignin-like
plast. Their distribution is variable from very nature of warts, since warts have not been
dense to sparse. Among the species observed in non-lignified cells (Parameswaran
examined the parenchyma cells appear to and Liese, 1977).
possess a even higher number and density of Vascular bundles: The vascular bundle
warts than fibres and vessel members. in the bamboo culm consists of the xylem with
Their size varies from 120 - 520 nm. The one or two smaller protoxylem elements and
occurrence of warts in the lignified paren- two large metaxylem vessels (40 - 120 urn)

197
 ing wall material, which are connected with
each other by membranes in the early stages
of development. During extension growth of
the cell, they are disrupted.
The walls of metaxyiem vessels of bam-
boo are characterized by a middle lamella and
a primary wall together with a well developed
zonation of the secondary wall into Sl and
S2. Whereas the Sl possesses a flat spiral
arrangement of fibrils (90 - 95O) the S2 zone
shows a slight deviation from the known fibril
orientation in tracheids. The fibrils are
arranged at an angle of 30 - 90 to the cell
axis; also microlamellae are present with
fibrils arranged in a fan-like fashion. This wall
structure perhaps to be considered as
normal, is modified In some taxa like Oxy-
and the phloem with thinwalled, unlignified tenatherd abysinica a n d Melocanna bam-
sieve tubes connected to companion cells busoides to such an extent that a polylamellae
(Fig. 5). The vessels possess large diameters construction results, resembling a paren-
in the inner parts of the culm wall and become chyma wall with the herringbone pattern of
small towards outside. These water conduct- fibrillar arrangement whereby the number of
ing elements have to function throughout the
layers are mostly restricted to two to four
lifetime of a culm without the formation of (Parameswaran a n d Liese. 1 9 8 0 ) . W a r t s
any new tissue, as in the case of hardwoods have been observed in the metaxylem of
and softwoods with cambial activity. In older vessels of Oxytenanthera nigrociliata, Melo-
culms, vessels and sieve tubes can become
canna bambusoides. Gigantochloa a l t e r . f.
partly impermeable due to depositions of gum- nigra. Schizostachyum blumei. a n d S
like substances, thus losing their conduc- brachycla dium. T h e p i t s o f t h e s e vessels
tivity which may cause death of the aged towards the surrounding parenchyma of
culms. The one or two tracheary elements of
adjacent vessel elements are slightly bor-
the protoxylem have mostly annular thicken- dered. Their membrane consists of fibrils with
ings. They are local areas of stasis accumulat- a net-like texture, resembling hardwood pits,

198
Figure 6. Different types of vascular bundles. I: Phyllostachys edulis. I/ Cephalostachyum pergracile.
III Oxytonanthcra albociliata, IV: Thyrsostachys oliveri,

199
 Of particular interest is also the presence Type III and IV : Bambusa,
of a protective layer in the parenchyma cells Dendrocalamus.
adjacent to metaxylem vessels; it consists of Gigantochloa. Sinoclamus
polysaccharides of the cellulose and hemicel- Leptomorph genera have only the vascu-
lulose type without lignification. This observa- lar bundle type I, whereas pachymorph
tion extends the presence of such a layer to genera possess types II, III and IV. Size and
monocots, besides dicots and softwoods. shape of the vascular bundles vary across an
Both the metaxylem vessels and the internode but also with the height of a culm.
phloem tissue are surrounded by scleren- Fibres: The fibres constitute the scleren-
chyma sheaths. They differ considerably in chymatous tissue and occur in the internodes
size, shape and location according to their as caps of vascular bundles and in some
position in the culm and the bamboo species species additionally as isolated strands. They
(Grosser and Liese, 1971; 1973; Wu and contribute to 40 - 50% of the total culm
Wang, 1976; Jiang and Li, 1982). tissue and 60 - 70% by weight. The fibres
Four to five major types of vascular are long and tapered at their ends. The ratio
bundles can be differentiated (cf. Fig. 6). of length to width varies between 150 : 1 and
Type I : consisting ,of one central vascular 250 : 1. The length shows considerable varia-
strand; supporting tissue only as tion both between and within species.
sclerenchyma sheaths; Fibre measurements for 78 species were
Type II : consisting of one central vascular summarized by Liese and Grosser (1972).
strand; supporting tissue only as Generally, the fibers are much longer than
sclerenchyma sheaths; sheath at those from hardwoods. Different values have
the intercellular space (pro- been reported for one and the same species.
toxylem) strikingly larger than the The reason is mainly due to the considerable
other three; variation of fibre length within one culm.
Across the culm wall the fibre length often
Type III : consisting-of two parts, the central increases from the periphery, reaches its
vascular strand with sclerenchyma maximum at about the middle and decreases
sheaths and one isolated fibre towards the inner pan. However, few species
bundles; show a general decrease from the outer part
Type IV : consisting of three parts, the cen- towards the center. The fibres in the inner
tral vascular strand with small part of the culm are always much shorter (20
sclerenchyma sheaths and two - 40%).
isolated fibre bundles outside and An even greater variation of more than
inside the central strand; 100% exists longitudinally within one inter-
Type V : a semi-open type representing a node: the shortest fibres are always near to
further link in the evolution ten- the nodes, the longest in the middle part (Fig.
dency _ 7). With increasing height of the culm there

The vascular bundle types and their dis- node

tribution within the culm correlate with the
taxonomic classification system of Holttum
(1956) based on the ovary structure.
For example:
Type I alone : Arundinaria,
Phyllostachys, Fargeria,
Sinanundinaria
Type II alone : Cephalostachyum,
Pleioblastus node
Type II and III : Melocanna,
Schizostachyum fibre lenght
Figure 7. Variation of fibre length within one, internode.
Type III alone : Oxytenanthera

200
occurs only a slight reduction in fibre length.
As the fibre length serves as an important
criterion for pulping suitability, any measure-
ment has to consider the distinct pattern of
variation within the culm by taking represen-
tative samples.
The fibre length is positively and strongly
correlated with fiber diameter, cell wall thick-
ness and internode diameter, but not with
lumen diameter and internode length. The
fibre diameter varies between 11 and 19 urn,
the lumen diameter between 2 - 4 um and
the cell wall thickness between 4 -- 6 urn.
The ultrastructure of most of the fibres is char-
acterized by thick polylamellate secondary
walls. This lamellation consists of alternating
broad and narrow layers with differing fibrillar
orientation (Fig. 8). In the broad lamellae the
fibrils are oriented at a small angle to the fibre
axis, whereas the narrow ones show mostly a
transverse orientation 1 The narrow lamellae
exhibit a higher lignin c o n t e n t t h a n t h e
broader ones. A typical tertiary wall is not pre-
s e n t , b u t i n s o m e taxa (Oxytenanthera.
Bambusa, Ochlandra) warts cover the inner-
most layer (Parameswaran and Liese, 1976;
1981) The polylamellate wall structure of the
fibres especially at the periphery of the culm
leads to an extremely high tensile strength, as Figure 9. Model of thepolylamellate structure of a thick
demonstrated in engineering constructions walled bamboo fibre
with bamboo culms. Fig. 9 demonstrates
the finestructural make-up of a bamboo fibre. The wall of the sieve element is charac-
The polylamellate structure does not exist in terized by microfibrils oriented parallel to each
the cellwalls of fibres or tracheids of normal other in a concentric manner around the cell
wood. and perpendicular to cell axis, creating a
In culms with curved internodes no strong birefringence in the polarizing micro-
reaction tissue comparable with the tension scope. The sieve element wall contains gen-
wood-fibres of h a r d w o o d s h a s b e e n erally only cellin material without obvious
observed, Some of the fibres with secondary signs of lignification even in mature stages.
walls possess septa in their lumina as in the Due to the prolonged and continuous growth
case of hardwoods. The obvious difference is of bamboo culms over more than 30 years it is
the presence of secondary thickening of the conceivable that the sieve elements and
otherwise normally formed septum with a metaxylem, vessels remain active in their
middle lamella-like layer and a primary wal1. transport function over several decades. Dis-
In the polylamellate fibres it is surprising to tributed among the sieve elements are com-
find septa containing several secondary wall panion cells, which are characterized by
lamellae, which are continued into the longi- dense cytoplasm and a large nucleus. Mito-
tudinal wall of the fibres. These septa are chondria are numerous and the endoplasmic
lignified, a phenomenon normally absent in reticulum is extensively ramified. Plastids are
hardwood fibres. few, The companion cells are connected with
the sieve elements by plasmodesmata, which
Phloem: The phloem consists of large are branched on the companion cell side with
thin-walled sieve tubes, among which smaller a weak callose development.
companion cells are distributed. The fine
structural studies have revealed the presence
of plastids in sieve tubes characterized by Chemical Properties
osmiophilic cuneate proteinaceous bodies
and lattice-like crystalloids with parallel Chemical constitution: The main con-
tubular units. The plastids in sieve elements stituents of the bamboo culms are cellulose,
are devoid of starch. This type of plastid (P hemicellulose and lignin; minor constituents
IIb) is characteristic of the Poaceae. Thus consist of resins, tannins, waxes and inor-
Bambusaceae belonging to the Poaceae of ganic salts. The composition varies according
the Order Poales constitute yet another group to species, the conditions of growth, the age
with a definite plastid type, implying its of the bamboo and the part of the culm.
taxonomic significance, as has been sug- Because the bamboo culm tissue matures
.gested for other families. within a year when the soft and fragile sprout
The density of the cytoplasm is caused by becomes hard and strong, the proportion of
the presence of numerous ribosomes. At the lignin and carbohydrates is changed during
periphery there occurs a rough endoplasmic this period. However, after the full maturation
reticulum, which is extensively developed. of the culm, the chemical composition tends
Mitochondria with well defined cristae are to remain rather constant. Tables 1, 2 give
also present. Distinct, P-protein-like filament approximate chemical analysis for some bam-
have not been observed at any stage. Dictyo- boo species. Small differences exist along a
somes are few. Occasionally, microbodies- culm, as shown in Table 2. The nodes contain
like structures have been noticed with fila- less water-soluble extractives, pentosans, ash,
mentous contents. The peripherally located and lignin but more cellulose than the inter-
nucleus is elongated and lobed. With the nodes. The season influences the amount of
aging of the sieve elements there originates a water-soluble materials, which are higher in
vacuole in the centre of the cell, restricting the the dry season than in the rainy season. The
cytoplasm to the periphery. The plastids still starch content reaches its maximum in the
contain well-developed cuneate protein- driest months before the rainy season and
aceous bodies in addition to paracrystalline sprouting. The ash content (1 - 5%) is
structures as well as vesicular and tubular higher in the inner part than in the outer one.
units. The sieve elements are connected with The silica content varies on an average from
each other by sieve pores which are lined with 0.5 to 4%. increasing from bottom to top.
small callose platelets. Most silica is deposited in the epidermis, the

202
 Table 1. Chemicalcompoadtion of some bamboo0(Tamolang et al.1980)

H&cellulose Pentosans Lignin Akoholbenzene Hot 1 % Ash Silica

Species (%) (%) (%) (%) water NaOH (%) (%)
(%) (%)
Gigantochlca levis 62.9 18.8 24.2 3.2 4.4 28.3 5.3 2.8
Gigantochloa aspera 61.3 19.6 25.5 5.4 3.8 22.3 4 .1 2.4
Bambusa vulgaris 66.5 21.1 26.9 4.1 5.1 27.9 2.4 1.5
Range of values - 15. 1 22.0- 0.2- 3.4- 15.0- 1.7- 0.44
for 10 Indian 21.5 32.2 3.2 6.9 21.8 3.2 2.1
bamboo species
Range of values 61.9- 17.5- 19.8- 0.9- 5.3- 22.2. 0 8- 0 l-
for 10 Japanese, 70.4 22.7 26.6 10.8 11.8 29.8 3.8 1.7
Burmese and Indonesian
bamboo species

Table 2. Chemical coniposition of Phyllostachyspubescens at different heights (Li 1983)

Hot water 1%
Holocellulose Pentosans Lignin Ash alcoholbenzene extracts NaOH
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
upper culm 54.1 31.8 24.7 1.2 6.0 7.0 25.6
middle culm 53.6 30.8 24.5 1.2 7.6 8.5 27.6
lower culm 54.4 32.9 24.0 1.1 7.4 9.3 28.3

skin zone, whereas the nodes contain little by hardwoods. With regard to the presence of
silica and the tissues of the internodes almost arabinose it is closer to softwoods. Thus, the
none. Silica content affects the pulping pro- bamboo xylan is intermediate between hard-
perties of bamboo. wood and softwood xylans. These results
Cellulose and hemicellulose:The indicate that the bamboo xylan has the
cellulose in bamboo amounts - as holocellu- unique structure of Gramineae (Higuchi,
lose - to more than 50% of the chemical 1980).
constituents. As in other plants it consists of Lignin: After cellulose, lignin represents
linear chains of 1, 4 bonded hydroglucose the second most abundant constituent in the
units (C2H1206). The number of glucose units bamboo and much interest has been focused
in one molecular chain is referred to as the on its chemical nature and structure. Bamboo
degree of polymerization (DP). The DP for lignin is a typical grass lignin, which is built up
bamboo is considerably higher than for dico- from the three phenyl-propane units p-
tyledoneous woods. Cellulose is difficult to coumaryl, coniferyl, and sinapyl alcohols
isolate in pure form because it is closely asso- interconnected through biosynthetic
ciated with the hemicelluloses and the lignin. pathways.
More than 90% of the bamboo hemicellu- Bamboo grows very rapidly and com-
loses consist of a xylan which seems to be a 1, pletes the height growth within a few months
4-linked linear polymer forming a 4-0-methyl- reaching the full size. The growing bamboo
D-glucuronic acid, L-arabinose, and D-xylose shows various lignification stages from the
in a molar ratio of 1 .O : 1.3 : 25 respectively. bottom to the top portions of the same culm
It is in the main chain linear, but appears to be (Itoh and Shimaji, 1981). The lignification
different from the xylan found in the woods of within every internode proceeds downward
gymnosperms with regard to the degree of from top to bottom, whereas transversely it
branching and molecular properties. Further- proceeds from inside to outside. During the
more, the bamboo xyIan contains 6 - 7% of height growth lignification of epidermaf cells
native acetyl groups, which is a feature shared and fibres precede that of ground tissue

203
parenchyma. Full lignification of bamboo Fibre saturation point and shrink-
culm is completed within one growing age: The fibre saturation point is influenced
season, showing no further ageing effects. No by the composition of the tissue and the
difference has been detected in lignin com- amount of hygroscopic extractives. Since
position between vascular bundles and paren- fibres and parenchyma have apparently a dif-
chyma tissue (Higuchi et al., 1966). Bamboo ferent fibre saturation point, their varying
has been chosen as one of the suitable plants amount within a culm leads to different
to study the biosynthesis of lignin. lnitially, values. The fibre saturation point conse-
these investigations were almost exclusively quently differs within one culm and between
based on feeding experiments with radio- species. For Dendrocalamus strictus the mean
active precursors and it has been known that value was determined to be about 20%, for
lignin is synthesized from glucose formed Phyllostachys pubescens about 13% (Ota,
by photosynthesis via the Shikimic acid 1955) .
pathway (Higuchi, 1969). Several key
Unlike wood, bamboo begins to shrink
enzymes involved in the synthesis of shikimic
right from the beginning of seasoning. The
acid were isolated from bamboo shoots shrinkage affects both the thickness of the
(Fengel and Shao, 1984; 1985). culm walls and the circumference. Seasoning
of mature bamboo from green condition to
Physical and Mechanical about 20% moisture content leads to a
shrinkage of 4 to 14% in the wall thickness
Properties and 3 to 12% in diameter. Bamboo tissue
shrinks mainly in the radial direction, and the
Moisture content: The moisture con- minimum deformation occurs in the axial
tent varies within one culm and is influenced direction. The tangential shrinkage is higher
by its age, the season of felling and the in the outer parts of the wall than in the inner
species, In the green stage greater differences parts. The shrinkage of the whole wall
exist within one culm as well as in relation to appears to be governed by the shrinkage of
age, season and species. Young, one-year the outermost portion, which possesses also
old shoots have a high relative moisture con- the highest specific gravity. Mature culms
tent of about 120 - 130% both at bottom shrink less than immature ones.
and top. The nodes, however, show lower
values than the internodes. These differences Value of shrinkage from freshly felled to
can amount to 25% of the water content and the oven-dry state were determined for Phyl-
are larger at the base than at the top. In culms lostachys pubescens as follows: tangential:
of 3 - 4 years the base has a higher moisture 8.2% for the outer part of the wall and 4.1%
content than the top, e.g. for Dendrocalamus for the inner; radial: 6, 8% for the outer part
strictus about 100% and 60% relative and 7.2% for the inner; longitudinal: 0.17%
moisture content respectively. The moisture for the outer part and 0.43% for the inner.
content across the culm wall is higher in the Shrinkage starts simultaneously with the
inner part than in the outer part. decrease of moisture content but does not con-
tinue regularly As water content diminishes
The season has a great influence on the
from 70 to 40%, shrinkage stops; below this
water content of the culm, with a minimum at range it can again be initiated. Parenchyma
the end of the dry period, followed by a tissue shrinks less in bamboo than in timber,
maximum in the rainy season, During this while vascular fibres shrink as much as in
period the stem can double its water content. timbers of the same specific gravity. When the
The variation due to the season is higher than moisture content is low, swelling due to
the differences between base and top as well absorption of water is almost equal to shrink-
as between species. Among species the water age. Moist heating leads to irreversible swelling
content varies even in the same locality. This in all directions. The percentage of swelling
is mainly due to the variation in the amount of decreases with an increase of basic density
parenchyma cells, which corresponds to (Kishen et al., 1958; Sekhar and Rawat,
water holding capacity (Liese and Grover, 1964).
1961). The considerable differences in the
moisture content of freshly felled culms have
to be considered when determining the yield Seasoning: The cut bamboo should first
of bamboo expressed by its fresh weight. b e dried for at least four weeks preferably

204
standing upright. Lying horizontally almost drying. This shrinkage takes place in the early
doubles the drying time. stages of seasoning. The outer fiber bundles
are pressed together but the inner ones are
Air seasoning under cover is preferred,
stretched and this causes severe stresses.
but seldom possible. Kiln seasoning under
Immature bamboo is more liable to collapse
controlled conditions can be performed in
about two to three weeks, but is considered to than mature. Because of faster drying during
the dry season, collapse occurs more often
be uneconomical. The different seasoning
behaviour of bamboo species is chiefly due t o than during the rainy season. The lower
portion with thicker walls is more liable to
the different culm wall thickness which is the
most important factor in controlling the rate of collapse than the upper portion. Slow drying
drying. The bottom part, therefore, takes bamboo species are apparently more liable to
much longer to season than the top portion. collapse than others.
The rate of drying of immature cuims is gen- To avoid seasoning defects, several
erally faster than that of mature ones, b u t methods of pretreatment have been tried.
since the former have a higher moisture con- Soaking in water for two to six weeks did not
tent they need longer. In the initial stages improve the seasoning behaviour. Actually
drying occurs quite rapidly, but slows down the devaluation due to checking, splitting and
gradually as drying progresses. collapse was more severe in soaked pieces
Compared with timber of the same than in controls. Also water-soaked bamboo
specific gravity, the drying period needed for smells unpleasant, due to change of its
air or kiln drying is longer due to the higher organic constitutents. On the other hand,
initial moisture content and the presence o f pieces which have been soaked are not liable
water soluble extractives in the parenchyma to be attacked by powder post beetles during
cells. Their hygroscopicity in humid air is of subsequent storage as the food material for
about the same degree as invert sugar. The the beetles leaches out during soaking.
water absorption of dried bamboo therefore is Presteaming of green bamboo culms did
quite rapid compared with that of timber. not improve the seasoning as cracking and
Bamboos, from which water-soluble extrac- collapse still occur. Heat treatment over an
tives have been removed by soaking, d r y open fire can be applied if the culms are
faster and take up moisture slower than half dry already, i.e. with not more than 50%
untreated ones. moisture content.
Seasoning defects:Several defects can Changes in colour can occur during sea-
occur during seasoning. They may be due to soning. Fresh bamboo normally looks green
the poor initial condition of the culm, due to or rather yellowish according to the stage of
excessive shrinkage during drying or both. maturity, it changes during seasoning to a
End splitting is not so common or severe light green shade. Immature bamboos turn
as in timber. Surface cracking can occur emerald green and mature ones pale yellow.
during drying with all species. Cracks start at Culms which are slowly air-dried develop a
the nodes but their extent depends on the darker yellow colour than those which are
species and wall thickness. Thick-walled dried rapidly in a kiln.
mature bamboo is especially liable to crack. A Specific gravity and mechanical pro-
deformed surface of the round cross-section perties: The specific gravity varies from
of immature bamboo is common. Thick- about 0.5 to 0.8 (0.9) g/cm3. The outer part
walled species evince an uneven outer sur- of the culm has a far higher specific gravity
face, and cracks quite often develop on the than the inner part. The specific gravity in-
inner side of the wall. Considerable shrinkage creases along the culm from the bottom to the
can take place in the middle part of the inter- top. The mechanical properties are correlated
nodes, which become concave. with specific gravity. Bamboo possesses ex-
Collapse is a most serious seasoning cellent mechanical properties. These depend
defect. It occurs during artificial as well as mainly on the fiber content and therefore vary
natural drying processes and leads to cavities considerably within the culm and between
on the outer surface and to wide cracks on the species. At the base, for example, the bend-
inner part of the culm. Green bamboo is apt ing strength of the outer part is 2 - 3 times
to collapse due to differential tension during that of the inner part. Such differences

205
become smaller with increasing height of the remarkable reduction in all strength proper-
culm. With the decreasing thickness of the ties.
culm wall there is an increase in specific Since there are still no standard methods
gravity and mechanical strength of the inner of evaluating the strength properties of bam-
parts which contain less parenchyma and boo, as in the case of wood, the results are
more fibers, whereas these properties in the based on different methods of testing and on
outer parts change only slightly. The variation widely varying dimensions (Limaye, 1952;
of strength properties is much greater in the Sekhar and Bhartai, 1960).
horizontal direction than in the vertical direc-
tion (Janssen, 1981), The superior tensile strength of bamboo in
relation to wood and steel is demonstrated by
A close correlation exists between specific the following comparison: a steel bow of a
gravity and maximum crushing strength. It 2
certain quality (SA 37) of 1 cm with 1 m
seems that resistance to compression parallel length has a weight of 0.785 kg and a
to the grain is more or less uniform, hardly ultimate tensile force of ca. 40 kH; a stick
being affected by the height of the culm. For from wood with the same length and weight
bending strength and modulus of elasticity, would have a cross section of 13.5 cm2 and a
higher values were obtained from the upper breaking point at 80 kN, but one from bam-
part. Bamboo splints with the epidermis boo with 12 cm2 would resist up to 240 kN;
downwards have a higher fiber stress, bend- e.g. six times that of steel. The moisture con-
ing strength and modulus of elasticity than tent has a similar infIuence on the strength as
those with the epidermis upwards. Splints it has in timber. Generally in the dry condition
without nodes have about one to two times the strength is higher than in the green condi-
the ultimate tensile strength of timbers such as tion. This increase in strength with seasoning
spruce, pine, oak and beech. is more obvious for younger culms than for
The specific gravity of the nodes is gen- older ones. The differences between the air
erally higher .than that of the internodes due dry and green condition are sometimes
to less parenchyma, whereas bending relatively small, especially for bending and
strength, compression strength and shear cleavage (cf. Table 3) (Ota, 1953).
strength are lower. This is due to the irregu-
larity of the grain, caused by the arrangement
of cells. The presence of nodes thus leads to a

Table 3. Mechanical properties ofPhyllostachys pubescens in the water saturated, air dry and
oven dry state (Suzuki 1950)

water
Property Part saturated air dry oven dry
Bending strength 0uter 250 270 370
N/mm2
inner 120 144 160
Cleavage strength outer 6 7 8
N/mm2
inner 5 6 8
whole 6 7 8
Shear strength whole 9 11 18
N/mm2
end 49 63 91
outer
side 22 25 37
Janka-Hardness
N/mm2 end 27 32 66
inner
side 13 17 37

206
Influence Of Age Higuchi, T., Kimura, N. and Kawamura, I.
1966. Difference in chemical properties
Age is an important factor for the devel- of lignin of vascular bundles and of
opment of strength properties. It is a general parenchyma cells of bamboo. Mokuzai
assumption that bamboos mature until about Gakhaishi 12: 173-178.
three years and have then reached their max- Higuchi, T. 1969. Bamboo Iignin and its bio-
imum strength. Investigations with Dendro- synthesis. Wood Research 48: l-14,
calamus strictus have shown that in the green (Kyoto)
condition older bamboo culms have higher Higuchi, T. 1980. Chemistry and biochem-
strength properties than younger ones (the istry; bamboo for pulp and paper of bam-
moisture content of the latter is much higher) boo. Bamboo Research in Asia. Ed. G.
In the dry condition, however, higher values Lessard, A. Chouinard. IDRC, 51-56,
were obtained at the age of one and two years Ottawa.
than from older culms. Tests on splints from Itoh, T. and Shimaji, K. 1981. Lignification of
the central portion of the culm wall indicated bamboo culm (Phyllostachys pubescens)
better strength properties for one year old during its growth and maturation. Bam-
bamboo than for two years old ones, whereas boo Production and Utilization. 104-l 10.
those of culms of later years were slightly In: Proc. XVII IUFRO Congress Group
lower. Comprehensive tests by Zhou (1981) 5.3. Ed. T. Higuchi. Kyoto, Japan.
revealed a further increase of strength proper-
ties with age, viz for radial and tangential Janssen, J.J.A. 1981. The relationship
bending strength up to 8 years and for tensile between the mechanical properties and
strength and compression strength (parallel to the biological and chemical composition
the grain) up to 5 years. Older culms (10 of bamboo. Bamboo Production and
years) showed a decrease in all strength pro- Utilization, 27-32. In: Proc. XVII IUFRO
perties. Congress Group 5.3. Ed. T. HIguchi,
Kyoto, Japan.
Besides the above mentioned variations
of properties within one culm, marked differ- Jiang Xin and Li Qian. 1982. Preliminary
ences exist among individual culms from the study on vascular bundles of bamboo
native to Sichuan, Journal of Bamboo
same stand and even more among those from
different localities. Needless to say. strength Research 1: 17-21.
properties vary considerably between different Kishen, J., Ghosh, P.P. and Rehman M.A.
species. 1958. Studies in moisture content,
shrinkage, swelling and intersection point
of mature Dendrocalamus strictus (male
References bamboo). Indian Forest Records, New
Ser. 1: 11-30.
FengeI. D. and Shao, X. 1984. A chemical Li, 1983. Report. Institute of Wood Industry,
and ultrastructural study of the bamboo Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing.
species Phyllostachys makinoi Hay.
Wood Science and Technology 18: 103- Liese, W. and Grover, P.N. 1961. Unter-
112. suchungen uber den Wassergehalt von
indischen Bambushalmen. Ber. Deutsche
Fengel. D. and Shao, X. 1985. Studies on Botanische Gesellschaft 74: 105- 117.
the Iignin of the bamboo species Phyl-
Iostachys makinoi Hay. Wood Science Liese. W. and Grosser, D. 1972. Unter-
and Technology 19: 131-137. suchungen zur Variabilitat der Faserlange
bei Bambu s . Holzforschung 26: 202-
Grosser. D. and Liese. W. 1971. On the 211.
anatomy of Asian bamboo with special
Liese. W. 1985. Bamboos biology, silvics
reference to their vascular bundles.
Wood Science and TechnoIogy5: 290- properties, utilization. Gesellschaft fur
technische Zusammenarbeit Schriften-
312.
reihe, Eschborn (in press) _
Grosser, D. and Liese. W. 1973. Present
Limaye, B.E. 1952. Strength of bamboo
status and problems of bamboo classifica-
(Dendrocalamus strictus). Indian Forest
tion. J. Arnold Arboret. 54: 293-308.
Records N.S. 1: 17.

207
Ota, M. 1953. Studies on the Properties of Sekhar, A.C. and Bhartari, R.K. 1960,
bamboo stem (Part 9). On the reIation Studies on strength of bamboos: a note
between compressive strength parallel to on its mechanical behaviour. Indian
grain and moisture content of bamboo Forest, 86: 296-301, Dehra Dun.
splint. Bulletin of the Kyushu University Sekhar, A.C. and Rawat, M.S. 1964.-Some
Forests 22: 87- 108. studies on the shrinkage of Bambusu
Ota, M. 1955. Studies on the properties of nutans. Indian Forest 91: 182-188,
bamboo stem (Part 11). On the fiber- Dehra Dun.
saturation point obtained from the effect Suzuki, Y. 1950. Studies on the bamboo
of the moisture content on the swelling (VI). Dependence of the mechanical pro-
and shrinkage of bamboo splint. Bulletin perties of PhyIIostachys pubescens Magel
of the Kyushu University Forests 24: 61- et H. de Lehaie upon the moisture
72. content. Bulletin Tokyo University
Parameswaran, N. and Liese, W. 1976. On Forests 38: 181-186.
the fine structure of bamboo fibres. Wood Tamolang, F.N., Lopez, F.R., Semana,
Science and Technology 10: 231-246. J.A., Casin, R.F., and Espiloy, Z.B.
Parameswaran, N. and Liese, W. 1977. 1980. Properties and utilization of Philip-
Occurrence of warts in bamboo species. pine bamboos. Bamboo Research in
Wood Science and Technology 11: 313- Asia, ed. G. Lessard, A. Chouinard.
318. IDRC, 189-200, Ottawa.
Parameswaran, N. and Liese, W. 1980. Wu, S. and Wang, H. 1976. Studies on the
UltrastructuraI aspects of bamboo cells. structure of bamboos grown in Taiwan.
Cell. Chem. Technology 14: 587609. Bulletin of the National Taiwan University
Parameswaran, N. and Liese, W. 1981. The 16: 79.
fine structure of bamboo. Bamboo Pro- Zhou, F.C. 1981. Studies on physical and
duction and Utilization. 178-183. In: mechanical properties of bamboo woods.
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Ed. T. Higuchi. Kyoto, Japan. College of Forest Products 2: 1-32.
 Anatomical Studies on Certain Bamboos
Growing in Singapore
A.N. Rao
Department of Botany, National University of Singapore,
Lower Kent Ridge Road, S i n g a p o r e 0511

Abstract field, 1980) Bamboos are the woody grasses

that are comparatively less specialised than
Bamboos are common useful plants in the the herbaceous species in Gramineae. The
Asian tropics mostly used by the rural people taxonomy of Bambusoideae is based on
for food, housing and other utility purposes. spikelet structure (Gilliland, 1971) and
Like other natural resources their production among others, the limitations imposed by a)
is decreasing and there is a renewed interest infrequent flowering of the various species,
to promote their cultivation for economic and b) lack of suitable fresh flowering
benefits. The constraints are several including materials for study are obvious. Hence,
t h e b a s i c i n f o r m a t i o n o n p l a n t g r o w t h ,its attempts are also made to use vegetative
structure and function. It is amazing to see so characters and here again the details are
much paucity in our knowledge on bamboo enumerated by very few observations on
anatomy. In this paper the anatomical details fresh materials and the emphasis is based on
of the shoot apex, axillary buds, young and the morphology of culm leaves (Gilliland,
mature stems, culm and regular leaves and 1971; Holttum, 1958). Although bamboos
roots are presented. The need for further posses fairly conservative structures many
b a s i c s t u d i e s t o w a r d s i m p r o v i n g thep l a n t variations are seen at subspecific or varietal
growth and production is stressed. levels. A detailed study especially in the field as
Apart from individual scientific contribu- well as on herbarium materials is necessary.
tions, active teamwork is necessary to pro- For all practical purposes an illustrated simple
mote both research and manpower training in guide to identify the useful bamboos would be
Asian countries. The latter is most important of great practical value since biologists of
and urgent since there are very few in the field various disciplines are interested in the pro-
who are familiar with the taxonomy, growth pagation, genetic improvement and multiple
and reproduction of bamboos. Multinational use of bamboos.
work programmes based on the model of The unique growth habit of bamboos and
certain on-going projects are suggested. their fast growth rates provide an excellent
opportunity to improve the biomass. This is
very important to many of the poorer coun-
Introduction tries where forest resources are fast depleting
and people are faced with many hardships
caused by the lack of timber and fuel wood
The history of bamboos is inextricably
(Anon, 1980).
interwoven with the history of man, especially
in tropical countries. Most of the developing After the earlier work of Arber (1934),
and poor countries are in the tropical zone nothing much has been,done on the growth,
and bamboo is a poor mans plant. The family structure, cytology and reproduction of bam-
Gramineae is one of the biggest among angio- boos. Nevertheless the general interest in
sperms with 450 genera and 4,500 species bamboos continues among the biologists in
(Willis, 1951). Bamboos are classified into 21 general, and the foresters in particular. Their
genera and 170 species. In tropical Asia alone observations and reports are published from
there are 14 genera and 120 species (Drans- time to time (McClure, 1966). The first Sym-

209
posium on Bamboos held in Singapore vated bamboo species present in Singapore.
(sponsored by International Development
Research Centre of Canada) and the publica-
tion of the proceedings therefrom is a signifi- Materials And Methods
cant contribution in this decade, updating the
available information on bamboo research in Large mature clumps of bamboo species
Asia (Lessard and Chouinard, 1980). Most are growing wild in the nature reserves as well
of the papers published are country or status as the cultivated groups in Singapore Botanic
reports emphasizing the need to increase Gardens. Certain species like Bambusa uerti-
bamboo production for economic gains. cillate and other grass bamboos are also culti-
Some of the authors have clearly emphasized vated in private gardens. About six genera
the urgent need for further basic research on and 23 species are locally present (Table 1).
bamboos that would help the conservation of The following eight species are presently
genetic resources and the propagation of investigated: Bambusa pergracile, B. teres, B.
superior bamboos in great numbers employ- tulda, B. vulgaris, Gigantochloa oerticillata,
ing both traditional and modern methods. Schizostachyum brachycladum, S. jaculans
Due to a variety of reasons, the bamboos and Thyrsostachys siamensis. The materials
are difficult if not complex materials to work were collected, p h o t o g r a p h e d a n d t h e
with and hence the paucity of knowledge on required parts were fixed in FAA. ButyI
many basic aspects, including anatomy alcohol series was used for dehydration. The
(Esau, 1965; 1977; Fahn, 1967; Cutter, embedding of tissues, microtoming and stain-
1971). This paper is a brief report on certain ing were carried out following the standard
anatomical characters of some wiId and culti- methods (Sass, 1951).

Table 1. Bamboos growing in Singapore Botanic Gardens with Acquisition Numbers.

1. Bambusa dolichoclada. W. 260B.

2 . B. glaucescens. W. 247.
3. B. pergracile. W. 253.
4. B. teres W. 252.
5 . B. tulda W. 233.
6. B. variegata. W. 271.
7 . B. ventricosa. W. 232, W. 264A, W. 269, W. 275.
8. B. vulgaris W. 243A, A. 260A, Y 95, Y 95A.
9 . Dendrocalamus pendulus. W. 280.
1 0 . Gigantochloa apus. W. 254, W 277A, W 302.
1 1 . G. naname. W. 278.
12. G. verticillata W. 256B.
1 3 . Phyllostachys sp. W. 248, W. 249.
1 4 . Schizostachys brachycladum W. 231. W. 268, W. 277.
1 5 . S. jaculans* W. 154, W. 243.
1 6 . Thyrsostachys siamensis W. 215, W. 222, W. 237, W. 262, W. 277.
1 7 . Bambusa arundinacea.
1 8 . B. heterostachya.
1 9 . B. ridleyi.
20. B. oerticillata.
2 1. Dendrocalamus strictus
22. Gigan tochloa levis .
23. G. ridleyi.

!" Used in the present study; easily accessible and ideally situated for growth studies. 17-23. less commonly
found due to urbanisation.

210
Observations Unlike the culm sheaths, which are variable in
shape and size, the lamina of the regular
Morphological considerations: Both leaves are less distinctive at the species level.
taxonomic and general descriptions are avail- They are all dorsiventral structures and their
able for the species mentioned in Table 1, and sizes vary in different species (Figs. l-8). Both
many of them are commercially important axillary as well as accessory structures are
species (Gilliland, 1971; Holttum, 1958) common and the latter are more profuse at
Hence, these details are not repeated again. the lower nodes developing into roots. Some
The healthy mature clumps of bamboos of the axillary buds at higher nodes develop
grown in Singapore Botanic-Gardens are into lateral branches.
easily accessible to study the growth charac- Shoot apices: The origin and develop-
teristics. Due to the humid tropical climate the ment of shoots in woody monocots is unique
growth, in general, is non-seasonal and new in many respects. The apices in most of them
shoots are produced all the year round. In are conical (Fig. D, l-6). The apex of B.
some species the growth is more profuse in vulgaris is comparatively broader than others
the post monsoon period of February-April. (Fig. D, 3). The developing leaf primordia are
The fresh bamboo shoots are of varied sizes arranged more or less at the same transverse
and shapes, all covered with compactly level, protecting the shoot apex and contri-
arranged culm sheaths (Figs. l-8). The culm buting to the formation of abroad massive
sheaths vary in size and shape depending on structure (Fig. D, 3). In all of them the devel-
the species examined (Figs. A-C). The oping leaves grow vertically and parallel to
elongation of the axis or the culm the axis and cover the apex. The photographs
commences when the shoots are approx- in Fig. D, 1-6 are the general view of the
imately 2-3 feet long, and the cone-shaped apices taken at lower magnification showing
structure becomes axial with distinct nodes apex, developing leaves and their arrange-
and internodes. The culm sheaths are placed ment as well as the gradual distinction seen in
distant apart due to internodal elongation and the formation of nodes and internodes. The
they fall off after 120-160 days after the inter- closer view of the shoot apices are shown in
node elongation begins. How long the bam- Fig. E, l-8. The tissue organization in them
boo shoots would take, in terms of days or conforms to the generalized angiosperm
weeks, to emerge out of the soil surface and pattern with regular tunica, corpus, peripheral
grow further into culms is yet to be deter- and rib meristems (Fig. E, 1, 3, 5, 7). The
mined. The bamboo clumps studied presently tunica consists of two well defined cell layers
are more than 30-50 years old according to and they are distinctly seen in all the species
the records maintained in the Gardens. investigated (Fig. E, 2, 4, 6, 8). The corpus
Although most of the bamboo species grow in zone is about six to ten layers deep below the
clumps there are certain variations among inner layer of the tunica with many darkly
them. Some of the clumps are very dense stained, isodiametric cells. The nuclei are
due to heavy accumulation of debris, soil and large compared to cell size and contents. The
rhizomes. Size, colour, length of internodes tissue below the corpus is highly meristematic.
and formation of aerial branches are all vari- Active growth of this region results in the for-
able. The basal part of the clump in certain mation of more tissue towards the establish-
species like B. pergracile, B. vulgaris is very ment of the stem axis (Fig. E, 2, 4, 6, 8). The
woody, dense and form thick rhizome plexus corpus zone extends into the rib meristem
which appears as a raised platform of 2-4 feet below and laterally into the peripheral meri-
above ground and the dense culms emerge stem, the tissues of which are actively dividing
out of the thicket. In other species the begin- and densely stained (Fig. E, 1, 3, 5, 7). Very
ning of each culm can be seen separately. many prominent vascular strands are also
The size, colour and the thickness of the present. The rib meristem basal to the corpus
growing axes vary among these different differentiates into a very distinct intercalary
species (Figs. A, B, l-4). Some of the axillary merisrem with many meristematic cell layers.
buds at the mature nodes grow to form the The derivatives of these layers are added on
lateral branches at the base of which many basipetally which enlarge and in sections the
roots are formed. The number of young central part of the apex appears lighter in
shoots formed from each bud is variable. colour (Fig. E, 1, 3, 5, 7).

211
212
213
214
 The leaf primordia develop at the flank of corpus region. The leaf primordia remain
the shoot apex and most of them form the small and more than six to eight prophylis are
leaf sheaths (Fig. E, 1, 3, 5, 7). Many of them present in certain buds. The first two pro-
have a bigger or thicker base and the terminal phylis formed would cover the bud for a long
part ends as an attenuated structure. Majority time and these are well vascularised (Fig. F,
of the primordia have a knick or depression in 6, 7). The subtending axial tissue below the
the middle and others split in the middle or at bud undergoes a series of periclinal divisions
the base (Fig. E, 1, 5, 7). The bamboo shoots and many curved layers of meristematic tissue
are covered by a variety of sheath-like struc- are present organising the shell zone (Fig. F,
tures that encircle the stem. The various 6). There is considerable variation in bud
primordia develop into culm s h e a t h s , development among the different species
sheath blades, ligules and other outgrowths studied. In B. teres and B. vulgaris, no bud
on the iigules. Thus the apex as a whole is a initiation is seen even up to l0- 12 leaf stage.
centre of immense activity producing a large They seem to develop much later (Fig. F, 1,
number of primordia that differentiate into 2). In others, such as G. verticillata, S.
many varied structures subsequently (Fig. E, jaculans, T. siamensis and B. teres the bud
1,3,5,7). primordia develop much earlier (Fig. E, 1, 5,
From about the level of eighth to tenth 7). More number of apices cut both trans-
node the demarcation between nodal and versely and longitudinally need to be
examined to determine the early or late bud
internodal regions becomes distinct. The
nodal plates appear as dark cross bars sepa- development and their relative positions to
one another. This is very important to corre-
rating the lightly colaured internodal regions
(Figs. D, E). The intercalary meristem at two late the rate of shoot growth and the influence
of bud dominance in branching.
nodes are enlarged (Fig. G, 8, 9). In the for-
mer, the files of actively dividing cells are v e r y Structure of bamboo shoots:The
clear and neatly arranged. In the latter, which conical bamboo shoots were studied in detail
is an older node the nodal plate has become (Figs. A, B, l-4). The young axis is sur-
thicker with vascular strands traversing in dif- rounded by a number of culm sheaths and
ferent directions. The intercaiary meristem is when these are removed one by one the
intact both below and above the nodal plates. young stem is exposed. In B. pergracile, B.
The disintegration of cells making way for the vulgaris B. tulda and B. teres the conical
hollow cavity is also in progress (Fig. G. 9). shoots are relatively massive when compared
Axillary buds: The bud primordia are with other species (Figs. A, B, l-4). The
distinct and they can be distinguished from central cylindrical stem is relatively soft and
the leaf primordia even during early stages of easy to section. The various regions of the
development. The latter develop as stem axis were studied a) from the periphery
elongated, slender structures growing acrope- to the centre and b) from the tip to the base.
tally over-arching the main apex. in contrast The cortical region shows a single layered
the primordia of the axillary buds are asym- epidermis and the surface is usually covered
metrical in outline since the growth is more with many epidermal hairs (Fig. G, 1, 2, 4).
towards the leaf than on the stem side. Buds About two to three subepidermal layers also
in different stages of development are shown consist of small cell layers followed by the
in Fig. F, 1-6. Because of their sloping posi- ground tissue in which the numerous vascular
tion the first prophyli formed towards the axis bundles of different sizes showing varying
is shorter, somewhat triangular in outline and stages of development are present (Fig. G, 2-
grows parallel to the stem axis and the second 5). In some, only groups of fiber cells are pre-
prophyl1 is longer, over-arches the apex and sent with one, two or few vascular elements.
joins the triangular structure. Both of them Judged by the configuration and structure, it
cover the developing apex (Fig. F, 5, 6). The is clear that fiber cells develop early and there
middle part of the bud enlarges and the sub- is no synchronisation in development either
sequent leaf primordia originate as lateral between the vascular and non-vascular ele-
structures. The apical region outgrows the pri- ments or between the xylem and phloem
mordia and develops into a broad dome tissues. Also the peripheral bundles of similar
shaped apex. The apex of the axillary bud sizes show varied number or quantity of
also shows a two-layered tunica and a regular xylem and phloem tissues. In contrast, the

216
Figure F, 1-7. 1. LS. shoot apex B, teres showing development of leaf primordia. 2. L.S. shoot spex Thyrsostachys
siamensis. Note the elongated apex with many leaf primordia and a single axillary bud on right hand side of the axis. 3.
7. L.S. apex of B. teres showing the development of axillary buds. The early prophylls arch over the apex and central
part of the bud enlarges. well protected. The central dome and prophylls are well developed as seen in 6 and 7. Two-
layered tunica and corpus are very clear in 7.

bundles in the centre are fairly uniform in size to the cortex (Fig. 6). Since tissues for sec-
and contents (Fig. G, 6). Both proto and tioning were taken at random from the differ-
metaxylem as well as phloem can be easily ent regions of the cone, no generalization can
distinguished. The sclerenchymatous caps be made on the sequential development of
seem to develop later. In general, it is clear vascular strands with regard to their relation-
that the vascular bundle development is cen- ship to the main apex or the nodes. It is poss-
trifugal. In B. teres there are many radial ible to establish the relative degree of tissue
vascular strands extending from the periphery maturity in the massive, conical bamboo

217
shoots with reference to the enlargement of sheaths or caps present either in two or three
the axis and the nodal positions. Similarly, a groups.
correlation can also be established between In most of the cases, only young stems are
the vascular bundles that are present in the used and obviously the distinct fiber strands or
outer and inner cortical regions. caps are yet to develop. The pith cavity for-
Culm sheath: The bases of culm sheaths mation is distinct in B. vulgaris, S. jaculans
are cut along with the tender main axis (Fig. G, and T. siamensis (Figs. H, 6; I, 1, 2). The
4, 5, 7). The transections of these show dis- stem structure of B. teres is shown in detail
tinct structural variations between their outer with both the peripheral and central part of
and inner surfaces. As in the stem the outer the axis with intact perenchyma (Fig. H, Z-5).
epidermis consists of a single layer of cells with Within the central part there are two distinct
or without epidermal outgrowths. One or two vascular bundles, slightly smaller in size than
subepidermal layers differentiate into scleren- those present in the inner peripheral region.
chyma. The rest of the mesophyll is undiffer- The arrangement of the vascular tissues in
entiated and the cells increase in their size these two medullary bundles is similar to
towards the inner epidermis. The vascular those in the peripheral region. The demarca-
bundles are of different sizes and shapes tion between the peripheral and central
either oval or round (Fig. G, 4, 5, 7) covered regions is also clear (Fig. H, 3). Another very
all round or partly by prominent sclerenchy- interesting detail is that most of the enlarged
matous bundle caps. In the early stages of pith cells have two or more nuclei in them
development, the vascular bundles occupy (Fig: H, 4, 5). In B. vulgaris the innermost cell
almost or more than half of the cross sectional layers adjacent to pith are somewhat thick-
area of the sheath. With subsequent develop- walled and very distinct almost appearing as a
ment of the mesophyll, more towards the border zone (Fig. H, 6).
inner epidermis, the vascular bundles are
restricted more towards the outer epidermis Root structure: As seen in transverse
sections, the young roots show a number of
(Fig. G, 5, 7). The inner epidermis is small,
epidermal hairs, fairly straight and majority of
one-layered, distinctive with thickwalled cells.
them are uninucleate (Fig. 1, 5). Below the
Facing the bigger bundles there is a group of
epidermis there are. three to four layers of
smaller cells with characteristic thick walls
sclerenchyma followed by a uniform region of
resembling collenchyma. Many of the
parenchyma. The stelar structure is typically
enlarged mesophyll cells in T. siamensis had monocotyledonous with regular endodermis
two or more nuclei in them (Fig. G, 7).
and distinct vascular groups of xylem and
Stem structure: The aerial stems of the phloem. Many large air spaces are present
different species studied show the monocot both in cortex and the stelar regions which
type of stem anatomy with a distinct epider- seem to be a common feature in many
ma1 layer, ground tissue and big vascular grasses. In the older roots the hairs are slightly
bundles (Figs. H, 2, 6, 8; I, 1, 3). In S. thicker and many of them have small kinks
jaculans the epidermis is more prominent and curved outlines. In a few cases even the
than in others- with enlarged cells, with three branching of root hairs is seen (Fig. I, 6, 7).
to four layers of smaller subepidermal cells
Root hairs are simple epidermal out-
that develop later into regular sclerenchyma
growths, commonly formed on young roots,
(Fig. H, 8). in other species, the subepi-
showing very few or no abnormalities in their
dermal scierenchyma is formed early (Figs.
cell morphology. Very few cases are known
H. 2, 6; I, 3). The ground parenchyma is
where the root hairs are actually branched
homogeneous in nature with cell size increas-
(Rao and Chin, 1972). Such details are dis-
ing centrifugally. Additional enlarged cell cussed mostly in relation to certain dicots and
groups surrounding the vascular bundles are
this seems to be the first instance for mono-
distinct in certain species like S. jaculans and
cots and especially the bamboos (Rao and
B. pergracile (Fig. H, 1, 8, 9) These cell
Chin, 1972).
layers may develop into thick sclerenchyma at
subsequent stages. The smaller bundles are The structure of rhizome and root system
arranged nearer the periphery and the larger is important since they are adaptable to a
bundles are towards the centre. The vascular variety of soil conditions and prevent soil
bundles are collateral with sclerenchyma erosion. In many ways they are much more

219
220
221
efficient than the grasses which are the early sclerenchymatous humps. T h e v a s c u l a r
colonisers of the cleared or open land. bundles in the leaves show the regular mono-
Leaf structure: Leaves in the family cotyledonous structure and a group of scler-
Gramineae are specialised structures. Many enchymatous cells interconnect the vascular
of them are primarily the protective structures bundles with upper and lower epidermis (Fig.
covering the growing parts of t h e rhizome, J, 3, 10, 12). Stomata are commonly present
shoot apices and axillary buds. The rhizome on the lower epidermis and in leaf transec-
sheaths are simple, triangular in outline with tions the guard cells appear smaller than the
small pointed ends and near the apex the epidermal cells and devoid of papillate out-
margin is sometimes serrated. The structure growths or thick cuticle (Fig. J, 3, 5, 12).
that covers the bamboo shoots and young
stems are the culm sheaths which have
smooth, adaxial and rough abaxial surfaces, Discussion
the latter surface covered with many types of
epidermal outgrowths including hairs (Fig. C, The well known work on bamboos by
l-3). The culm sheath is also triangular in out- McClure (1966) summarises the basic work
line and the basal part is broad with a narrow done until 1960s. A critical survey of litera-
terminal part (Fig. C, l-3). Distinct Iigule and ture. however reveals the fact that by and
auricles may be present at the point where the large the basic botany of bamboos is yet
broad base slightly narrows down to form the to- be worked out and recorded in a pro-
triangular structure (Fig. G, 9-l 1). The third per manner. The literature available at pre-
structure is the foliage leaf with the basal sent is fragmentary, scattered and inadequate
sheath or a petiole and a regular lamina. and the reasons are not too difficult to under-
The transections of the lamina in different stand. Like in other aspects of tropical plants.
species reveal an upper epidermis, two or whether wild or cultivated, there is very little
three layers of mesophyll with or without a effort made to study them well by the local
distinct palisade layer, fairly large air spaces, scientists. Lack of trained manpower is
lower mesophyll and lower epidermis (Fig. J, another problem. Only taxonomic studies are
1-13). The upper epidermal layer is more dis- fairly complete and here again, there is no
tinctive than the lower with groups of bulli- well illustrated simple guide, easy to use by
form cells which are bigger in certain species the common man or others not familiar with
than in others (Fig. J, 4. 5, 8. 10. 12). The technical terms.
groups of bulliform cells alternate with air More specifically, as it refers to the present
spaces. The cuticle is thick on both the layers study, it was very revealing to note that there
and in many of them like B. teres, B. tulda, is hardly any good paper describing the
B. vulgaris and G. verticillata the cuticle on anatomy of bamboos. The list of references
lower epidermis is papillate (Fig. J, 3, 5, 8). given by McClure (1966) and in the proceed-
In S. brachycladum the palisade layer is much ings of the last workshop on bamboos in Asia
more prominent. The plicate or lobed condi- would substantiate the above statement.
tion is common in many of the outer Standard recent reference works on plant
mesophyll layers. At places where either air anatomy (Esau. 1977; Fahn. 1967; Cutter.
spaces or the bulliform cells are present the 1971) or even some of the older works
upper palisade is restricted to a single layer. (Goebel. 1930; Eames and McDaniels. 1947;
The second layer is represented by a group of Eames. 1961) do not provide much informa-
two or four cells that form a bridge intercon- tion due to the lack of any anatomical
necting the upper mesophyll with the lower. research. The recent papers published by
The size and extent of air spaces are also vari- other Asian or German botanists are not
able (Fig. J. 1. 2. 4. 6, 7. 9, 11. 13). In B. easily available since they are in local jour-
tulda, G. verticillata and S. jaculans the pro- nals. As stated before. bamboo anatomy
minent intercostal ridges are occasionally pre- is hard to work since most of the structures
sent and these form regular hump-like struc- provide a good challenge to microtomy and
tures and each one of these consists well the structures are relatively difficult to inter-
developed sclerenchymatbus tissue (Fig. J. 9. pret. even though many other grasses
11). Both the number and the size of bulli- including the various cereal crops are fairly
form cells increase between these groups of well studied. Another reason for this inade-

222
Figure J, X-13. Leaf transections as seen under low and high magnifications. 1. B pergracile. 2. 3 B teres 4, 5 B
tulda 6, 1 0 S . brachycladum 7. 8, B vulgarIs 9 G, uerticillata. 11 S. jaculans 12, 13. T siamensis the upper
and lower epidermis are distinct in all with bulliform cells on the upper and stomata on the lower Sclerenchyma humps are
formed in some as seen in 9 and 1 1 Bundles are connected with epidermis by sclerenchyma pegs

223
quacy in our knowledge is the general give rise to leptomorph or pachymorph rhi-
assumption that all is well with bamboos and zomes will not only be very interesting to
they grow well naturally or in plantation. Only understand the growth habits of bamboos but
recently when the natural supply is running also would help to improve their propagation
short or inadequate to meet the needs of the by vegetative cuttings,
increasing population there is a renewed The stem structure is relatively well
interest in increasing bamboo production. For studied and four types of vascular bundles are
the same reason, two international work- recognised which also lend support to the sys-
shops have been conducted within a period of tematics of the group (Liese, 1980; Holttum,
five years. 1958). The materials studied at present came
from young stems and the number of scleren-
Perhaps there are no other single group of chymatous caps or groups could not be
plants that display so many variable vegeta- clearly determined for this reason.
tive characters as bamboos and our know-
ledge about the developmental aspects of The bamboo leaf structure is similar to
these is very limited. those of other grasses with characteristic bulli-
form cells, presence of larger air spaces and
The general organisation of shoot apex big vascular bundles with characteristic bundle
conforms to the pattern well known in angio- sheaths (Esau, 1977). Many of these details
sperms and there is only one earlier study on are also recorded presently. The structural
Sinocalamus ( = Bambusa) beecheyana, dis- variations noticed between regular leaves and
tributed in China (Hsu, 1944). This work is culm sheaths are interesting especially the dif-
not quoted in other works or easily missed for ferences in mesophyll and t h e n a t u r e o f
reasons unknown. The axillary bud develop- vascular bundles. Whether these differences
ment takes place early in the second or third are present in all the bamboos is yet to be
leaf axils which is different from the majority determined and different types of sheathing
of the species studied presently. organs should be studied in detail. The mor-
The shoot apex in woody monocotyle- phogenesis of different types of leaves will be
dons is very interesting as recorded in the interesting both from the descriptive and
case of palms (Ball, 1941; Tan and Rao, experimental points of view. It closely
1980). The primary thickening meristem resembles heterophyllous condition since the
characteristic of palms (Ball, 1941) is absent same axis from rhizome to fleshy shoots to
in bamboos. The prominent tissues of the flank strong aerial axes produce three different
region, commonly seen in palms is seen pre- types of foliar structures. This is an interesting
sently only in case of Bambusa vulgaris. The problem to work with.
differentiation of many procambial strands
and the prominent peripheral meristem are As an outcome of the previous workshop
similarities noticed between palm and bam- meeting in Singapore several important
boo shoot apices. The plicate leaf condition research needs and priorities were identified
seen in other monocots is absent in bamboos and recommended. Very briefly these include
(Periasamy, 1980). the following: a) Studies on culm anatomy to
determine or correlate the strength and struc-
Some of the bamboo shoots are very tural properties. b) Detailed studies on bam-
massive structures and they are very richly boo fibres. c) Factors responsible for natural
vascularised as evidenced by the formation of regeneration in bamboos. d) Identifying the
vascular strands. A detailed anatomical study easily recognisable vegetative characters. e)
to show the differences between the hard Propagation by tissue culture and shoot cul-
mature culm and the soft tissues in the bam- ture for mass production and germplasm
boo shoots would be interesting and so also exchange. f) To use the juvenile tissues on the
the node and internode development culm for large scale propagation. following
between the young bamboo shoots emerging the experiences gained in sugarcane. g) To
at the ground level and the aerial wood identify very easy methods for vegetative pro-
culms. The environmental conditions under pagation so that the bamboo industry can be
which these two develop are totally different. revolutionised. h) Increasing the quantity of
The morphogenesis of different kinds of propagules/hectare. i) More frequent use of
axillary buds, single or multiple, or those that bud material for in vitro studies and a few

224
others. The papers presented in the second the National University of Singapore for the
workshop have provided a few or some award of research grant FSOF 3/80 under
answers and indicators to solve some of the which this work has been carried out.
problems posed earlier.
With the number of papers presented in References
the form of valuable contributions towards
improving the quality and quantity of bam-
boos in Asia and with different suggestions Anon, 1980. Firewood crops. National
made, we are now in a better position to plan Academy of Sciences, Washington,
further activities to achieve the objectives laid D.C., USA.
down. Foremost is the need to improve the Arber, A. 1934. The Gramineae. Cambridge
basic work on bamboos and here we have to University Press, Cambridge.
use the existing expertise in different countries
Ball, E. 1941. The development of the shoot
so that no time or money is unnecessarily
wasted by repeating the same research in four apex and the thickening meristem. Amer.
or five countries simultaneously, unless the Jour. Bot. 28: 820-832.
nature of the problem is such that it needs Cutter, E. 1971. Plant Anatomy: Experiment
attention by different people in several labora- and Interpretation. Addison-Wesley,
tories. Several models are already available London.
like Asian Mangrove project supported by Dransfield, S. 1980. Bamboo taxonomy in
UNDP and others. Under this project both the Indo-Malesian region. 121-130. In:
training and research programmes are Proc. Workshop on Bamboo Research in
included with the main objectives of improv- Asia, Singapore. (Eds.) G. Lessard and
ing the trained manpower for specific A. Chouinard. IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
researches. Wherever possible, the skills of
the staff already working need to be Eames, A.J. 1961, Morphology of the Angio-
improved. New staff should be technically sperms. McGraw Hill, New York.
trained to work on bamboos. Improvement of Eames, A.J. and MacDaniels, L.H. 1947. An
bamboos in Asia can be launched as an inter- Introduction to Plant Anatomy. McGraw
national project and the different activities can Hill, New York.
be coordinated by one or two persons. Any Esau, K. 1965. Plant Anatomy. John Wiley
money, manpower and efforts spent in this & Sons, New York.
direction will pay rich dividends in the near Esau, K. 1977. Anatomy of Seed Plants.
future. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
For many of the big world organisations Fahn, A. 1967. Plant Anatomy. Pergamon
such a project may be a very insignificant one Press, Oxford.
and they may not have the necessary man-
power which means establishing a new Gilliland, H.B. 197 1. Grasses of Malaya.
section to manage the project. By launching a Govt. Printing Press, Singapore.
new medium-sized project for three or four Goebel, K. 1930. Organographie der
years many of such cumbersome procedures Pflanzen. Gustav. Fischer, Jena.
can be avoided which would also bring the Holttum, R.E. 1958. Bamboos of Malaya.
desired results within a shorter period of time. Gdns. Bull. (Sing.) 16: l-35.
Hopefully the benefits derived can be shared Hsu, J. 1944. Structure and growth of the
by all and many of the needs of poor rural shoot apex of Sinocalamus beecheyana
people can be easily met. McClure. Amer. Jour. Bot. 31: 404-411.
Lessard, G. and Chouinard, A. 1980. Bam-
Acknowledgements boo Research in Asia. IDRC, Ottawa,
Canada.
I am grateful to Dr C B Sastry , IDRC, Liese, W. 1980. Anatomy of bamboo. 161-
Singapore for inviting me to participate in the 164. In: Proc. Workshop on Bamboo
workshop meeting; to my colleagues Mr Research in Asia. Singapore. (Eds.) G.
Johnny Wee, Mr Ong Tang Kwee and Mdm Lessard and A. Chouinard. IDRC,
Chan Siew Khim for their technical help and Ottawa, Canada.

225
McClure, F.A. 1966. The Bamboos. Harvard Sass, J.E. 1951. Botanical Microtechnique:
Univ. Press, Cambridge, USA. Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa,
USA.
Periasamy, K. 1980. Development of leaf
Tan, K.S. and Rao, A.N. 1980. Certain
piication in non-palms and its relation to aspects of developmental morphology
what obtains in palms. 108-116. In:
and anatomy of oil palm. 266-285. In:
Proc. Intl. Symp. Histochemistry, Devel- Proc. Intl. Symp. Histochemistry, Devel-
opmental and Structural Anatomy of opmental and Structural Anatomy of
Angiosperms. Madras University, P & B Angiosperms. Madras University. P & B
Publ. , Trichy, India. Publ., Trichy, India.
Rao, A.N. and Chin, S.C. 1972. Branched Willis, E.J. 1951. Dictionary of Flowering
and septate root hairs in Melastoma Plants. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cam-
malabathricum. Cytologia 37: 111-118. bridge.

226
 Observations on Vascular
Bundles of Bamboos Native to China
Jiang Xin and LiQion*

Sichuan Agricultural College, China

*Yaan High School, China

Abstract Type I Vascular bundles are separated by

parenchyma.
The arrangement of vascular bundles,
(A) No air canals in cortex (Fig. 1). Bam-
presence or absence of cortical air spaces, the
boos of this type are the following:- Phyllo-
extent of parenchyma between the bundles
stachys arcana, Ph. aurea, Ph. aureosulcata,
are used as the important criteria in the
present study of bamboo types. About 45 Ph. bambusoides, Ph. bambusoides var.
species of 10 genera are classified under four tanakae, Ph. bambusoides var. castilloni, Ph.
bambusoides var. castilloni-inverssa, Ph.
major types.
besseti, Ph. decora, Ph. dulcis, Ph. flexsuosa,
Using vascular bundle arrangement as the Ph. glauca, Ph. glauca f. yunzu, Ph. meyeri,
criterion in leptomorph rhizomes* of bam- Ph. nigra, Ph. nigra var. henonis, Ph. nuda,
boos, ten genera and 45 species of bamboos P h . n u d a f. localis, Ph. viridis, Ph. platy-
native to China can be classified into the fol- glossa, Ph. praecox, Ph. prapinqua and Ph.
lowing four major types: pubescens.

Fig. 2. Phyllostachys robvstiramea.

Phyllostachys nigra var. henonis
l Leptomorph rhizomes are the same as monoaxial and amphiaxial rhizomes. In China the bamboo rhizomes are
divided into three kinds, moaoxial, amphiaxial and sympodial rhizomes
227
 Type II Vascular bundles are isolated.
Between them, there are fibres - cell groups
in rectangular, round, or variant forms, and
they are never linked. These are mostly peri-
pheral in position. No air canals in cortex
(Figs. 3 and 4). Bamboos characteristic of this
type are as follows: Indocalamus longiauritus,
1, victorialis, Pleioblastus amarus, P I .
gramineus, PI. sp., PI. sp., Psudosasa amabilis
and Sinobambusa tootsik.
Type III Vascular bundles are linked,
occasionally with very narrow gaps of paren-
chyma interrupting Air canals in cortex (Fig.
5). This type includes: Phyllostachys hetero-
clada and Ph. nidularia. ,
Type IV Vascular bundles are connected
in the form of a ring enclosing stele.
Fig. 3. Indocalamus victorialis,
(A) No air canals in cortex (Fig. 6). Bam-
boos of this type are as follows: Arundinaria
fargesii, Chimonobambusa utilis, Ch. qua-
drangular&, Ch. purpurea, Qionzbuea lumidi-
noda, Sasa unbigena and Sinarundinaria
fangiana.

I ; I . i n

Fig. 4. Pleioblastus amarus.

(B) Air canals are present in cortex (Fig.

2). Bamboos of this type are listed as follows:
PhyllostAchys robustiramea.
Fig. 5. Phyllostachys heteroclada.
 Fig. 6. Chimonobambusa utilis. Fig. 7. Chimonobambusa szechuanensis.

(B) Air canals in cortex (Fig. 7). Bamboos Observations have shown that there is cor-
of this type are: Chimonobambusa sze- relation between vascular bundle arrangement
chuanensis and Qionzhuea opienensis. mentioned above and with the other vegeta-
tive characters of a species. These are useful
characters in classification and identification.

229
 A Study on the Anatomy of the Vascular
Bundles of Bamboos from China
Wen Taihui and Chou Wenwei
Zhejiang Bamboo Research Centre, China

Abstract Introduction
This paper provides anatomical details of Anatomy of the vascular bundles of bam-
regular vascular bundles of the culms of 28 boo culm is a useful guide for bamboo tax-
bamboo genera with 100 species and five onomy. The details can be used when some
varieties from China, The characteristics of bamboos cannot be identified with their
the vascular bundles from the outer wall to flowers. It is also used in identifying some
the inner wall are also illustrated for certain bamboos from ancient cultural relics. In
species and this data helps to show the addition, the anatomical details will help to
difference between the consanguinity of the determine the splitting property, strength and
characteristics a n d m o r p h o l o g y of t h e the ratio of fiber strands of bamboo culm used
vascular bundles of bamboos of each genus. by modern papermaking industry, handicraft
It also provides valuable reference for iden- industry and other bamboo processing indus-
tifying bamboo material, articles made of bam- tries. This article introduces a simple method
boos, relics and fossils. for examining culm vascular bundles by using
The paper also describes a simple method only a saw, a knife and a magnifying glass.
ofpreparing and examining the cross sectional First cut a culm into three sections, the upper,
the middle and the lower part, then smooth
surface of bamboos. The method is con-
venientfor use infield examination. the cut with a sharp knife and smear it with
water. This will make the vascular bundles
The vascular bundles are categorized into visible, if seen through magnifying glass.
five types, that is, the double broken type, Bamboos can be identified on the basis of
broken type, slender-waist type, semi-open characteristics and features, arrangements
type and open type. and types of the vascular bundles. If the
Variations in vascular bundles and their cross-sectional area of vascular bundle
usefulness are mentioned. sheaths and the fiber strands are larger, then
the bamboo wood is strong and contain a
The anatomical characteristics of the culm
high percentage of fiber. If the vascular
vascular bundles are an important supple-
bimdles are evenly distributed the bamboo
ment to the classification of bamboos and
wood has a good splitting property.
appropriale examples are given.
The variations in distribution and anatom-
ical characters of Indocalamus and Sasa Materials and Methods
are discussed. The vascular bundles of Sasa
(inclusive of Sasamorpha) are all semi-open The plant materials used in this study in-
while those of Indocalamus are mostly cluded 99 species and 5 varieties belonging to
open type. The arrangement of the vascular 28 genera collected between 1976 and 1983
bundles of the genera is as follows: Indo- in Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Yuennan,
calamus: undifferentiated - semi-differ- Jiangxi, Shichuan provinces in China. Each
e n t i a t e d - semi-open - open. Sasa bamboo culm was cut into three sections, the.
(including Sasamorpha): undifferentiated upper, middle, and the lower part, about 0.2-
- semi-differentiated - semi-open. 0.3 mm thick taken from 5 cm beyond culm

230
nodes with a sharp knife. After being wetted, Serial of the vascular bundles from the
the section was observed under a micro- sections on the outer wall to the inner wall of
scope, 8 x 15, with a tessellated scale in its 3 segments were drawn, so that it could be
eye piece, and the figure was drawn on tessel- well seen from the drawing, size and arrange-
Iated paper to the scale. Other techniques like ment of the vascular bundles.
micrography and tracing were also used.

Collection of plant materials.

Test No. Scientific Name Place of Collection

2-1. 1 . Thyrsostachys siamensis Gamble Yunnan Xishuangbanna

2-1 2. Oxytenanthera nigrocilliata Munro Yunnan Xishuangbanna
2-1. 3. Gigantochloa ligulata Gamble Yunnan Xishuangbanna
3-1. 4. Dendrocalamus brandissi Kurz Yunnan Tengchong
3-l. 2. D. giganteus Munro Yunnan Xishuangbanna
3-l. 3. D. patellanis Gamble Yunnan Mangshi
2-2. 4. D. strictus Nees Yunnan Xishuangbanna
2-2. 5, D. latiflorus Munro Fujian Futing
2-2. 6. Neosinocalamus affinis (Munro) Keng f. Zhejiang dinghai
3-1. 5. N. distegius (Keng & Keng f.) Keng f. & Wen, ined. Yunnan Kunming
3-1. 7 . N. beecheyanus (munro) Keng f. & Wen, ined. Fujian Xiamen
2-3. 7 . Lingnania chungii McClure Zhejiang Dinghai
3-l. 9 . L. wenchouensis Wen. Fujian Futing
3-l. 1 0 . Bambusa basihirsuta McClure Zhejiang Dinghai
3-l. 1 1 . B. breviflora Munro Zhejiang Dinghai
3-l. 1 2 . B. dolichomerithalla Hayata Zhejiang Dinghai
3-l. 1 3 . B. eutudoides McClure Zhejiang Dinghai
3-l. 1 4 . B. gibbodes Lin Zhejiang Dinghai
3-1. 15. Bambusa glaucescens (Will) Sieb. Zhejiang Xunan
3-l. 1 6 . B. glaucescens var. shimadia (Hayata) Chia ex But Zhejiang Linhai
3-l. 1 7 . B. nana Roxb Zhejiang Pujiang
2-3. 8 . B. pervariabilis McClure Zhejiang Dinghai
3-l. 1 9 . B. textilis McClure Zhejiang Wenling
3-1. 20. B. textilis var. albo-stricta McClure Zhejiang Xiamen
3-l. 21. B. textilis var. glabra McClure Zhejiang Dinghai
3-1. 22. B. pachinensis var. hirsutissima (Odash.) Lin Zhejiang Dinghai
3-1. 23. B. tuldoides Munro Fujian
3-l. 24. B. vulgris Schrad Yunnan Kunming
3-2. 25. B. subtrimcata Chia ex Fung Zhejiang Dinghai
3-2. 26. B. lapidea McClure Zhejiang Dinghai
3-2. 28. B. oldhami Munro Zhejiang Dinghai
3-2. 27. B. prasina Wen Zhejiang Fingyang
2-3. 9. Dinochloa utilis McClure Guangdon Hainan
3-2. 29. D. orenuda McClure Guangdon Hainan
3-2. 32 Cephalostachyum fuchsianum Gamble Yunnan Mangshi
2-4. 1 0 . C. pergracile Munro Yunnan Xishuangbanna
2-4. 1 1 . Melocanna humils Kurz Fujian Xiamen
2-4. 1 2 . Schizostachyum pseudolima McClure Yunnan Luxi
3-2. 35. S. funghomii McClure Yunnan Xishuangbanna
3-2. 33. S. xinwuensis Wen Jiangxi Xunwu
3-2. 34. S. hainanensis Merr. Jiangxi Xunwu
2-4. 1 3 . Ampelocalamus actinotrichus (Merr. & Chun) Guangdon Hainan
Chen. Wen ex Sheng
2-5. 1 4 . Chimonocalamus pa/lens Hseuh ex Yi Yunnan Jinping

231
3-2. 27. C. fimbriatus Hseuh ex Yi Yunnan Luxi
4-3. 31. Ferrocalamus strictus Hseuh ex Yi Yunnan Jinping
2-5. 15. Fargesia farcta Yi Yunnan Luxi
3-2. 39. Fargesia ampullaris Yi Yunnan Luxi
3-2. 40. F. chungii (Keng) Wang ex Yi Yunnan Mongshi
3-2. 41, F. grossa Yi Yunnan Lijiang
3-2. 42. F. setosa Yi Yunnan Zhongdian
3-2. 44. F. edulis Yi Yunnan Kunming
2-5. 16. Yushania niitakayamensis (Hayata) Keng f. Zhejiang Linan
3-2. 46. Y. hirticaulis Wang ex Ye Jiangxi
3-2. 45. Y. wixiensis Yi Yunnan
3-2. 47. Y. hasihirsuta (McClure) Wang & Ye . Fujian C h o n g a n
3-2. 48. Y. confusa (McClure) Wang & Ye Jiangxi Huangan
5-2. 81. Chimonobambusa quadragularis Makino Fujian Sanmin
4-2. 23. C. setiformis Wen Fujian Wuyishan
5-2. 83. C. conoolta Dai ex Tao Yunnan Luxi
5-2. 80. C. armata (Gamble) Hsueh ex Yi Guangxi Luye
4-1. 17. Indosasa crassiflora McClure Guangxi Nanning
5-l. 50. 1. sinica Chu & Chao Yunnan Hekou
5-l. 51. 1. shibataeaoides McClure Guangxi Guilin
5-l. 63. I. glabrata Chu ex Chao Fujian Wuyi
5-l. 60. Sinobambusa intermedia McClure Sichunan Changning
5-l. 54. S i n o b a m b u s a rubroligula McClure Guangzhou
5-1. 52. S. edulis Wen Yunnan Malipo
5-l. 57. S. glabrecens Wen Zhejiang Qinguan
5-1. 55. S. nephroaurita Chu ex Chao Guangxi quangzhou
5-l. 56. S. tootsik var. Ieata (McClure) Wen Fujian anxi
4-l. 18. S. tootsik Makino Fujian anxi
5-1. 58. S. anaurita Wen Jiangxi Jingangshan
5-l. 62 S. giganteus Wen Zhejiang Longquen
4-1. 19. Semiarundinaria lubrica Wen Zhejiang Longquen
4-2. 20. Brachystachyum densiflorum Keng Zhejiang Jinghua
5-2. 71. Phyllostachys uiridis (Young) McClure Zhejiang Lin hai
4-2. 21. P. heterocycla (Carr.) Matsum Hangzhou
5-2, 70. Phyllostachys praecox Chu ex Chao Zhejiang Linhai
5-2. 72. P. stimilosa Zhou et Lin Zhejiang Linhai
5-1. 66. P. heteroclada Oliv. Zhejiang Linhai
5-l. 67. P. r u b r o m a r g i n a t a McClure Zhejiang Luoqing
4-2. 22. Pseudosasa amabilis (McClure) Keng g. Jiangxi
5-2. 74. P. longiligula Wen Guangxi Quanzhou
5-2. 75. P. contori (Munro) Keng f. Guangzhou
5-2. 76. P. orthotropa Chen ex Wen Zhejiang Taishun
5-2. 77. P. notata Wang ex Ye Fujian
4-2. 25. P l e i o b l a s t u s a m a r u s (Keng) Keng f. Fujian Jianyang
5-2. 86. PI. chino Makino Fujian Xiamen
5-2. 87. PI. ovatoauritus Wen, ined Zhejiang Luoqing
5-2. 88. PI. hisiaenchuensis Wen Zhejiang Qingyuan
5-2. 89 PI. kwangsiensis Hsiung Zhejiang Yongjia
5-2. 90. PI. matsunoi (Makino) Nakai Fujian Shanghang
4-3. 26. PI. gramineus (Bean) Nakai Guangzhou
5-2. 92. PI. oleosus Wen Jiangxi Fongxing
5-2. 93. PI. maculatus (McClure) Chu ex Chao Fujian Jiang ou
4-3. 27. Clauinodum bedogonatum (Wang et Ye) Wen Jiangxi Wuyishan

232
 Test No. Scientific Name Place of Collection

4-2. 24. Oligostachyum sulcatum Wang ex Ye Fujiang Mingqing

4-3. 28. Indocalamus tessellatus (Munro) Keng f. Zhejiang qingtin
5-2. 98. I. Iongiauritus Handel-Mazz Jiangxi Daiyu
5-2. 97. I. Iatifolius McClure Jiangxi Xunwu
5-2. 96. I. mogoi (Nakai) Keng f. Fujian Wuyishan
4-3. 29. Gelidocalamus stellatus Wen Jiangxi Daiyu
5-1. 64. Sasa qingyuanensis Hu Zhejiang Qingyuan
4-3. 30. S. sinica Keng Zhejiang Linan

Variations in the Vascular

Bundles

The vascular bundle includes both the paratively primitive with wide range of dif-
conducting tissue and the mechanical tissue. ferentiation. Based on vegetative characters
Joining up the plant parts, the underground the sympodials are divided into two groups,
rhizomes and the upper leaves, as a whole, sympodial rhizomes with short necks (clump)
the vascular bundles transport nutrient and long necks (spreading). The former
solution by vessels and sieve tubes. Because include genera Thyrsostachys, Dendro-
of the large size of the bamboo plant the con- calamus, Lingnania, Bambusa, Ampelo-
ducting tissue is reinforced by an outside calamus and Schizostachyum, and the latter
mechanical tissue which may facilitate circula- Chimonocalamus, Fargesia, Yushania.
tion. Melocanna, Pseudostachyum etc. The
Some species even have one or two fiber inflorescences are indeterminate as in
strands. The sectional area of these fiber Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Lingnania,
strands is usually greater than that of the Thyrsostachys and determinate in Ampelo-
central vascular bundle. The parenchyma in calamus, Chimonocalamus, Fargesia,
the vascular bundles serves as a buffer zone Yushania etc. The anatomical details of the
contributing to the elasticity of the culms, vascular bundles reflect the main evolutionary
trends.
without which the culms would be inflexible
and brittle. Near the epidermis, there are gen- The sympodial genera that possess the
erally one or two layers of fiber bundles, double-broken and broken types of vascular
closely arranged giving mechanical strength. bundle are Thyrsostachys, Dendrocalamus,
These are followed by one to three layers of Lingnania, Bambusa, Schizostachyum,
semi-differentiated vascular bundles with Gigantochloa, Oxytenanthera, Neosino-
incipient conducting tissue. Further inside are
calamus etc.
regular vascular bundles, generally in the
central part of the culm section, two to ten in
number.-The shape and arrangement of the Schizostachyum, Cephalostachyum,
Melocanna are sympodial but taxonomists
vascular bundles near the inner wall are irre-
gular, and the position of sclerenchyma usually do not treat them as the same, but
bundle sheath varies from sideward to out- group them separatly as a tribe named
ward or inward. Melocanneae or Schizostachyeae. This clas-
sification of a sub-tribe can be justified since all
Although the morphology of the vascular these genera have the bundles which are not
bundle varies a lot, it remains relatively stable the broken type but slender waist type. The
within a given internode of a species. sympodials with long necks like Fargesia and
Yushania are distributed at high elevation
with advanced indeterminate inflorescense
The Evolution of the Vascular which is considered more advanced than the
Bundle in Sympodial Bamboos sympodial with short neck type, also they have
their representive vascular bundles as open
Sympodial bamboos are said to be com- or semi-open type and not slender waist type.

233
The Character of Vascular In this changing process Indocalamus usually
Bundles of Running Type shows semi-open type before the regular open
type appears.
Bamboos
3) Open and semi-open type vascular
The monopodial and amphipodial type of bundles exist at the same time and sometimes
bamboos have long been classified into two they are of equal number, for example, Phyl-
major categories. The anatomical details of lostachys, Brachystachyum and species of
the vascular bundles are not distinct in these Subgen. Pleioblastus, as Pleioblastus amarus,
two categories. They both have open and Pleioblustus hsienchuensis, Pleioblastue
semi-open type of vascular bundles, (except oleosus and Pleioblustus maculatus. Phyllo-
in few species o f Chimonobambusa). stachys is intermediate among the running
Although Phyllostachys is a monopodial type, that is to say, the typical open type
genus, sometimes we can also find species vascular bundles of Phyllostachys are nearly
that have amphipodial rhizomes, such as P. as many as the semi-open ones. The regular
heteroclada, P. bombusoides and P. makinoi. vascular bundles of Brachystachyum are
The anatomy of the vascular bundles of mainly of open type, while those of Subgen.
running type of bamboos is different from Pleioblastus are mainly semi-open type.
that of clump type. Besides, the form and 4) Regular vascular bundles are mainly of
structure of the vascular bundles are different open type, but sometimes near the inner wall
from one another. and outer wall of the culms semi-open type
1) The typical semi-open type of vascular vascular bundles are found, and among the
bundles are found in Sass, Gelidocalamus, groups of vascular bundles there are layers
Semiarundinariu, Clavinodum, Oligo- of parenchyma. These can also be found
stuchyum, and the Subgen. Pleioblastus, in both Indosasa and Sinobambusa, which
Pleioblustus gramineus, P. matsunoi etc. Of show that the two genera not only look alike
these, Sass and Semiarundinaria consist of in their appearances but also have similar
vascular bundles which are somewhat typical. vascular bundle features.
In Sasa the upper, middle, or the lower part
have about six bundles but in Semiarun-
dinaria there are four vascular bundles in the A Generic Key to the Vascular
upper part, five in the middle and eight in the Bundles of Bamboos
lower part. The typical vascular bundles of
Gelidocalamus are of semi-open type except 1. The culm vascular bundles is broken
those near the inner wall of the upper part of once or twice in the middle and the lower or
the culm which are of open type. The vascular upper parts of the central vascular bundle has
bundles of Subgen. Pleioblastus are all of a proliferation of fibre strands,
semi-open type. 2. Co-existance of the broken type and
2) The genera that have all or nearly all double broken type of vascular bundles.
open -type vascular bundles are 3. The lower part of the culm with the
Ferrocalamus, lndocalamus and Pseudosasa. double broken type vascular bundles, the
Ferrocalamus has clump type, but its rhi- middle and upper parts with the broken type
zomes are amphipodial and the vascular vascular bundles.
bundle of the culms are of open type. The un-
differentiated vascular bundles on the outer 4. The vascular bundles of the lower part
wall of the culms of Ferrocalamus are excep- of the culm are mostly double broken type.
tionally big; therefore, the tissue in the wall is
5. The lower part of the culm with a con-
well developed and forms a strong and hard siderable number of vascular bundles, the
outer wall. Almost all the vascular bundles of
upper and middle parts with a sudden reduc-
Pseudosasa and Chimonobambusa are of tion of vascular bundles, the lower part with
open type. The regular vascular bundles of vascular bundles over twice as many as those
other genera are mainly open type.. In the in the. upper and middle parts . Thyrsostachys
process of changing from undifferentiated
vascular bundles to regular ones, the semi- 5. The lower part of the culm with many
open type gradually changes into open type. vascular bundles, but gradually reducing from

234
the middle part upwards . . . . . . Gigantochloa small vascular bundles, the inner sheaths of
vascular bundles near the inner wall are un-
4. The lower part of the culm with few
developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Schizostachyum
double broken type vascular bundles.
2. With the open type and semi-open
5, The lower part with outer vascular
type vascular bundles.
bundle sheath developed particularly well and
its section area is larger than the sum total of 3. With the open type regular vascular
other vascular bundle sheaths , . . . . . . . . . . . . bundles.
. . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dendrocalamus 4. The undifferentiated and semi-differ-
5. The lower part of the culm with outer entiated vascular bundles are especially well-
bundle sheath particularly well-developed and developed, the sectional area of sclerenchyma
its section area is as large as that of the left and is one to three times the size of the regular
right side vascular bundle sheath or smaller . . vascular bundles . , . . . . . . . . . . Ferrocalamus
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oxytenanthera 4. The undifferentiated and semi-differ-
3. The lower and middle parts or only the entiated vascular bundles are a little bigger
middle part of the culm with the double broken than regular vascular bundles.
type vascular bundles. 5. The outer vascular bundle sheath of the
2. The culm with the broken type and semi-differentiated vascular bundle is espe-
without the double broken type vascular cially well-developed. and is one to three
bundles. times as big as other vascular bundle sheaths
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pseudosasa
3. In the middle of the cross section sur-
face of the upper, middle and lower parts of 5. The outer vascular bundle sheath of the
the culm or near the inner wall, scalariform semi-differentiated vascular bundle is almost
vessels are specially big . . . . . . . . . . Lingnania as big as or a little bigger than other vascular
3. Scalariform vessels of the vascular bundle sheaths . . . . . . . . . Chimonobambusa
bundles of the culm are of the common size. 3. All the vascular bundles are semi-
4, One open type vascular bundle near open.
the inner wall . . . . , . . , , . . . Neosinocalamus 4. The semi-differentiated vascu tar
bundles are two times bigger than regular
4. Two open type vascular bundles near
bundles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , . . Gelidocalamus
the inner wall are changeable (a few species
with the double broken type vascular bundles). 4. The semi-differentiated vascular
. . . . . . . . . ..*.......*.....*.... Bambusa bundles and regular vascular bundles are
almost equal in number.
1. Vascular bundles of the culm do not
break, fibre strands do not proliferate at the 5. A row of about three to four vascular
upper and lower parts of the central vascular bundles, amphipodial rhizomes . , , . Subgen.
bundle. Pleioblastus
2. With the slender-waist type vascular 5. A row of more than five vascular
bundles. bundles.
3. The lower part of the culm with a row of 6. The lower part of the culm with a row of
over ten vascular bundles, the upper and five to six vascular bundles.
middle parts with a sharp reduction . . . . . . . . . 7. Semi-differentiated vascular bundles,
. . . . ..*....*...*....*. Cephalostachyum and the inner vascular bundle sheath is almost
3. The lower part of the culm with rela- rectangular.. . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . Yushania
tively fewer vascular bundles, the vascular 7. Semi-differentiated vascular bundles,
bundles in the upper, middle and lower parts and the inner vascular bundle sheath is
are almost equal in number. triangular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sasa
4. Culms slender but with fairly big 6. The lower part of the culm with a row of
vascular bundles, the inner sheaths of vascular seven to eight vascular bundles, the inner
bundles near the inner wall are normal , . . . . . sheath of the semi-differentiated vascular
. . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melocanna bundle is triangular, the outer sheath is oval . .
I
4. Culms thick but with. comparatively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Semiarudinaria

235
 3. The open type and the semi-open type 5. The semi-differentiated vascular
vascular bundles coexist. bundles are bigger .than regular vascular
bundles.
4. Mainly with the semi-open type
vascular bundles. 6. The outer sheath of the semi-differen-
tiated vascular bundle is almost as big as the
5. The vascular bundles in the lower part outer sheath of the regular vascular bundle . .
of the culm are all semi-open, near the inner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......... Zndocalamus
wall of the upper and middle parts are two or
three open type vascular bundles . . . Fargesiu 6. The outer sheath of the semi-differen-
tiated vascular bundle is quite well-developed,
5. Near the inner wall of the upper,
and far bigger than the outer sheath of the
middle or lower part are one to two open type regular vascular bundle . . . Brachystachyum
vascular bundles.
4. The open type and the semi-open type
6 . The inner vascular bundle sheath of the vascular bundles coexist; sometimes there are
semi-open type vascular bundle in the three parenchyma cell rings among groups of
parts of the culm is triangular. . . . , . . Subgen. vascular bundles or the open type vascular
Amarus bundles among the semi-open type vascular
6. The characteristics and morphology of bundles.
the inner vascular bundle sheath of the semi- 5. The vascular bundles in the upper
open type vascular bundles are irregular . . . . .
middle and lower parts of the culm are in a
. . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * Clavinodum
ratio of 4:5:9. shaped like an upside-down
4. Mainly with the open type vascular pagoda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lndosasa
bundles. 5. The vascular bundles in the upper,
5. The semi-differentiated vascular middle and lower parts of the culm are in a
bundles and the regular vascular bundles are ratio of 6:8:8. almost equal in number . . . . _.
almost equal in size . . . . . , . . . . Phyllostachys . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sinobambusa

500um 5OOum lOOum lOOum

Fig. 1. Morphology of vascular bundles of bamboo. 1. Dendrocalamus strictus Nees. 11. Bambusa peruariabilis
McClure. III. Melocanna humilis Kurt. IV. Phyllostachys oiridis (Young) McClure. V. Fargesia farcta Yi.
1. non-differentiated vascular bundles; 2. semi-differentiated vascular bundles; 3. double-broken vascular
bundles; 4. broken vascular bundles; 5. slender waist vascular bundles: 6. open vascular bundles; 7. semi-open
vascular bundles.

236
 Fii. 2-1. sections of the upper, middle and lower of bamboo culm from left to right is outside to inner wall.
1. Thyrsostachys siamensis Gamble; 2. Oxytenanthera nigrocilliata Munro; 3. Gigantochloa ligudata Gamble.
A. lower of culm; B. middle of culm; C. upper of culm.

Fii. 2-2. 4. Dendrocalamus atrictus Nees; 5. Dendrocalamus latiflotus Munro; 6. Neosinocalamus affinis (Mumro)
Keng f .

237
!"-
Fig. 2-5. 14. Chimonocalamus pal/ens Hseuh et Yi; 15. Fargesia farcta Yi; 16. Yushania niitakayamensis
(Hayata) Keng f.

239
 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

16 17 18 19 20 2 1 22 23 24

Fig. 3-1. The morphology of vascular bundles of bamboos. ali the test No. l-24, see the table.
A. lower of culm; B middle of culm: C. upper of culm

25 26 27 28 29 30

Fig 3-2 The morphology of vascular bundle of bamboos. all the test No 25-48, see the table,
A lower of culm. B middle of culm. C lower of culm

240
 Fig. 4-l. Sections of the upper, middle and lower of bamboo culm, from left to right is outside to inner wall.
A. lower of culm; B. middle of eulm; C. upper of culm. 17. Indosasa crassifllora McClure; 18. Sinobambusa
tootsik Makino; 19. Semiarundinaria lubrica Wen.

Fig. 4-2. 20. Brachystachyum densijjorum Keng; 21. Phyllostachys heterocycla (Carr.) Matsum; 22. Pseudosasa
amabilis (McClure) Keng f.; 23. Chimonobambusa marmorea Makino; 24. OIigostochyum sulcatum C.P. Wang et
Ye; 25. Pleioblastus amarus (Keng) Keng f.

241
 5OOum

Fig. 4-3. 26. Pleioblastus gramineus (Bean) Nakai; 27 Clauinodum oedogonotum (C.P. Wang et Ye) Wen;
28. Indocalamus tessellatus (Munro) Keng f.; 29. Gelidocalomus stellatus Wen; 30. Sasa sinica Keng;
31. Ferrocalamus strictus Hsueh et Kens. f.

58 59 60

Fig. 5-l. The morphology of vascular bundle of bamboos, all the test No. 50-67. see the tables
A lower of culm; B.. middleof culm; C. upper of culm

242
 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 9 8 9 9

Fig. 5-2. The morphology of vascular bundle of bamboos. all the test No. 68-99. see the tables.
A. lower of culm; B. middle of culm; C. upper of culm. (The construction of the key is left in its
original form but this can be further simplified References, other detaib and explanations connected
with this paper can be obtained from the authors - Eds).

243
 Anatomical Properties of Some Bamboos
Utilized. in Indonesia
Elizabeth A. Widjaja and Zuhaida Risyad
National Biological Institute, Bogor and Faculty of Forestry,
Bogor Agricultural University, Bogot, Indonesia

Abstract In this paper, the correlation between the

fibre length and the mechanical properties
Four species of bamboo (i.e. Dendro- (including compression strength, tensile
calamus giganteus, Dendrocalamus strength, static bending strength and stiffness)
asper Gigantochloa robusta, Bambusa of Dendrocakamus asper, Gigantochloa
vulgaris, oat. striata) utilised in Indonesia robusta, Bambusa vulgaris var. striata and
are studied anatomically and the results are Dendrocalamus giganteus, is studied.
correlated to their mechanical properties. Although D. giganteus is not cultivated
There is a correlation between fiber length, outside the botanical gardens in Indonesia, it
modulus OS elasticity and compression is included in this study because of its poten-
strength. tial value for building purposes.

Materials and Methods

Introduction
This study was based on 4 species of
Among the sixteen species of bamboo uti- bamboos grown in the Bogor Botanical
lized in Indonesia (Widjaja, 1980), ten of Gardens.
them (i.e. Gigantochloa apus (Schult. & Samples were obtained by taking the
Schult.) Kurz, . Gigantochloa verticillata nodes at the height of 1.5 m above the
(Munro*), Gigantochloa robusta Kurz, Gigan- ground. By counting that node as the first
tochloa atter (Hassk.) Kurz, Dendrocalamus one, further samples were also taken from the
asper (Schult.) Backer ex Heyne, Bambusa third, fifth and seventh nodes further up of
arundinacea (Retz.) Willd., Bambusa vulgaris the culms. For studying the fibre length,
Schrad. var. striata, Bambusa blumeana pieces of culm were macerated in 50% HNO3
Schult., Gigantochloa aff. atter* and Bam- at 5OoC for 15 minutes. After washing in dis-
busa polymorpha Munro) are useful in the tilled water it was stained with 1% methyl-
building construction, ( hereafter referred to
!"
green in 10% acetic acid and mounted in 50%
as Gigantochloa pseudoarundinacea (Steud.) glycerin. The mechanical properties of the
W i d j a j a a n d Gigantochloa atroviolacea culm was determined by Baldwin instrument
Widjaja respectively). Their mechanical pro- (to measure the tensile strength) and Amsler
perties, however, have yet to be determined. 6000 kg (to measure the static bending
Grosser & Liese (1974) concluded that the strength and the compression strength). The
percentage of sclerenchyma fibres increases samples used for this study measured 30 cm
from the bottom to the top of the culm, accom- x 2 cm x 0.5 - 1 cm, following the
panied by compression strength. Janssen American Standard for Testing and Materials
(1981) pointed out that the bending stress ASTM D 143 52 (1972) with some modifi-
decreases with the height of the culm but the cation.
modulus of elasticity increases with the latter.
Kawase (1981) reported that the fiber size in Results and Discussion
the middle part of culm is greater than in the
bottom and the top, and that the outer Anatomical properties: The fibre length
part of the culm has longer fibers than the showed that Dencrocalamus asper has the
inner part. longest fiber (averaging 20.03 mu), followed

244
 by Bambusa vulgaris var. striata (18.92 mu,
Dendrocalamus giganteus(18.84 mu), and
Gigantochloa robusta (18.12 mu). Based on Table 1. Fiber length at various
the position along the culm, the first node nodes of culm
studied generally has similar fiber sizes (19-20
mu). The fiber length in the third node and Species Node Fiber Length Average
above do not show a genera1 pattern (Table
D. giganteus 1st 19.16
1). 3rd 18.04
Mechanical properties: Sjafii (1984) 5th 19.16 18.84
showed that Dendrocalamus giganteushas 7th 19.0
the highest specific gravity (0.7 1) if compared 19.28
D. asper 1st
to Dendrocalamus asper (0.61) Giganto- 3rd 19.60
chloo robusta (0.55), and Bambusa vulgaris 5th 21.16 20.03
var. striata (0.52). However, there is no signi- 7th 20.10
ficant difference between various nodes of
every species. With regard to the average rate G. robusta 1st 19.66
3rd 15
of the modulus of elasticity, modulus of 5th 19.66 18.12
rupture and compression strength, Dendro- 7th 18.16
calamus giganteus also has the highest value,
followed by Dendrocalamus asper, Gigan- B. vulgaris 1st 19.92
tochloa robusta and Bambusa vulgaris var. var striata 3rd 20.24
striafo (Table 2). The tensile strength of 5th 18.2 18.92
Dendrocalamus giganteus (1907.33kg/cm2) 7th 17.2
is smaller than Dendrocalamus asper

Table 2. Mechanical properties of various bamboos at various nodes (after

Sjafii. 1984)

Species Par t Modulus of Modulus of Compression Tensile

of elasticity rupture strength strength
culm kg/cm 2 kg/cm 2 kg/cm 2 kg/cm2

D. giganteus 1 172097.92 1828.57 602.56 1836.16

3 122463.95 1758.28 619.88 1945.91
5 147912.10 1827.90 639.95 1880.20
7 130352.42 2880.13 645.84 1965.87
Average 143206.60 1823.72 627.02 1907.04
D. asper 1 122073.82 1637.81 639.30 2145.03
3 149587.06 1741.61 592.35 2040.15
5 129542.12 1595.74 622.20 2219.89
7 123966.17 1578.62 565.93 2103.97
Average 131292.29 1638.45 604.95 2127.26
G. robusta 1 94208.59 1384.48 533.12 1970.51
3 92367.13 1294.27 509.97 1766.82
5 109217.50 1398.23 510.95 1853.65
7 97381.90 1345.62 529.62 2066.33
Average 98293.78 1355.65 520.92 1914.33
B. vulgaris 1 60652 -42 1075.01 484.30 1391.94
71931.76 1123.66 443.02 1196.15
var. striota 88297.55 1105.27 475.34 1351.66
7 83939.92 1286.24 417.43 1346.46
Average 76205.41 1147.54 455.02 1321.55

245
 Table 3. Correlation betweenFiber length and E-Modulus, R-Modulus,
Compression Strength and Tensile Strength

Linear Regression Correlation F

Coeficient
E-Modulus: 30.568,72 + 4162.96 Fiber length 0.3 8.48 !

R-Modulus: 1485.08 + 0.33 Fiber length 0.0001 0.00096

Compression strengh: -42.69. + 31.33 Fiber length 0.03 11.09 !

Tensile strength: 1599,76 + 13.45 Fiber length 0.1 0.99

(2127.26 kg/cm and Gigantochloa robusta

2
References
(1914.33 kg/cm ), with Bambusa vulgaris
var. striata has the lowest tensile strength Grosser, D. & Liese, W. 1974. Verteiiung der
(1321.55 kg/cm2), The. result of the test of Leibundel und zeliarten in sprossachsen
modulus of elasticity of Bambusa vulgaris var. verschiedenen Bambusarten. HoIz als
striata. s u p p o r t s t h e f i n d i n g s o f Limaye Rol -und werkstoff. 32: 473-482.
(1952), Janssen (1981) and Kawase (1981)
who showed that the elasticity of the Iower J a n s s e n , J . J . A . 1 9 8 1 . T h e reIationship
culm is smaller than the upper one. The between the mechanical properties and
modulus of rupture of the 4 species studied the biological and chemical composition
also bears out the conclusion of Limaye of bamboo. In: Higuchi, T. (ed.).
(1952) who pointed out that the decreasing of Bamboo production and utilization. Pro-
moduilus of rupture follows the decreasing of ceedings of the Congress Group 5.3A,
specific gravity. The compression strength of Production and Utilization of bamboo
Dendrocalamus giganteus and Gigantochloa and related species, XVII, IUFRO World
robusta increases from the bottom to the top Congress Kyoto, Japan.
but not so in Dendrocalamus asper and Kawase, K. 1981. Distribution and utility
Bambusa vulgaris var. striata. As pointed out value of Sasa bamboo. In: Higuchi, T.
by Limaye (1952) and Janssen (1981) the (ed.) . Bamboo production and utiliza-
compression strength as well as the percentage tion. Proceedings of the Congress Group
of sclerenchyma fibre increase from the 5.3A, Production and Utilization of
bottom to the top. According to Sjafii (1984), bamboo and related species, XVII,
the modulus of elasticity can be used for IUFRO World Congress Kyoto, Japan.
detecting the modulus of rupture due to
Limaye, V.D. 1952. Strength of bamboo
the highest correlation. Also, the compression
(Dendrocalamus strictus). Indian Forester
strength and the tensile strength can be
78: 558-575.
detected by the modulus of elasticity although
the correlation is very small. Further anaIyses Sjafii, L.I. 1984. Pengujian sifat-sifat fisi dan
of the data obtained on the four e species m e k a n i s c o n t o h kecil b e b a s cacat
studied indicate that the fiber length have a beberapa jenis bambu. Thesis Fakultas
correlation with the modulus of elasticity and Kehutanan, Institute Pertanian Bogor,
compression strength (Table 3) although it is Bogor.
very small- in the latter (r = 0.03). Further Widjaja, E.A. 1980. Indonesia (country
studies along these lines are now in progress report). In: Lessard, G. & Chouinard, A.
on other species of utilized bamboos in (ed .) . Bamboo research in Asia.
Indonesia and it is hoped that the result will be Proceedings of a workshop held in Singa-
beneficial in utilizing the anatomical properties pore. Pg. 201-204.
for practical purposes.

246
 Fibre Morphology and Crystallinity of
Phyllostachys pubescens with Reference
to Age
Sun Chengzhi and Xie Guoen
Research lnstitufe of Chemical Processing and Utilization
of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry
Beijing, China.

Abstract the standard practice.

The fibre form and crystallinity of Phyl- Each sample of crystallinity was crushed
lostachyus p u b e sce n s we d ete rmine d in into powder with 80-100 mesh. The powder
relation to the age of the culm. This study was dried over phosphorus pentoxide in
helps to determine the age of the bamboo vacuum at room temperature. Five hundred
harvest. mg of the mixed powder was taken, pressed
into tablet, and used for the x-ray measure-
ment of crystallinity.
Introduction
Results and Conclusion
For purpose of investigating the fiber form
and the relative crystallinity of cellulose of
Phyllostachyus pubescens Maze1 ex H. de The results (Table 1) (Fig. 1) show that
Lehaie, culms of different ages were used. The average fiber length of bamboo is about 2
bamboo grows rapidly, and the different mm, average diameter is about 10.5-15.3 urn,
samples taken indicate the change of fiber double wall thickness is about 8-13.64 urn,
form at each stage of growth in relation to its and the ratio of length to breadth is over 100.
age. The fiber length of P. pubescens
increases and the relative crystallinity
Materials and Method decreases respectively with increasing age of
the plant. In bamboos older than one year,
The materials were obtained from the the lignin content remains stable or rises
stands of P, pubescens (from 1/2 1, 3, 7 slightly with years. The main structure, com-
years old) growing in Zhejiang province. posed of cellulose fibers, are formed at an
From each bamboo culm, three portions from earlier period. Cell-wall growth and lignifica-
the base, the middle and the top were cut off. tion proceed gradually.
After air-drying, specimens of 2-3 cm
in length were prepared from the central Bamboo grows to full size within about 2-
part of each joint. From the thick parts 3 months, but it needs about 3 years for com-
of the bamboo culm, specimens were plete maturation of tissues. It means that
taken, and named T1, T2, T3, - and RI, R2, bamboos that complete their growth and rota-
tion at the end of this period or stage is consi-
R 3 - for the tangential and radial faces
respectively. The thin parts were divided dered satisfactory.
into three parts, namely outside (To, Ro), It is concluded that the study of fibre
middle (T m,, Rm) and inside (T,, R,) . length variations would help to determine the
The fibre form was examined according to period of harvest and recycling.

247
 Table 1. Change on Fibre Formand Crystallinity of P. pubescens of Different Ages.

Length (urn) Width (urn) Thickness of Relative

2 walls (urn) Crystallinity
Age Sample x 5100 (%)
X
Outer 1962 417.4 21.3 13.6 3.39 25.0 10.1 3.39 33.7 149
Base Middle 1666 373.4 22.4 13.6 4.39 32.3 9.2 3.57 39.0 123
Inner 1474 524.0 35.6 12.0 2.44 20.3 8.0 2.71 34.0 123
Outer 1742 709.7 40.7 14.3 3.20 22.4 10.8 3.34 30.8 122
6 months Middle Middle 1628 631.8 38.8 14.0 3.78 27.0 10.6 2.46 23.2 116 63
Inner 1612 655.5 40.7 13.4 3.08 23.0 9.9 2.65 26.9 120
Outer 1506 606.6 40.3 12.1 3.30 27.2 10.0 2.93 29.5 124
Top Middle 1436 628.7 43.8 12.9 3.47 26.9 10.8 3.11 28.9 111
Inner 1566 655.8 41.9 12.5 3.08 24.7 10.8 2.97 27.5 125
Outer 2186 699.6 32.0 14.5 4.02 27.7 12.6 3.83 30.3 150
Base Middle 2306 716.1 31.1 15.3 4.01 26.2 13.6 3.76 27.5 151
Inner 1790 508.4 28.4 13.9 4.05 29.2 12.3 3.87 31.4 129
Outer 1936 554.3 28.6 13.8 3.10 22.5 12.2 3.02 24.8 140
1 year Middle Middle 2084 679.2 32.6 13.8 3.37 24.5 11.8 3.17 26.9 151 60
Inner 1850 639.6 34.6 13.0 2.77 21.1 11.4 2.59 22.8 141
Outer 1784 520.0 29.2 10.5 2.64 25.2 9.1 2.53 27.9 170
Top Middle 1942 507.9 26.2 11.8 3.00 25.5 10.0 2.88 28.9 165
Inner 1838 550.7 30.0 10.8 3.27 30.3 9.1 3.27 35.7 170
Outer 2078 540.0 26.0 13.9 3.27 23.5 12.1 3.14 25.9 149
Base Middle 2136 547.3 25.6 11.5 2.82 24.6 9.8 2.82 35.5 186
Inner 1874 505.8 27.0 11.7 2.38 20.3 10.0 2.36 23.7 160
Outer 1917 603.1 31.5 14.8 2.67 18.1 12.9 2.65 20.6 130
3 years Middle Middle 2140 594.5 27.8 12.6 2.88 22.8 11.1 2.97 26.7 169 58
Inner 1908 424.2 22.2 11.7 2.30 19.7 10.1 2.26 22.5 163
Outer 2032 623.8 30.7 12.7 2.68 21.2 10.9 - - 160
TOP Middle 2244 572.9 25.5 12.1 2.56 21.1 10.5 2.53 24.2 185
Inner 2098 576.9 27.5 11.3 2.51 22.3 9.7 2.48 25.5 186
Outer 2000 562.8 28.1 12.1 2.65 22.0 10.5 2.64 25.2 1166
Base Middle 2080 603.1 29.0 11.2 2.28 20.3 9.6 2.23 23.4 186
Inner 2054 583.2 28.4 11.3 2.37 21.0 9.7 2.25 23.3 182
Outer 2328 639.2 28.6 12.6 2.82 22.5 10.8 2.86 26.3 185
7 years Middle Middle 2382 593.1 24.9 12.0 2.68 22.3 10.4 2.59 24.8 198 55
Inner 2380 579.6 24.4 12.0 2.74 22.9 10.3 2.71 26.2 199
Outer 2208 526.8 23.9 12.0 2.74 22.8 10.5 2.68 25.6 184
Top Middle 2137 464.7 21.8 13.2 2.99 22.7 11.6 2.94 25.3 162
Inner 2136 472.8 22.1 12.0 2.52 21.0 10.3 2.35 22.8 178

248
 Fig. 1. Change of fiber length of Ph. pubescens of the different age to the various height and part.

Length (mm) O-Outer, M-Middle. I-Inner

2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
Base Middle TOP Base Middle Top Base Middle Top Base Middl e
Age (1) 6 months (2) 1 year (3) 3 years (4) 7 years

Fig. 2. Change of fiber length of Ph. pubescens of the same part at different ages.

Length (mm)

2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0
Base Middle TOP Base Middle Top Base Middle TOP
(1) Outer (2) Middle (3) Inner

249
 The Mechanical Properties of Bamboo
Jules J. A. Janssen

Technical Eindhouen, Post Pus. 513,

University,
5600-Eindhoven. The Netherlands

Abstract is hollow. For structural uses this form has

many advantages in comparison to a massive
Bamboo iscompared with steel, concrete and rectangular cross-section (e.g. wood).
and timber in terms of the energy needed for Bamboo needs only 57% material when
production, safety, strength and stiffness as used for beam, and only 40% when used as a
well as simpleness of production as a con- column. However, because of its tapered
struction material. The outcome of the com- form bamboo is not viewed with favour by
parison places bamboo well ahead for con- engineers - as the tapering causes a strength
struction purposes. loss between 35-40%. In building structures
beams and columns with the same strength
along the full length are needed. But on care-
Introduction ful examination this fact seems to be exag-
gerated because bamboo retains much of its
Bamboo cornpares well and favourably strength in spite of the taper by the manner in
with other building materials like steel, con- which vessels and materials are distributed
crete and timber over energy requirements from top to bottom, e.g. a quarter scleren-
during construction, strength and stiffness per chyma tissue more at the top than in the
unit area of material, ease and safety of use. bottom of the culm (32% in the bottom, 41%
To a great extent the versatility of bamboo is at the top).
largely due to its anatomical structure which In the final analysis, there may be a total
contributes to its mechanical properties. loss of about 15% only. The disadvantage
does not disappear, but its influence is much
1. The anatomy and the properties of less than many people fear.
bamboo: The next factors affecting mechanical pro-
Bamboo has promising mechanical pro- perties are the nodes and the diaphragms of
perties, To understand this it is important to the culm. These have a structural function in
study its anatomical and morphological char- support, especially when two culms join
acteristics. In a circular cross-section bamboo together (Fig. 1).

250
At internodes the structure seems weaker. bamboo do not differ very much, bamboo is
But the influence of diaphragms on the twice as good in stiffness than wood. The
bending behaviour is still unknown. In Eind- reason for this is not known yet; the best
hoven we have carried out bending tests on hypothesis is the angle between the cellulose
full culms with and without diaphragms. The microfibrils and the cell-axis, being 20 o for
detailed analysis is still being carried out - wood and only 10o for bamboo. Bamboo
the first impression shows no significant dif- does not have any rays. A ray is a weak spot,
ferences. because it serves transport and storage of
food. A s a result, bamboo is far better in shear
The outer skin of bamboo has a consider-
than wood, contrary to the general opinion.
able amount of silica. It improves the natural
This last statement, however, is based on the
durability but preliminary studies indicate that
thickness: 6 or 7 mm is normal for bamboo,
the mechanical strength of the culm is not
but unheard of for wood.
tignificantly affected by its absence.
2 . The advantages of bamboo as a
Bamboo is a composite. In mechanics a
building material:
composite is a material composed of soft and
weak material, stiff and strong material, In How does bamboo compare with three
bamboo the former is cellulose and the latter other common building materials: concrete,
lignin. steel and timber? Evidently, such a compari-
son can only be rough and difficult as well,
Other well known examples are rein-
because each of these four consists a
forced concrete and glass fibre polyester. In
number of different variables. Given in the
materials-science composites are well known
subsequent paragraphs are four factors for
for their good properties, the properties of the
whole being better than the sum of the com- which comparisons are made. These are:
ponent parts. The distribution of the cellulose a. The energy needed for production:
in the cross-section of the wall of a culm con- Energy has to be expended to produce any
tributes to the quality of strength of the material, In the case of fabricating structural
material. On the outside the percentage of elements for the construction industry energy
cellulose is as much as 60%, decreasing to a has to be used to produce a beam or column.
20% on the inside. From a mechanical point One can measure the benefit of prodycing a
of view the material on the outside is far more column with different materials by working
effective. As a result, the strength and stiff - out amounts of energy needed to handle a
ness of a bamboo culm is better than in a case certain amount of load. The energy needed
where cellulose is distributed equally. Though for four constructing materials is given below
the chemical composition of wood and in the table.

Table 1. Energy needed for production compared with

stress when in use.

Material Energy for Weight per Energy for Stress Ratio energy
production volume production when in use per unit
MJ/kg kg/m3 MJ/m 3 N/mm2 stress
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (4)/(5)

Concrete 0.8 2,400 1,920 8 240

Steel 30 7,800 234.000 160 1.500
Wood 1. 600 600 7.5 80
Bamboo 0.5 600 300 12 25
Energy, needed for production, compared with stress when in use.

251
 In column (2) data about energy is given In fact, this table should be enlarged with
which can be found in several handbooks on the lifetime of the materials concerned, but
materials technology. The energy for wood then the energy demand of the several
deals with logging, sawing and transport, and methods of preservation should be added as
the energy for bamboo with harvesting and well.
transport only. Columns (3) and (4) are Due to the fact that the energy in the pro-
needed to obtain data on energy per volume, duction process is an important component of
to be compared with the stresses in column the price, it is tempting to state that bamboo is
(5). The result, the ratio between the energy a very cheap building material, however this
for production and the stress in the material, assumption i s too simplistic and the
is given in column (6). temptation has to be avoided.
It is seen from the last column that per b. The safety of the material: Bamboo is
equal unit of load bearing capacity, bamboo considered generally a safe building material.
requires the least energy for its production. Its capacity to survive an earthquake or a
Timber is the second, reinforced concrete the hurricane is well known. This capacity can be
third, and steel requires the most. These related to two mechanical properties.
figures are not exact, they give only an order
of magnitude. We can see, however, that i. The strain energy, i.e. the energy
steel and concrete make a heavy demand on stored into the material during load bearing.
a large part of the energy resources of the The strain energy is defined as the surface of
missile earth, contrary to wood and the stress-strain-diagram
bamboo.

force or stress

, co1 l a p s e

deformation or strain

Fig. 2 Stress-strain diagram

252
 A test on building materials results in a And the behaviour of concrete is in
diagram, representing the relationship between these.
between the force, acting on the material, and On the contrary, in the case of naturally
the deformation of the material. The surface grown products like wood and bamboo, the
below this diagram represents the energy, scattering is very wide, and consequently (to
stored in the material. (Fig.2) avoid the use of a bad specimen in a building)
The area, shaded vertically, represents the allowable stress 'o', is only a 15 percent of
the situation of a normal use of the material in the mean Strength om:
a building,while the area,shaded horizon-
During an earthquake,cyclone,or any
tally, represents the situatjon of a collapse. similar disaster, the stress in any building will
Evidently, the ratio between the two areas is increase, leaving from o, being the normal
an estimation for the safety of the material. situation. In the above diagrams it can be seen
Calculations of this ratio show: that steel will collapse rather quickly, followed
concrete 10 by concrete, with wood and bamboo in the
steel 1400 last (and best!) place.
wood 20 c. The strength and the stiffness per unit
bamboo 50 of material: In construction the strength and
This means that from a safety point of stiffness of a material is important. This can be
view, steel is safest, bamboo second, wood measured by calculating the ratio between
the third and concrete last. allowable stress and the mass per volume.
ii. A -second property deals with the Given below are figures for:
deviation in the strength. Deviation means: concrete 0.003
when testing a building material, some speci- steel 0.020
mens will behave very well, while others wood 0.013
behave worse. The test results appear to be bamboo 0.017
scattered around the mean value. In the case in which bamboo appears to be the best
of steel, a well-controlled product, this one with respect to strength.
scattering is very small and the allowable
As to stiffness, the ratio between the
stress o can be about 60 percent of the mean
Youngs modulus and the mass per volume is
strength om:
used. (Figs. 3-5)

area of scattering

area of scattering

Fig. 3. Strength tests on (a) steel and (b) wood and bamboo

253
Taking all four together:

steel
r
0
m
concrete area of scattering
I
I
m
wood/bamboo area of scattering
.

Fig. 4. Behaviour of steel, concrete wood and bamboo to stress.

concrete 10 of wood a whole area is cut at once, but

steel 27 in the case of bamboo only the ripe culms
wood 18 are cut, while the younger culms (the
bamboo 3 3 majority!) are left. For the micro-climate
from which bamboo appears to be the best. and the environment this yearly partial
crop is much better.
d. The simpleness of production: This
aspect seems to be more soft than the three Due to its circular and hollow shape, only
mentioned ahead; for the people who use simple tools are needed for its cropping
bamboo, however, it is as important. and use. With bamboo there is no sawing
or logging like in the case of wood; waste
a. Building with steel and concrete does not material like bark and sawdust is unheard
belong to the normal possibilities for of.
village people, in contradiction to wood
and bamboo. However, in the case of Bamboo is represented by many botan-
wood one has to wait many years, but in ical species, each with its own pro-
the case of bamboo one can harvest the perties. As a result one can find an
ripe culms each year. appropriate bamboo for a variety of pur-
poses.
b. An environmental advantage: in the case

I I I
I,50 m 1,50 m I,50 m

Fig. 5. Bending of bamboo culm

254
 3. The long term behaviour of bamboo Such tests have been carried out in the
under load: Eindhoven Bamboo Laboratory for the past
Laboratory tests on the mechanical pro- three years (1982 - 1985). Tests have been
perties of bamboo are usually short-term carried out concerning the bending of
tests. Building, however, is a long-term bamboo culms, as follows:
activity, and consequently we need long-term Bambusa blumeana from the Philippines
tests to learn about the long-term behaviour. was obtained for the study and factors like

I
I
strain

time t

Fig.

60 300
Days

Fig. 7. Creep deformation

255
diameter, thickness of wall, mass per volume, the crystalline part of the cellulose.
fibre content and the angle between 6 is the creep, the increase of strain with
microfibrils and cell axis were taken into E2 time.
account. Samples were subjected to the test
with and without diapraghms and outer skin nl is a viscous component, symbolized as
with an m.c. of 8 and 12% with the ambient a dashpot; it is a plastic deformation
RH at 60 or 80%. caused by a sliding between cellulose
The load was applied in such a way that chains in the amorphous part of the
the initial strain was 2 pro mille. Creep and cellulose, and by a deformation in the
amorphous lignin; this strain dis-
recovery were studied during eight to six
weeks each and this was carried out four appears with the load.
times. Unfortunately, the analysis has not n2 is the permanent deformation,
been completed and preliminary trends can remaining after removal of the load.
be seen. (Figs. 6. 7)
The use of this mathematical model is to
Firstly: creep and recovery in bamboo can calculate the said Es and ns as physical
be described with a Burgers-model, as properties.
follows:
in which: Secondly, the deformation which remains
after removal of the load, is for bamboo only
6 is the applied stress, kept constant. 5 to 10 percent of the immediate deforma-
6 is the immediate deformation, the tion, to be compared with 50 to 100 percent
El immediate strain; the cellulose acting in the case of wood. For practical purposes
as a spring; this strain is elastic, it dis- this is wonderful; detailed analysis has to be
appears with the load; it happens in done to test the data for scientific rigour.

256
 Physico-Mechanical Properties and
Anatomical Relationships of Some
Philippine Bamboos
Zenita B. Espiloy

Forest Products Research and Development Institute,

NSTA, College, Laguna 3720, Philippines

Abstract
only serve as a basis for promoting its accep-
T h i s r e p o r t i n c l u d e s t h e physico- tance but also for improving its market
mechanical properties and anatomical char- potential.
acters of Bambusa blumeana and Gigan- Several studies on characteristics and pro-
tochloa levis. Physico-mechanical proper- perties of B. blumeana and G. levis were
ties such as relative density, shrinkage, mois- undertaken (Tamolang et al., 1980). Velas-
ture content, static bending and compression quez and Santos (1931) studied five species
parallel to the grain were correlated to anato-
of bamboos and claimed that B. blumeana was
mical characteristics, e.g., fibrovascular bundle one of the most common and widely distri-
frequency and dimensions of fiber and vessel. buted bamboos in the Philippines, occurring in
Results showed that there is an increase in cultivation throughout settled areas at low
compressive and bending strengths towards altitudes.
the top portion of the culm of both species. This
trend could be attributed to the significant in- B. blumeana was purposely introduced
creases in relative density and fibrovascular from Malaysia during pre-historic times
bundle frequency. (Merrill, 1916). It is, by far, the most valuable
and popular species of bamboo used for con-
struction in rural areas. The stem of B.
blumeana consists of a hollow culm with
Introduction distinct nodes and internodes. It grows from 10
to 25 m high and reaches a diameter of 80 to
Housing is one of the basic needs of man. 150 mm. It is erect, nearly straight from the
The pressures of population on the dwindling baseupward and gently bending ata the top.
supply of commonly used timbers for housing The basal portion of the clump is surrounded
calls for research and development efforts on by a dense thicket, 2 to 3 m high, of spiny
the use of non-timber forest products, particu- branches.
larly bamboo. Certain aspects of the properties On the other hand, G. levis may be consi-
and use of these resources have been dered as an exotic species (Merrill, 1916). It
neglected. If studied, the results may help the
grows in certain areas of the Philippines and
efficient use of bamboo materials for housing also in dense forests, especially in moist places
components. in ravines or depressions near streams. Its
A knowledge of the physical and mechan- general appearance resembles that of B.
ical properties in relation to the anatomical blumeana although its culm is stout, straight
characteristics of erect bamboo is necessary in and smooth with very much less prominent
assessing its potential uses as building material nodes than B. blumeana. It reaches a height of
for housing, furniture making and for general 10 to 25 m and a diameter of 100 to 200 mm.
construction work and in converting it to a Brown and Fischer (1918) said that the stems
variety of finished products. Furthermore, the of this bamboo species are only used as pipes
different properties of this resource will not for temporary water supply and for building
fish traps; rarely used for building operations, beetles, particularly Dinoderus minutus Fabr.
except for walls of houses, because they are (Casin and Mosteiro, 1970). The presence
especially durable. of starch in bamboo contributes to its
Bamboos, in general, belong to the Barn-. susceptibility to beetle attack (Liese, 1980). A
tentative classification showing the natural
buseae tribe of the huge family Gramineae
(Sineath et al., 1953)) characterized by hollow resistance of some bamboo species to fungal
or rarely solid stems that are closed at the attack was made (de Guzman, 1978), based
mostly on percentage weight loss of speci-
joints or nodes. The anatomical structure of
mens after four months of exposure. B.
the two species considered in this report
blumeana and G. leuis were considered
were studied (Velasquez and Santos, 1931;
Grosser and Zamuco, 1971; Zamuco and moderately resistant.
Tongacan, 1973). The compact fiber tissues Present Studies: In the present studies,
are present in the outer part of the culm, the author determined the effect of fibro-
whereas the inner part is mostly of parenchyma vascular bundle frequency, culm, wall thick-
cells. A study of B. blumeana (Espinosa, 1930) ness, diameter and length or span of material
showed that for all engineering purposes, a on the different physical and mechanical pro-
culm about 300 mm in circumference, when perties along the culm length. The interrela-
loaded at the center on a span of 1.52 m can tionships of the different physical and
support 500 kilograms weight. When used as a mechanical properties in relation to their
post or column of about 1.22 m, it can support anatomical characteristics within and between
4,000 kg. species were also evaluated to ascertain their
suitability for various uses, especially in
Espiloy (1979, 1983) studied the vari-
ability of specific gravity, silica content and housing.
fiber measurements in B. blumeana; a strong Five culms each of three-year old B.
positive correlation was found to exist between blumeana and G. leuis were used in this
specific gravity and cell wall thickness and silica study. The culm length, diameter, length and
content. The anatomical structure of the bam- number of internodes per culm were
boo culm is the basis for understanding the recorded. Representative sections of the butt,
physical properties of bamboo, and is respon- middle and top portions were cut into seg-
sible for specific gravity, silica content and fiber ments comprising of eight whole-length inter-
dimension to vary across and along the nodes. The segments and internodal sections
bamboo culm. were number-coded to indicate their original
The chemical properties and eating qua- positions in the culm. Each eight-internodal
lities of shoots of three ages (7, 10 and 15 section was further cut for use in the different
tests. In general, the standard test procedure
days after emergence) of B blumeana, G.
of the American Society for Testing Materials
leuis and four other species were studied
for small clear specimens of timber was
(Gonzales and Apostol, 1978). Chemical
followed for determination of physical and
analysis of the nutrient components showed
mechanical properties. The data obtained are
that age level had no effect on nutrient con-
the average properties of the material in green
tent. Results of a taste test disclosed that
condition. The frequency of fibrovascular
15 day-old B. blumeana shoots were the most
bundles per unit area was determined directly
acceptable as far as colour, texture and taste
using a calibrated magnifier, Scale lope at
are concerned. 20 x magnification. The length, width, lumen
Escolano et al. (1964) found B. blumeana diameter and cell wall thickness of fibers and
suitable for pulp and paper making and that vessel length and diameter were determined,
this species yields good quality bond, airmail Physical and Mechanical Properties:
bond, onion skin, offset book, kraft, wrapping Culm height, number of internodes per culm,
and bag papers. Likewise, Semana (1967) length and diameter of internodes, and culm
found the same species to be a suitable raw wall thickness of Bambusa blumeana and
material for kraft pulps due to its pulp strength, Gigantochloa leuis are presented in Table 1.
pulp yield and acceptable level of silica B. blumeana has longer and more internodes
content. per culm and thicker culm walls than G. leuis;
Bamboos. are very susceptible to the the latter is taller and the diameter of its inter-
attack of decay fungi and powder-post nodes is bigger than the former. The average

258
 Table 1. Physical data forculms of B. blumeona and G. leuis collected in Bayog, LOS Banos.
Laguna and Nagcarlan, Laguna, respectively.
Species
Property B. blumeana G. leuis
(Kauayan-tinik) (Bolo)
1. Culm height (m) i2.9 14.9
2. Number of internodes per culm 40.0
3. Internode length (mm)
a) Butt 284.00 200.4
b ) Middle 432.7 455.4
c) Top 321.0 264.8
Average 345.9 306.9
4. Internode diameter (mm)
a) Butt 101.4 121.2
b ) Middle 80.5 94.1
c) TOP 41.0 40.0
Average 74.3 85.1
5. Culm wall thickness (mm)
a) Butt 19.4 12.2
b ) Middle 9.1 8.7
c) TOP 6.3 5.8
Average 11.6 8.9

Table 2. Average physical and mechanical properties of

B. blumeana and G.. leuis.

Species
Property
B. blumeano (kauayan-tinik) G . levis (Bole)
Butt Middle Top Average Butt Middle TOP Average
1. Moisture Content (%) 194.7 114.0 98.8 135.8 143.0 115.1 93.8 117.3
2. Relative Density 0.388 0.537 0.585 0.503 0.474 0.539 0.610 0.541
3. Shrinkage (%)
a) Thickness 16.6 13.3 10.0 13.3 12.9 11.3 8.9 11.0
b) Width 12.0 6.2 4.8 7.7 8.0 6.5 5.2 6.6
4. Compression Parallel to Grain.
Maximum crushing strength (MPa)
a) Nodal 34.7 37.2 37.3 36.4 37.7 41.9 44.3 41.3
b) Internodal 35.9 39.5 39.5 38.3 38.7 41.7 43.4 41.3
5. Static Bending
a) Stress at proportional limit (MPa) 29.5 20.2 18.2 22.6 17.6 14.9 18.6 17.0
b) Modulus of rupture (MPa) 43.2 28.4 24.7 32.1 25.4 19.6 26.1 23.7
c) Modulus of elasticity (1000 MPa) 8.9 8.8 9.2 9.0 8.9 10.4 11.0 10.1

Based on volume at test and weight when oven-dry

! From green to oven-dry condition
Tested at green condition.

results of the different physical and mechan- variance based on the mean squares and sta-
ical properties of the two bamboo species are tistical significance of physical and mechanical
given in Table 2. The summary of analyses of properties of the two species is shown in

259
 Table 3. Summary of analyses of variance on physical and mechanical properties of
B. blumeana and G. levis.

Mean Squares and Statistical Significance

Physical Properties Mechanical Properties
Shrinkage Static Bending
Source of Compression
Variation parallel to
Moisture Relative grain Stress at Modulus of Modulus of
Content Density Thickness Width (maximum Proportional rupture elasticity
crushing limit
strength) (SPL) (MOR) (MOE)
Treatment
ns ns
(Butt. Mid, Top) 51129.90 0.3321 243.09 239.38 5443.019 10884.936 32240.700 300.237
ns ns ns ns
Block (species) 13038.32 0.0300 196.86 45.88 24040.017 24741.482 55126.533 908.900
cv (X) % 63.88 29.60 68.50 80.12 3.97 48.67 54.35 17.26

! Significant at 95% level of probability

!" Significant at 99% level of probability
ns Not significar

Table 3. between species were found insignificant. As

For both species, moisture content and in wood (Heck, 1956) the strength properties
shrinkages on thickness and width decreased in bending of bamboo are correlated with
towards the top while their relative density specific gravity or relative density.
values increased towards the top. Results
show that there is a significant difference in all
the physical property values investigated at Anatomical Properties and Charac-
three height levels but none between species. teristics: Some anatomical properties and
There was a general trend of increasing characteristics of the two species which include
maximum crushing strength (MCS) values frequency of fibrovascular bundles and dimen-
from butt to top portions which was found sions of fibers and vessels are shown in Table
highly significant at three height levels and 4. B. blumeana averaged higher than G. leuis
between species. On the other hand, there in fibrovascular bundle frequency, but their
was no distinct trend in bending properties, respective values increased from the butt
i.e., stress at proportional limit (SPL), towards the top portion. G. leuis averaged
modulus of rupture (MOR), and modulus of higher than B. blumeana in all vessel and fiber
elasticity (MOE) although most of the highest dimensions, except for fiber length. A
strength values were observed at the top summary of analyses of variance based on
portions. However, such differences in bend-
ing properties at three height levels and
Table 4. Some anatomical properties and characteristics of
B. blumeana and G. leuis.

Species
Property
B. blumeona (kauayan-tinik) G. levis (Bolo)
Bun Middle Top Average Butt Middle Top Average
1. Fibrovascular bundle frequency 1.74 3.12 3.80 2.89 1.11 1.50 2 06 1.56
(No. per sq. mm)
2. Fiber dimensions (mm)
a) Fiber length 2.50 2.55 2.63 2.56 1.88 1.52 2.05 1 82
b) Fiber diameter 0.0148 0.0152 0.0142 0.0147 0.0165 0.0155 0.0159 0 0160
c) Lumen diameter 0.0046 0.0032 0.0034 0.0037 0.0056 00036 0.0065 0.0052
d) Cell wall thickness 0.0052 0.0061 0.0054 0.0056 0.0060 0.0058 0.0059 0.0059
3. Vessel dimensions (mm)
a) Vessel length 0.8228 0.7068 0.8294 0.7863 1.1305 0.6776 0 5957 0.8013
b) Vessel diameter 0.1862 0.1366 0.1736 0.1655 0.2310 0.2308 0.1989 0.2202

260
 Table 5. Summary of analyses of variance on some anatomical properties and
characteristics of B. blumeana and G. levis.
Mean Squares and Statistical Significance
Fiber dimensions Vessel dimensions
Source of Variation Fibrovascular
bundle Fiber Fiber Lumen Cell wall Vessel Vessel
frequency length diameter diameter thickness length diameter
ns ns
Treatment (Butt. Middle, Top) 179.681 0.238 3.22g 19 769 0.420 1496.542 43.972ns
Block (Species) 837.801 4.019 43.471 17.170 6.914 4945.081 1314.614
c v (X) % 56.55 14.49 26.85 38.09 5.49 20.64 24.33

ns - Not significant
* - Significant at 99% level of probability

mean squares and statistical significance of highly significant except for length and dia-
their anatomical properties and characteristics meter of fiber and diameter of vessel (Table
is shown in Table 5. 4).
Results show that differences in fibro- Correlation of Physical and Mechan-
vascular bundle frequencies at three height ical Properties with Anatomical
levels and between species were found highly Structure: The physical and mechanical
significant. Likewise, almost all fiber and properties of the two species which were
vessel characteristics and properties between correlated with their respective anatomical
species and in three height levels were found structure are shown in Tables 6 and 7.

Table 6. Correlation coefficients of different physical and mechanical properties with

some anatomical structure of B. blumeana.
Fibrovascular
bundle Fiber Fiber Lumen Cell wall Vessel Vessel
frequency length diameter diameter thickness length diameter
Moisture content 0.035 0.2% 0.290 0.347 0.035 - .014 0.025
Relative density -0.017 - 0.272 -0.186 - 0.331 0.111 0.363 0.463
Shrinkage (thickness) -0.182 -0.162 -0.126 -0.268 0.079 - 0.059 - 0.010
Shrinkage (width) -0.633 -0.193 0.003 - 0.208 0.188 0.072 0.025
Maximum crushing strength 0.121 - 0.310 -0.181 -0.262 - 0.060 10.103 0.307
Stress at proportional limit 0.063 0.535 0.517 0.492 0.243 0.188 -0.003
Modulus of rupture 0.121 0.468 0.417 0.417 0.154 0.317 -0.221
Modulus of elasticity 0.716 -0.177 0.043 -0.067 -0.130 -0.068 -0.256

* Significant at 95% level of probability

Table 7. Correlation coefficients of different physical and mechanical properties

with some anatomical structure of G.levis.

Fibrovascular
bundle Fiber Fiber Lumen Cell wall Vessel Vessel
frequency length diameter diameter thickness length diameter
Moisture content -0.170 -0.130 0.080 0.310 -0.100 0.230 0.320
Relative density 0.110 0.180 - 0.080 - 0.260 -0.080 -0.18 -0.270
Shrinkage (thickness) - 0.366 0.095 0.011 -0.027 0.110 0.446 0.154
Shrinkage (width) -0.528 0.131 0.199 0.217 0.023 0.366 0.219
Maximum crushing strength 0.020 0.270 0.060 - 0.810 0.170 -0.480 -0.280
Stress at proportional limit -0.530 -0.810 0.420 0.490 -0.100 - 0.245 0.240
Modulus of rupture -0.510 - 0.220 0.250 0.460 -0.103 - 0.230 0.290
Modulus of elasticity - 0.080 -0.090 0.160 0.130 0.004 -0.130 - 0.003

!" Significant at 95% level of probability

261
 Table 8. Correlation coefficients of physical characteristics of specimens with
compressive and bending properties ofB. blumeona and G. leuis.
B blumeana (Kauayan-tinik) G levis lBolo)

Comprerssion
parallel to grain Static bending Static bending

Physical Maximum Stress at Modulus Modulus Maximum Stress at Modulus Modulus

Characteristics crushing Relative proportion of of Relative crushing Relative proportion- of of Relative
of Specimen strength density al limit rupture elasticity density strength density al limit rupture elasticity density
. .
Outside diameter -0.230 -0.208 0.081 0. .081 -0.260 -0.293 -0448 -0434 -0 124 -0.230 -0363 -0.789'
Length/Span -0.290 -0.436 0.081 0.080 -0.261 -0.293 -0668 -0.441 -0.125 -0.230 -0.362 -0.790.
.
Culm wall thickness -0.290 -0.436 0.617 -670* -0 175 -0462 -0.668' -0.441* -0.120 -0.163 -0.795' -0615'

Significant at 95% level of probability

In B. blumeona (Table 6), fibrovascular Correlation of Physical Character-

bundle frequency is negatively correlated with istics of Specimens with Compressive
shrinkage on width of specimens (r = and Bending Properties: Table 8 shows
- 0.528*), stress at proportional limit (r = the correlation of outside diameter, length or
-0.530*), and modulus of rupture (r = span and culm wall thickness of specimens
-0.510). This means that an increase in with compressive and bending properties of
fibrovascular bundle frequency towards the the two species. In B. blumeano, the length or
top portion of the culm may result in span and culm wall thickness with same
decreased shrinkage on width, stress at pro- values of (r = - 0.436) were negatively
portional limit and modulus of rupture values, correlated with relative density in compres-
as can be seen in Table 2. sion whereas the culm wall thickness was
positively correlated with bending properties
such as stress at proportional limit (r =
There was also a negative correlation 0.617) and modulus of rupture (r =
between stress at proportional limit and fiber 0.670). This means that as the culm wall
length (r = -0.810) and between maxi- thickness decreases towards the top, there is a
mum crushing strength with lumen diameter corresponding decrease in stress at propor-
(r = -0.810). This implies that decreased tional limit and modulus of rupture where
stress at proportional limit towards the top increased relative density also occurred
portion may be due to increased fiber length (Table 2).
and that an increased maximum crushing
strength towards the top may be due to In G. leuis, the outside diameter, length or
decreased lumen diameter resulting in thicker span and culm wall thickness of specimens
walls, as can be seen in Tables 2 and 4. were negatively correlated with maximum
crushing strength and relative densities both
in compressive and bending properties. Like-
On the other hand, the fibrovascular wise, there was also a negative correlation
bundle frequency in G. leuis (Table 7) was between culm wall thickness and modulus of
also negatively correlated with shrinkage on elasticity (r = -0.795). This implies that a
width (r = -0.633) of specimens but posi- decrease in any of the physical characteristics
tively correlated with modulus of elasticity (r of specimens may result in a corresponding
= 0.716). Stress at proportional limit was increase in relative density and maximum
also positively correlated with fiber length (r crushing strength of the materials (Table 2).
= 0.535). This implies that the increased
modulus of elasticity towards the top portion
is due to the increased fibrovascular bundle Conclusions and
frequency where decreased shrinkage also Recommendations
occurred. The length of fiber has something
to do with the increased values in stress at This study has disclosed some interesting
proportional limit towards the top portion of facts regarding the different properties of B.
the culm, as seen in Tables 2 and 4. blumeana and G. leuis.

262
 Based from test results, B. blumeana was tinik (B. blumeana). Philippine Lum-
found to have a considerably lower relative berman 10(4) : 33-36.
density than G. levis which is associated with Espiloy, Z.B. 1979. Effect of internode height
higher moisture content and shrinkage to fiber length, specific gravity and
values. G. levis was found to have a higher moisture content of B. blumeana. FOR-
maximum crushing strength than the former PRIDE Digest 8(3 & 4) : 83-85.
but was weaker in bending strengths, except Espiloy, Z.B. 1983. Variability of specific
for modulus of elasticity. gravity, silica content and fiber measure-
With regard to their anatomical structure, ments in kauayan-tinik (B. blumeana).
B. blumeana averaged higher than G. levis in NSTA Technology Journal 8(2): 42-74.
fibrovascular bundle frequency but lower in all Espinosa, J.C. 1930. Bending and compres-
fiber and vessel dimensions, except for fiber sive strengths of the common Philippine
length. Anatomically, relative density is bamboo. Philippine Journal of Science
regarded as a function of the ratio of cell wall 41: 121-135.
volume to cell void volume. As such, it is
Gonzales, E.V. and Apostol, I. 1978. Chem-
affected by cell wall thickness and structure,
ical properties and eating qualities of
cell width, the relative proportions of different
bamboo of different species. Final
types of cells, and the kind and amount of
Report, PCARR Proj. No. 283, Study 4.
extractives present. Moreover, relative
FPRDI Library, College, Laguna, Philip-
density is a measure of the strength properties
pines.
of a material. The findings of other investi-
gators were verified in this study. The general Grosser, D. and Zamuco, Jr., G.I. 1971.
increase in compressive a n d b e n d i n g Anatomy of some bamboo species in the
strengths towards the top portion of the whole Philippines. Philippines Journal of
culm could be attributed to the significant Science 100(l): 57-73.
increases in relative density and fibrovascular Guzman, E.D. de. 1978. Resistance of bam-
bundle frequency towards the same direction boos to decay fungi. Terminal Report,
along the culm length. PCARR Proj. No. 283, Study 7, UPLB-
CF Library, College, Laguna, Philip-
Similar studies on other bamboo species
pines.
should be undertaken. Further investigation is
necessary to confirm these findings, which at Heck, G.E. 1956. Properties of some bam-
this point can be considered preliminary. The boos cultivated in the Western Hemi-
findings must be interpreted with caution, sphere. USDA Report D1765, Forest
since the results may not hold true for other Products Laboratory, Madison 5,
bamboo species growing in another site and Wisconsin, U.S.A.
subjected to varying environmental con-
Liese, W. 1980. Anatomy of bamboo. 161-
ditions. 164. In: Proceedings of a Workshop in
Singapore (Bamboo Research in Asia).
References (Eds. Gilles Lessard and AmY
Chouinard). Organized by the Inter-
Brown, W.H. and Fischer, A.F. 1918. Philip- national Development Research Center
and the International Union of Forestry
pine bamboos. In: Minor Products of
Research Organization.
Philippine Forests, (Ed. Brown, W.H.).
Bureau of Forestry, Department of Agri- Merrill, E.D. 1916. On the identity of
culture and Natural Resources l(22) : Blancos species of Bambusa. American
251-310. Journal of Botany 3: 58-64.
Casin, R.F. and Mosteiro, A.D. 1970. Utiliza- S e m a n a , J.A., E s c o l a n o , J . O . a n d
tion and preservation of bamboos. FOR- Monsalud, M.R. 1967. The kraft pulping
PRIDECOM Wood Preservation Report qualities of some Philippine bamboos.
5(6): 86-92. TAPPI 50(8): 416-419.
Escolano, J.O., Nicolas, P.M. and Tadena, Sineath, H.H., Daugherty, P.M., Nutton,
Jr., F.G. 1964. Pulping, bleaching and R.N. and Wastler, T.A. 1953. Industrial
papermaking experiments for kauayan- raw materials of plant origin. Part V.

263
 Survey of the bamboos. Georgia Institute Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
of Technology, Engineering Expt. Sta. Velazquez, G.T. and Santos, J.K. 1931.
Bulletin 18. Atlanta, Georgia. Anatomical study on the culm of five
Tamolang, F.M., Lopez, F.R., Semana, J.A., Philippine bamboos. Natural and Applied
Casin, R.F. and Espiloy, Z.B. 1980. Pro- Science Bulletin l(4) : 281-315.
perties and utilization of Philippine erect Zamuco, Jr. G.I. and Tongacan, A.L. 1973.
bamboos (Bamboo Research in Asia: Pro- Anatomical structure of four erect bam-
ceedings of a workshop held in Singa- boos.in the Philippines. The Philippine
pore, 28-30, May, 1980) IDRC-159 A. Lumberman 19( 10) : 20-23.

264
Diseases

265
 Bamboo Blight in the Village Groves of
Bangladesh
Mohammad Abdur Rahman
Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 273,
Chittagong, Bangladesh

Abstract 3,500 mm. Nearly 80 per cent of the annual

rain falls between June and October. Humid-
Bamboo blight is an important disease of ity is generally high through most of the year
village grown bamboo in Bangladesh. The raising to almost 90 per cent in the rainy sea-
blight first affects new culms but may also con- son. Bamboo is an important economic crop
tinue into older ones. The symptoms of the in Bangladesh and of the 18 commercially
disease have been briefly described. Conio- useful species described by Alam (1982),
thyrium fuckelii Sac. and Acremonium three are specially important. They are
strictum W. Gams are commonly isolated Bambusa balcooa, B. Vulgaris and B. tulda.
from blighted bamboo culms. The results of
isolation of fungi and pathogenicity tests are Bamboo blight was first noticed in some
presented. In the experiments performed A. parts of Rajshahi district. General information
strictum produces blight symptoms. Pre- on the symptoms and isolation of fungi asso-
viously infected culms s h o w a higher ciated with blighted bamboo tissues have
incidence of disease when compared to new been reported by Rahman and Ole Zethner
culms which developed from healthy parent (1971), Gibson (1975) and Rahman (1978).
culms. pH of soil of bamboo clumps, carbon The latter also provided a review of reported
and nitrogen contents of bamboo culms are bamboo diseases. Pawsey (1980) included
not associated with the development and some historical background and importance
severity of blight. of the problem. Boa and Rahman (1983)
reported the history of bamboo blight and its
Various control measures have been epidemiology, described the disease and
attempted which range from improued cul- recorded its etiology and on the spread of the
tural practices to field tests with fungicides. disease. Rahman and Khisha (1981) ascribed
Dithane M 45 is able to reduce the amount of
A c r e m o n i u m strictum W . G a m s a s a
b l i g h t developing i n c u l m s . R e m o u i n g
pathogen which can cause bamboo blight.
blighted bamboos, burning debris in situ and
Rahman, Khisha and Basak (1983) reported
putting new soil in clumps significantly
on some of the factors relating to regeneration
increased the survival of new culms.
and mortality of two bamboo species. This
paper reviews earlier findings and reports
more recent work on bamboo blight.
Introduction

Bangladesh lies between 20.75o and

25.75 North Latitudes and 88.30 a n d Symptoms Of Bamboo Blight
92.75 East Longitudes. It has an area of
143,997 square kilometres. The climate of Mortality of bamboos, particularly those in
Bangladesh is tropical. Summers are hot and the village groves, mainly occur in two stages:
wet, while the winters are cool and dry. The i) mortality of very young emerging culms
temperature varies from 52F to 84F in generally within heights of 40 cm, and ii)
winter and 70F to 94F in summer. Total mortality of newly growing culms which attain
annual rainfall varies from 1,200 mm to heights of about 1 m to 5 m. The former type

266
of mortality is very common (Rahman, Khisa medium using standard phytopathological
and Basak, 1983; Banik, 1983) but the actual techniques. Isolations of fungi from B.
cause of mortality of emerging culms is not balcooa were from diseased (i) culm sheaths
known. Banik (1983) has suggested that eco- (ii) young culms (iii) older culms (iv) young
physiological conditions and genetic make up branches (v) leaf sheaths and from healthy
of each species and clump seem to influence branches and culms. Details of the results of
the rate of mortality of emerging culm in bam- isolation have been published elsewhere
boo. Mortality of growing culms, generally (Rahman, 1978; Rahman and Khisha, 1981).
within heights of l-5 m, is by far the most These isolations predominantly yielded
damaging. The death of the small emerging Coniothyrium fuckelii Sac. But from blighted
culms, start as a light brown to brown dis- young branches and leaf sheaths of B.
colouration of culm and culm sheaths. Dis- balcooa, and also from blighted older culms
colouration may start either at the top or near and young branches of B. vulgaris, Acremo-
soil level or along any side of the emerging nium strictum W. Cams, was most domi-
culm. With the advance of discolouration and nantly present. C. fuckelii was also isolated
decay, the culms fail to develop and ulti- from blighted older culms of B. oulgaris.
mately rot and disintegrate. The symptoms of Other isolates including Fusarium monili-
the blight of growing culms have been formae Sheld, F. equiseti (Corda) Sacc.,
reported (Rahman, 1978: Rahman and Staehybotris bisbui (Sriniv.) Barron were iso-
Khisa, 1981). Boa and Rahman 1983) and lated only to a lesser extent.
is covered more thoroughly by Boa, 1985 (in
this proceedings).
Pathogenecity Tests

Isolation Of Fungi Artificial inoculations with fungi C. fuckelii

S. bisbvi. A. strictus and F. moniliformae were
Fungi were isolated from diseased Bam- carried out on young culms of B. balcooa and
busa balcooa collected from Chapai B. Vulgaris. Inoculations were carried out
Nawabganj in Rajshahi (in the western part of with or without any artificial injury on the
the country) and also from Forest Research host. Spore suspension (S.S.) and artificially
Institute campus; and from B. vulgaris from infected bamboo blocks (1.B.B.) were used as
Chittagong, on the eastern part of the coun- inocula for pathogenicity tests.
try, on Potato sucrose Agar or 2% Malt Agar The data in Table 1 reveal that inoculation

Table 1. Results of artificial inoculation of Bambusa balcooa in Rajshahi by Coniothdum

fuckelii. Stachvboris bisbvi and Fusarium moniliformae.

% infected
lnocula Part Treatment
Inoculant type inoculated replication
nodal inter
bud node

Coniothyium fuckelii S.S. culm sheath Inoculated - 40 3 0

Control - 20 0 0

S.S. nodal bud Inoculated 22 50 50

Control - 9 33 22

I.B.B. internode Inoculated - 25 24 28

Control - 7 28 0

Stachybotris bisbvi I.B.B. nodal bud & Inoculated - 12 67 0

internode Control - 4 25 0

S.S. culm sheath Inoculated 21 0 0

Control - 7 0 0

Fusarium moniliformae S.S. culm sheath Inoculated - 15 0 0

Control - 15 0 0

267
Table 2. Results of artificial inoculation of Bambusa balcooa and B. vulgaris in Chittagong
by Acremonium stricturn !

State of growth No. of culms/

Bamboo of culms or branches
Species branches Treatment Inoculated Infected Symptoms

B. balcooa - Young branch Inoculation 13 10 Typical blight

from culm Control 13 1 symptom
cutting in
shade
! ". +
- Young branch Inoculation 12 8 Typical blight
from culm Control 12 0
cutting in
the open

B. vulgaris - Young culm Inoculation 25 13 Typical blight

still covered Control 25 6 symptom
with culm
sheaths

* The data have been adapted from Rahman & Khisha (1981)

with either C. fuckelii. S. bisbui or F. monili- and Renfro 1972) disease of maize and leaf
formoe did not show any significant infection rot of Betelvine in India (Singh and Jeshi
as compared to the controls indicating that 1973), wilt of Chrysanthemum maximum in
none of these fungi was a primary pathogen California (Chase, 1978, Chase a n d
of bamboo blight. Munnecke 1980), stem necrosis of Sunflower
Development of symptoms and resultant IN Indiana (Richerson 1981), black bundle
blight of young growing branches from disease of corn (Barnett and Binder 1973).
ground layered culm cuttings of B. balcooa brown stem rot of Soybean (Presley and
were severe when the host materials were Allington 1 9 4 7 ) . C h a s e a n d Munnecke
grown either in the shade or in the open. In (1980) also noted that the host plant had to
both the cases, higher numbers of inoculated be stressed by excessive soil moisture or by
branches developed blight symptoms as com- the onset of flowering to obtain symptoms
pared to the corresponding controls. Artifi- comparable with those on field symptoms.
cially infected branches also yielded A. Unlike A. stricturn infections of Maize (Raju
strictum consistently. A significantly higher and LaI 1977) or C. maximum (Chase and
number of the inoculated culms of B. vulgaris Munnecke 1980). development of symptoms
developed infection as comapared to that of in bamboo was observed from the early stages
the controls. About one month after inocula- of culm growth. It is suggested that in the case
tion some of the inoculated culms were found of bamboo blight, infections were soilborne
to have developed necrosis on the culm and occurred before or during emergence of
sheaths. Removal of some of the culm new culm through the soil.
sheaths revealed that discolouration also ex-
tended to the tender culm undernearth. A.
strictrum was retrieved from the infected culm Field Trials To Control Bamboo
and culm sheath. Such culms developed a Blight
dead top within one months time rendering
the symptoms typical of bamboo blight In a recent experiment six blighted clumps
(Rahman & Khisha, 1981). of B. vulgaris in Chittagong were treated with
In the present study A. stricturn has been Copper oxychloride and five clumps with
found to be a primary pathogen of blight of B. Dithane M 45 (a complex of zinc and maneb
balcooa and B. vulgaris (Table 2). This fungus containing 20% managese and 2.5% zinc) as
has also been reported to cause leaf spot of soil drench in late July 1984. Five almost
Fig in Louisiana (Tim 1941). stalk rot (Gupta similarly blighted clumps were kept untreated

268
 Table 3. Effect of cultuml measures and fungicfdal treatments on the survival of new
culms of bamboos.

Number of new culms

Species Treatments Number of % survival CV%
(locality) clumps Developed Survived
B. balcooa Blighted bamboos 15 568 263 43.30 28.90
(Rajshahi) cut and removed,
debris burnt in
clumps and new
soil added.
Blighted bamboos 5 120 35 29.17 39.49
cut and removed,
and new soil
added.
Controls 9 338 99 29.29 21.77
B . vulgaris Soil drenched 6 305 91 29.84 68.11
(Chittagong) with Cupravit
Soil drenched 5 188 101 53.72 36.74
with Dithane M 45
Controls 5 172 34 19.77 56.65

and served as controls. The number of References

healthy and dead culms were observed at
regular intervals from 3rd August, 1984 until Alam, M.K. 1982. A guide to eighteen
January, 1985. The results of the above species of bamboos from Bangladesh.
experiments on the survivality of new culms Bulletin 2 (Plant Taxonomy Series), 29
are presented in Table 3. pp; FRI, Chittagong.
Cutting and removing blighted bamboos, Banik, R.L. 1983. Emerging culm mortality
burning the debris of clumps in situ and addi- at early developing stage in bamboos.
tion of new soil to clumps promoted the pro- Bano Biggyan Patrika, 12: 47-53, FRI,
duction of higher number of surviving healthy Chittagong.
bamboos in comparision with that of the con-
trols. Cutting and removing blighted bamboos Barnett, H.L. and Binder, F.L. 1973. The
and adding new soil to clumps (without burn- fungal host parasite relationship. Annual
ing) had no significant effect on the survival of Review of Phytopathology, 11: 273-292.
new culms. Hence, the significant increase in Boa, E.R. and Rahman, M.A. 1983. Bam-
the number of survival of new culms is most boo blight in Bangladesh: an important
likely due to the direct and/or indirect effect disorder of bamboos. A bulletin, 24 pp.
of burning. The direct effect of burning may FRI, Chittagong.
result in a reduction in the inocula potential of Chase, A.R. 1978. New fungus associated
pathogenic fungus which existed in the debris with vascular wilt of Shasta daisy. Califor-
or in the top few inches of soil. The indirect nia Agriculture, 32: 21.
effect may be due to the addition of ash in the
soil which might have acted as a manure. Chase, A.R. and Munnecke, D.E. 1980.
Drenching soils of the bamboo clumps which Shasta daisy vascular wilt incited by Acre-
had bamboo blight with either Copper oxy- monium strictum. Phytopathology. 70:
chloride or Dithane M 45 proved to be bene- 834-838. !

ficial as compared to the control clumps. Choudhury, M.R. 1984. A study on supply
Dithane M 45 soil drench was better than and demand of bamboos and canes in
Copper oxychloride treatment. The differ- Bangladesh. A special study report pre-
ence was not, however, significant because of pared for FAO/UNDP Project B.G.B./
high variability among the clumps. 78/100,69 pp, Dhaka.
original not seen.

269
Gibson, I.A.S. 1975. Report on a visit to the Rahman, M.A., Khisa, S.K. and Basak, A.C.
Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, 28 1983. Some factors related to the regen-
February, to 1 April and 13 to 17 April, eration and mortality of two bamboo
1975, 1-29 pp. Overseas Development species in Bangladesh. Bano Biggyan
Administration, London. Patrika 12: 6-11.
Gupta, B.M. and Reufro, B.L. 1972. Asso- Rahman, M.A. and Ole Zethner, 1971. An
ciative efforts of two fungi in the incite- interim report on results obtained in
ment of Cephalosporium stalk rot of Forest Pathology Section from Septem-
corn. Labdev Journal of Science and ber 1969 to August, 1971. Forestdale
Technology B 10: 80-82. News 4: 45-48. FRI, Chittagong.
Richeson, M.L. 1981. Etiology of a late sea-
Pawsey, R.G. 1980. Report on -a visit to the son wilt in Helianthus annus*. Plant
Peoples Republic of Bangladesh; 25 pp, Disease Reporter 65: 1019-1021.
Overseas Development Administration,
Stakman, E.C. and Harrar, J.C. 1057. Prin-
London.
ciples of Plant Pathology, Ronald Press,
Piper, C.S. 1944. Soil and plant analysis, New York.
Interscience Publishers, New York.
Singh, B.P. and Joshi, L.K. 1973. Studies on
Presley, J.T. and Allington, W.B. 1947. the disease of Betelvine (Piper betle L.) in
Brown stem rot of Soyabean caused by a Jabbalpur (M.P.). A new leaf rot incited
Cephalosporium. Phytopathology 37: Cephalosporium acremonium *,
by
681-682. Science and Culture 39: 312.
Rahman, M.A. 1978. Isolation of fungi from Tim, E.C. 1941. A new leaf spot of Fig*
blight affected bamboos in Bangladesh. Abstract in Phytopathology XXX: 771.
Bano Biggyan Patrika, 7: 42-47. Yarwood, C.F. 1959. Predisposition
Rahman, M.A. Khisa, S.K. 1981. Bamboo 521-562. In, Plant Pathology: an
blight with particular reference to Acre- advance treatise. Vol. I (Eds. Horsfall,
monium strictum. Bano Biggyan Patrika, J.G. & Dimond, A.E.), Academic Press,
10: 81-93. New York.

original not seen.

270
 Fungal Diseases of Bamboo
A Preliminary and Provisional List
Eric R. B o a

Forest Research Institute, Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Abstract diseases. Even where I was able to consult

original papers only a limited amount of detail
Information on the fungal diseases of was available.
bamboo is collated and the importance of the Many of the original references to bamboo
diseases is discussed. The need for further diseases are not available, often because of
work is indicated and certain methods of difficulties in obtaining journals. Several refer-
study are suggested. ences were obtained from two annotated
bibliographies (Elbourn, 1 9 7 8 ; Ridout,
1983), which together cover the Review of
Introduction Plant Pathology (RPP) from 1973-1982.
Earlier issues of the RPP were also consulted.
This is the first attempt to collate informa-
tion on fungal diseases of bamboo as
recorded throughout the world. In practice, Scope of Bamboo Disease List
this will refer largely to countries in Asia, parti-
cularly India and Japan; only a limited Only fungal diseases are considered
number of records have been found for bam- There are many records of deuteromycetea
boo diseases in Africa and Central and (Ellis, 1971, 1976; Sutton, 1980) on bamboo
South America. Within Asia there are several but most of these have no association with a
countries, for instances, the Philippines, disease.
Indonesia and Burma, for which little infor-
I have treated many of the records of
mation is available. By comparison many
higher fungi (mainly polypores) producing
records exist for bamboo in the U.S.A.
rots on living bamboo with some circumspec-
(Anon, 1960) which reflects more on the
tion. Bagchee and Singh (1954), for instance,
activity of pathologists than on the impor:
give many instances of decay fungi which I
tance of either bamboo or bamboo diseases
have considered to be of dubious significance,
Several Japanese works have been consulted
and which have been omitted from below in
on bamboo diseases: Kusano (1908) lists
the absence of data from another source.
bamboo leaf rusts whilst Kawamura (1929)
Those rot and decay fungal records that are
and Hino (1961) are more general. Bamboo
listed should be treated with some caution
diseases in India are usefully summarised by
(eg. Fomes spp.) since it is not clear which
Butler and Bisby (1960) and Bakshi (1976).
part of the bamboo is attacked - rhizome or
These consider inter alia two very important
and widespread bamboo host genera, culm.
Bambusa and Dendrocalamus. J a p a n e s e One bacterial disease of bamboo in
workers have been largely concerned with Taiwan (Lo et al., 1966) has been included.
Sasa and its allies, and to a lesser extent Phyl- However, viruses (Anon, 1977; Kitajima et
lostachys. Spaulding (1961) records many of al., 1977; Lin et al., 1977), mycoplasmas
the bamboo diseases. It is unfortunate, given (Nayar and Ananthapadmanabha, 1977) and
the lack of data on symptoms and disease mistletoes have been excluded. Similarly
losses, that the original sources for the data decays and rots of cut bamboos are not consi-
which is presented are not given. This lack of dered. There is no suggestion that bamboo
information on bamboo diseases has, how- viruses cause any damage to their hosts. A
ever, been a constant problem in any attempt series of papers by Kwan Soo Kim (1979) and
to compile a comprehensive list of bamboo Kwan Soo Kim and Ji-Yul Lee (1980) investi-

271
gated the soil-borne fungi of Phyllostachys dated, together with a more complete picture
reticulata forests in Korea. None of these fungi of the disease; for example. a full description
were associated with any disease of bamboo. of symptoms and losses due to the disease.
2. The present records for bamboo
disease do not adequately consider the very
Importance of Bamboo Diseases important although widely dispersed resource
of rural village bamboos.
The relative importance of the different 3. The growing culm has received little
diseases is difficult to assess because of the attention with regard to disease. Young,
general lack of information accompanying green, wet tissue is more likely to be damaged
each disease record. Despite this the overall by pathogenic organisms, and to a greater
impression is that many of the bamboo extent, than mature culms.
diseases are of only limited importance. It There are several cryptic references to the
became apparent when compiling the list that death of new shoots at a very early stage.
the higher fungi (e.g. polypores and ascomy- Pathological studies of these dying culms are
cetes) had been more frequently recorded required to establish whether this apparently
(perhaps because of their distinct fruiting widespread phenomenon is due to a living or
bodies) than the deuteromycetes. The non-living (e.g. soil conditions) agent.
hyphomycetes in particular are much under-
4. The culm sheaths play a very impor-
represented and this, I feel, represents a lack
of investigation into bamboo micro-fungi tant part in the development of new culms. If
rather than an absence of pathogens in this green culm sheaths and/or the not fully
expanded internode below are damaged, for
group. There is no suggestion that any of the
example by insects, this has an apparently
many leaf spot fungi, leaf rusts and decay
dramatic effect on the proximal part of the
pathogens cause more than minor damage.
growing culm. The effect certainly extends
Severe attacks by rust fungi on bamboo have
been noted, but only infrequently and with much beyond the area damaged and suggests
that culm sheaths and the internodes that
only localized damage. By comparison the
they protect are particularly susceptible to
diseases of growing or young culms are much
more serious, with extensive damage damage. Again this is an area to be investi-
reported for bamboo blight (on Bambusa gated more fully.One of the difficulties here is
spp.) in Bangladesh, (Boa, this volume) and that culm sheaths naturally have a very short
blight on Phyllostachys in China. existence (approximately four weeks for
Bambusa vulgaris in Bangladesh) and it can
be difficult to discern accurately the develop-
ment of abnormal necroses.
Bamboo Blight in Bangladesh
Format of Bamboo Disease
This important new disease of growing
culms of Bambusa spp. is not included in the
Listing
list of diseases below because we are still
uncertain about its etiology. Elsewhere in Diseases are listed alphabetically by the
these proceedings (Boa: Rahman) the sheath fungal (bacterium in one instance) associated
rot pathogen of rice Sarocladium oryzae, and with the symptoms. I have briefly described
Acremonium stricturn are both linked with the type of fungus (e.g. Aphyllophorales
bamboo blight, particularly the former, but a (polypores), ascomycete etc.) the name of
connexion between a fungal and the disease the disease, countries and hosts in which it
has still not been adequately demonstrated. occurs, are also given together with a list of
appropriate references. I have not listed texts
such as Bakshi (1976) and Browne (1968)
Further Work Required unless these are the only references.
I have not listed authorities for either host
1. Many of the records of diseases are or pathogen; this detail was not always avail-
quite old. It is important that these be up- able in the papers consulted.

272
List of Fungal Bamboo Diseases
(1) Aciculosporium take WITCHES Hyphomycete
BROOM (Japan; Taiwan) on Phyllostachys aurea
Ascomycete Anon (1960)
o n P h y l l o s t a c h y s aurea; P . bambu-
soides; P . lithophila; P. malcinoi; P . (10) Clavaria spp. SHOOT ROT (Thailand)
nigra; P.. nigra var henonis; P. Basidiomycete
pubescens. on Bambusa spp.
C. Chen (1970, 1971); Kao and Leu Giatgong (1980)
(1976); Lin et al. (1981); Nozu and (11) Coccodiella arundinariae LEAF SPOT
Yamamoto (1972) : Shinohara (1965) ; (China, Japan)
Spaulding (1961). Ascomycete
(2) Amauroderma rugosus (sic) CULM on Phyllostachys sp.
DECAY (India)
Spaulding (1961)
Aphyllophorales
on Bambusa (12) Colletotrichum graminicola AN-
Banerjee and Ghosh (1942) THRACNOSE (U.S.A.)
Armillaria mellea PATHOGEN? (Kenya) Coelomycete
(3)
Agarioales on Arundinaria gigantea
associated with Arundinaria alpina Anon (1960)
Gibson (1960) (13) Colletotrichum hsienjenchang CULM
(4) Asterinella hiugensis BLACK MILDEW BLIGHT/ROT (Japan)
ON CULMS (Japan) on Phyllostachys bambusoides; P. nigra
Ascomycete var. henonsis
on Phyllostachys bambusoides Spaulding (1961)
Spaulding (1961)
(14) Coniosporium bambusae SHOOT
(5) Astrosphaeriellafuscomaculans SPECK- WILT (U.S.S.R.)
LED CULMS (Japan)
Hyphomycete
Ascomycete
on Phyllostachys spp.
on Phyllostachys nigra
B e r a d z e (1972), (1973a), (1973b),
This infection enhances the value of the (1974), (1975a), (1975b)
culms!
(15) Corticium lcoleroga THREAD BLIGHT
(LEAF AND CULM DAMAGE) (India)
(6) Balladyna butleri BLACK LEAF SPOT Aphyllophorales
(India) on Dendrocalamus sp.
Ascomycete
Browne (1968)
on Bambusa sp.
Butler and Bisby (1960) (16) Dasturella bambusina LEAF RUST
(India)
(7) Calocline chusqueae LEAF LESIONS Uredinales
(Ecuador)
on Bambusa sp.
Coelomycete
According to Bakshi (1978) the original
on Chusquea specimen when re-examined showed
Sutton (1980) the host to be Dendrocalamus strictus.
(8) Ceratosphaeria phyllostachydis He also noted that the telia of D. bam-
SHOOT BLIGHT (China) busina and D. dioinawere the same.
Ascomycete Mundkur and Kheswalla (1943)
on Phyllostachydis edulis (17) Dasturella diuina LEAF RUST (India;
Cladosporium graminum LEAF Vietnam; Pakistan; Japan)
(9)
MOULD (U.S.A.) Uredinales

273
 on Dendrocalamus sp.; D. strictus; (25) Fusarium solani CULM BROWN ROT
Oxytenanthera abeysannae (fide Bakshi (China)
(1968); Ox. abyssinica (fide Thiruma- Hyp homycete
Iachar and Gopalankrishnan (1947)).
Lan (1980)
Alternative hosts Randia and Xerom-
phis (Angiosperms). (26) Ganoderma lucidum ROOT ROT (India,
Bakshi and Sujan Singh (1967); Pakistan, Philippines
Spaulding ,(1961); Sujan Singh and Aphyllophorales
Bakshi (1964) on Bambusa sp. B. arundinacea
Bakshi (1957); Banerjee and Ghosh
18) Dicellomyces gloeosporus LEAF SPOT (1942) ; Butler (1909) ; Spaulding (1961)
(U.S.A.)
Basidiomycete (27) Helminthosporium s p . L E A F S P O T
(U.S.A.)
on Arundinaria tecta
Hyphomycete
Anon (1960) on other bamboo spp.
(19) Diplodia bambusae TIP BLIGHT Anon (1960)
(U.S.A.)
Coelomycete (28) Hughesinia chusqueae LEAF SPOT
(C hile)
on other bamboo spp. Hyphomycete
Anon (1960)
on Chusquea
(20) Encoelia helvola
CULM ROT Ellis (1976)
(Indonesia)
Ascomycete (29) Hypoxy lon rubiginosum CANKER/
WHITE POCKET ROT (India)
on Bambusa spp.; Bambusa arundi- Ascomycete
nacea; Gigantochloa apus
on Bambusa
Overeem (1926) ; Rifai (1983)
Bagchee and Singh (1954)
(2 1) Epichloe bambusae WITCHES BROOM
(Indonesia) (30) Hypoxylon fuscopurpureum CANKER
(India)
Ascomycete
on Bambusa
on Bambusa vulgaris; Dendrocalamus
asper; Gigantochloa apus; G. atter; G. Bagchee and Singh (1954)
verticilliata (31) Irpex flavus SPONGY SAP ROT (India?
Rifai (1983) Ghana? Pakistan)
(22) Erwinia sinoclami BACTERIAL WILT
Aphyllophorales
(Taiwan) on Bambusa sp.
Bacterium Browne (1968)
on Taiwan giant bamboo (32) Leptothyrium cylindrium LEAF SPOT
Loetal. (1966) (U.S.A.)
Coelomycete
(23) Fomes lignosus WHITE ROOT ROT
(Malaysia) on Arundinaria tecta
Aphyllophorales Anon (1960)
on Dendrocalamus giganteus (33) Loculistroma bambusae WITCHES
Browne (1968) ; Hilton (1961) BROOM (China)
Ascomycete
(24) Fusarium moniliforme BASAL CULM
ROT (China) on Phyllostachys
Hyphomycete Anon (1911)
on Phyllostachys pubescens (34) Meliola bambusicola BLACK MILDEW
J. Chen (1982) (India)

274
 Ascomycete Butler and Bisby (1960)
on Bambusa sp. (45) Phyllachora chusqueae (U.S.A.)
Browne (1968); Butler and Bisby (1960) on other bamboo spp.
(35) Meliola tenuis BLACK MILDEW Anon (1960)
(U.S.A.) (46) Polyporus
on Arundinaria gigantea; A. tecta Aphyllophorales
Anon (1960) on Dendrocalamus strictus
(36) Merulius similis CULM DECAY (India) Cause of death noted as Polyporus, in
Aphyllophorales conjunction with Poria and Rhizoctonia
on Bambusa bambos (see Sheikh et al. (1978)
Banerjee and Bakshi (1945); Banerjee (47) Polyporus durus DECAY (India)
and Ghosh (1942) ; Banerjee and on Bambusa
Mukhopadhyay (1962) Banerjee and Ghosh (1942)
(37 Mycosphaerella sp. L E A F S P O T (48) Polyporus friabilis DECAY (India)
(U.S.A.) on Bambusa
Ascomycete Banerjee and Ghosh (1942)
on Phyllostachys bambusoides; P. nigra
(49) Poria rhizomorpha ROOT ROT (India,
Anon (1960)
Bangladesh (given as Pakistan))
(38) Mycosphaerella arundinariae LEAF on Melocanna baccifera
SPOT (U.S.A.)
Spaulding (196 1)
on Arundinaria tecta
(50) Puccinia spp. RUSTS (U.S.S.R.)
Anon (1960)
Uredinales
(39) Myrangium bambusae SEVERE on bamboo - no other information
PARASITE (C hina) available.
Ascomycete Beradze (1972)
on Phyllostachys pubescens
(5 1) Puccinia arundinariae LEAF RUST
Tai (1931) (U.S.A.)
(40) Papularia arundia (= Arthrinium state of on Arundinaria gigantea
Apiospora Hyphomycete montagnei Anon (1960)
fide Ellis (1965)) on Bambusa sp. CULM
SOOTY STRIPE? (India) (52) Puccinia gracilenta LEAF RUST (India)
Ellis (1971) makes no mention of this on Bambusa sp.
common bamboo fungus as a pathogen. Bakshi and Sujan Singh (1967); Butler
I have frequently observed Arthrinium and Bisby (1960)
freely sporulating on dead culm and (53) Puccinia ignaua LEAF RUST (U.S.A.)
twigs. Bagchee and Singh (1954);
(see also Uredo ignava)
Thirumalachar and Pavgi (1950) Phyl-
lachora spp _LEAF SPOTS on Bambusa vulgaris
Ascomycete Anon (1960)
Five species recorded widely (54) Puccinia kusanoi LEAF RUST (Japan,
U.K.)
(41 Phyllachora arundinariae (U.S.A.) on Arundinaria, Sasa, Semiarundinaria
on Arundinaria tecta fastuosa, Alternative host Deutzia
Anon (1960) (Angiosperm)
(42) Phyllachora bambusae Reid (1978); Reid (1984) ; Spaulding
(1961)
(43) Phyllachora malabarensis (India)
(55) Puccinia Iongicornis LEAF RUST
(44) shiraiana
Phyllachora
(China, Indochina, Japan, U.K.)
on Bambusa spp. Noted as being of little
Uredinales
importance.

275
 on Arundinaria, Bambusa arundinacea, Coefomycetes
Phyllostachys, Sasa. on other bamboo spp.
Reid (1978) ; Spaulding (1961) Anon (1960)
(56) Puccinia phyllostachydis LEAF RUST (64) Shiraia bambusicola CULM SHEATH
(India, China, Japan, U.S.A.) PATHOGEN? (China)
(Also as P. melanocephala) Ascomycete
o n A r u n d i n a r i a suberecta; Phyllo- on Phyllostachys sp
stachys aurea; P. bambusoides; P. nigra Tai (1932)
var henonsis
Browne (1968) says that P. phyllo- (65) Stereostratum corticioides LEAF AND
stachydis is the correct name for P. STEM RUST (China, Japan, Pakistan)
melanocephala a s g i v e n b y , for Uredinales
example, Butler and Bisby (1960). on Arundinaria. P. bambusoides, P.
Other references: Anon (1960); Bakshi nigra var henonis
and Sujan Singh (1967); Spaudling Spaulding (196 1)
(1961) (66) Stereum percome DECAY (India)
(57) Puccinia xanthosperma LEAF RUST Aphyllophorales
(India) on Bambusa
Uredinales Banerjee and Ghosh (1942)
on Bambusa sp.
(67) Tomentella bambusina CULM WILT
. Bakshi and Sujan Singh (1967); Butler (Brazil)
and Bisby (1960)
Aphyllophorales
(58) Pyricularia sp. LEAF INFECTIONS (Tomentella = Trechispora)
(Japan) on Bambusa vulgaris
Hyphomycete
on Phyllostachys; P. oryzae; Semiarun-
dinaria spp.; S. viridis; Shibateae; (68) Trametes corrugata DECAY (India)
Tetragonocala mus. Aphyllophorales
Itoi et al. (1978), (1979) on Bambusa
(59) Pyricularia grisea LEAF SPOTS Banerjee and Ghosh (1942)
(Pantropical) (69) Tunicopsora bagchii LEAF RUST AND
on Bambusa TWIG DEATH/WITCHES BROOM
Ellis (1971) (India)
(60) Rhizoctonia DEATH OF CULMS, Uredinales
CLUMP (Pakistan) on Dendrocalamus strictus
Agonomycete Bakshi et al. (1972); Sujan Singh and
Pandey (1971)
See note for Polyporus
(70) Uredo dendrocalami RUST (SriLanka.
(61) Scolecotrichum graminis ( = Scilecotri-
China)
chum gra minis)
Uredinales
Hyphomycete BROWN STRIPE OF
CULM (U.S.A.) on Dendrocalamus. D. latiflorus
on Arundinaria tecta Spalding (1961)
Anon (1960) (71) Uredo ignava LEAF RUST (China.
Cuba. Puerto Rico, Venezuela)
(62) Sclerotium rolfsii CULM ROT (U.S.A.)
(See P. ignava)
Agonomycete
on Bambusa arundrnacea. B vulgaris.
on Bambusa vulgaris
Dendrocalamus sp.
Anon (1960)
Spaulding ( 196 1)
(63) Selenophoma donacis CULM SPOT
(72) Ustilago shiraiana SHOOT DEATH
(U:S.A.)

276
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Nihon University No. 21,42-60.

279
 The Occurrence and Bamboo Blight in
Bangladesh with Reference to
Sarocladium oryzae
Eric R. Boa
Forest Research Institute, PO. Box 273,
Chittagong, Bangladesh

Abstract Rahman of the Forest Research Institute,

Chittagong. A colour brochure which de-
The symptoms of a blight of Bambusa scribes the disease in outline has been pro-
duced (Boa and Rahman, 1984); the present
spp. are described fully for the first time. The
paper provides a more complete description
disease has only been recorded from Bang-
ladesh and has been present since the early
of blight symptoms and reports the results of
isolations of fungi from diseased and healthy
1970s. Bamboo blight attacks village bam-
tissues together with a discussion on the cause
boos; in particular B. balcooa a n d B.
vulgaris, the two most important species; the of the disease.
forest bamboos, dominated by Melocanna The chronology of research on bamboo
baccifera, are not affected. Details are given blight is as follows: 1971 - Disease first
of the losses in bamboo clumps resulting from recorded in a brief note by Rahman and
blight attack. Isolations from blight symptoms Zethner (1971); 1975 Gibson (1975)
have consistently yielded Sarocladium during a brief visit to Bangladesh reported the
oryzae, the sheath rot pathogen of rice. disease from additional areas; 1978 -
Limited artificial inoculations with this fungus Rahman (1978) described the results of
on bamboo have resulted in symptoms similar isolations from blighted bamboo; and 1982 -
to blight, but much more work is required Bamboo blight project commences with the
before the cause of bamboo blight is fully help of the British Technical Cooperation
understood. There is much insect damage in Programme.
blighted culms and observations suggest that
these insect(s) are responsible for introducing
S. oryzae into Ihe culm via feeding holes. Bamboo Species in Bangladesh
and those which become
Blighted
Introduction
Bamboos in Bangladesh can be divided
There are few serious diseases of into two groups: the forest bamboos and the
bamboo. It was therefore with some alarm village bamboos. The latter are dominated by
that a brief note by Rahman and Zethner Bambusa balcooa (Fig. la), and are generally
(197 1) recorded a damaging new disease, thick-walled and form compact clumps with
which they called bamboo blight, from village large culms 15-20 m. The former are
bamboo groves of the Rajshahi district of dominated by Melocanna baccifera (Fig. lb)
Bangladesh. Subsequently little information and are thin-walled with small culms up to
was available on the disease, although there is about 10 m and both the species have pachy-
no doubt that it continued to be a major morph rhizome systems. The village bamboos
source of worry to local farmers. Since 1982 a are found throughout the flat. deltaic regions
comprehensive research programme h a s of Bangladesh and the forest bamboos in the
been carried out by myself and Dr M A upland regions (Chittagong Hill Tracts and

280
 Sylhet region) although it is not uncommon to
find M. baccifera growing in villages.
Table 1 shows the iwo most affected
species are B. balcooa a n d B. vulgaris.
Jawa bamboo is known only by its
name: on the basis of general appearance
and fringed auricles on its culm sheaths. It
would appear to be a Bambusa s
sensu lato (see Boa and Rahman,
description) refers to a group of bamboos that
are difficult to separate on the basis of
vegetative characteristics and also show the
same type of blight development. The group-
ing of these bamboo types into B. tulda s.1. is
made here for practical purposes only and is
not meant to have any taxonomic validity,
Alam (1982). who provides a recent descrip-
tion of bamboo species in Bangladesh,
separates B. tulda s,I. into three separate
species. The species described by Alam which
occur in villages, and are not mentioned in
Table 1, are of little importance and none
have been seen blighted, This includes
Dendrocalamus giganteus Nunro, for exam-
ple.
Fig. lb. Forest bmboo - Melocanna baccifera. Bamboo blight has only been recorded
from Bangladesh. Enquiries by the Forest
Research Institute of India to State Forestry
Departments yielded no records of blight

281
 Table 1. Important bamboo species occurring in
Bangladesh villages and the presence of blight.

Over811 Degree of
Species Notes on severity of disease
distribution field development in
attaCk s i n g l e clumps

Bambusa balcooa Widespread and abundant + + 1 - 4b

Roxburgh except for SE
B. glaucescens (Willd .) Locally common in NE NONE NONE
Sieb. ex Munro
B. polymorpha Munro Sporadic in NE and SE, NONE NONE
perhaps elsewhere
B. tulda sensu lato (see Widespread though + often + 1 -2
text) locally sparse except in N
B. vulgarisSchrader ex Dominant in SE but sporadic +++ 3-4
Wendland elsewhere
JAWA (local name - Common in W generally - ++ 2-3
Bambusa sp .?) absent elsewhere?
Cephalostachyum Apparently present in N only NONE NONE
pergracile Munro
Melocanna baccifera Generally E of Jamuna river, NONE NONE
(Roxburgh) Munro widespread though patchy and
sparse

+ low,+ + + high
bl (Minor) 25% new culms blighted; 2 (Mild) 25-50%;
3 (Moderate) SO-75%; 4 (Severe) 75%

(Sujan Singh, pers. comm.). Of the species best observed from about July through
listed in Table I which develop blight, B. November. If a culm is still healthy after com-
vulgaris is the only one of widespread impor- plete expansion has taken place, it will remain
tance. Gamble (1896) states that B. balcooa so. Culms are attacked at various stages of
occurs only in Assam and what is now development, in some cases when they have
Bangladesh . B. vulgaris, however, occurs ex- already grown to 8 m or more, but observa-
tensively throughout Asia from India to tions of the first stages of disease develop-
Malaysia (Holttum, 1958), Indonesia and ment have been made on culms which
elsewhere. B. tulda s.1. is grown mainly in the became blighted when 1-4 m tall. Once a
Indian subcontinent (Gamble, 1896). culm shows even slight development of blight
symptoms - at which stage no die back or
streaking is present - then it ceases growth.
Symptoms of Bamboo Blight Symptoms develop initially on internodes
which are still growing and which are
Bamboo blight is easily recognized in the approximately 40-60 cm below (Fig. 4a - far
field. in its later stages, by the presence of left culm) the culm apex. At this stage of
truncated culms which show varying degrees densely compacted internodes above -show
of die back (Fig. 2a). Below this dead portion no signs of symptoms either on the surface or
partial necrosis (streaking - Fig. 3) is internally although subsequently these will
usually present. Streaking may extend direct- develop and the apex will die.- These initial
ly from the dead part of the culm or may symptoms on growing internodes cannot
occur lower down as discrete areas (Fig. 6a). be deteced by external examination of the
Blight only attacks growing cuims and is thus culm since the supporting culm sheaths are

282
 Fig 2b Die back ends at node

2
 of defence barriers (Fig. 5a) will restrict spread
and result in streaks (Fig. 3).
Insects are obviously of great importance
inspreading blight symptoms within the culm
and also in introducing the disease. In several
culms insects had eaten through a healthy
culm sheath and burrowed into the under-
lying expanding culm tissue, where black
staining was seen around the edge of the in-
sect channels. In other cases the spread of
symptoms was clearly linked with the burrow-
ing of insects, for example as seen in older
blighted culms (4-8 months) (Fig. 5). It is not
clear whether the same insects are responsible
for burrowing both into tender culm tissue
and older harder tissue, and causing the
blight. So far no attempts have been made to
identify insect larvae found in culm walls. The
B development of blight in affected species is
different, as shown in Fig. 6; for example
culms of B. vulgaris are attacked at a much
earlier stage of growth whilst culms of B tulda
s.1. tend not to show any streaking.
A feature of blighted bamboo in Bangla-
desh is the failure of new culms to grow
beyond a height of about 40 cm (Fig. 7b). At
this stage internodes are densley compacted
and only a premature death of the culm
sheaths indicates that the culm is dying.
When these dying young culms are split open
(Fig. 7c) the origin of the disease can be seen
at the base. The apex is still symptomless at
this stage and the basal rhizome region
healthy.
There are also reports of dying young
culms from other countries where blight has
not been observed. I have witnessed this
phenomenon o n Gigantochloa i n t h e
Fig. 3. Streaking of blighted culm. Three zones can be
seen: A Orange/yellow discoloration, little or no stain
Botanical Gardens, Bogor, Indonesia; Ueda
below; B. Black/brown, stain below and usually insect (1960) carried out an extensive investigation
channels; C. Culm wall dead, light brown, dried out, into dying young culms on Pbyllostachys spp.
often with fissures and long irregular cavities. in Japan and Iisiung (pers. comm.) has fre
quently noticed this occurrence on Phyllo-
stachys in China. It appears unlikely that
still in place, but their presence is indicated by dying young culms are part of the bamboo
a premature death of these culm sheaths. blight disease syndrome in Bangladesh
Removal of the culm sheaths reveals dark although this topic needs more careful and
stained areas, almost always associated with detailed study to identify the cause of death.
insect holes and channels (Fig. 4b). The black
staining extends above and beIow the insect
hole, with reduced lateral spread, and often
to the depth of the inner culm wall. Black Distribution of Bamboo Blight
stained areas eventually become necrotic. If within Bangladesh
necrosis develops sufficiently then die back
will occur (Fig. 2b) otherwise the production Bamboo blight has been seen throughout

284
285
 4b

Bangladesh except the north-west (Fig. 8).

The other main areas in which bamboo blight
is absent are forest bamboos e.g. the east of
Chittagong or village bamboos in areas near
Barisal where blight occurs in relatively low
numbers, The worst affected areas observed
have been: 1) Dhaka and surrounding dis-
tricts, particularly towards Comilla; 2) Pabna
region (east of Rajshahi) and 3) Chittagong
and surrounding areas. Outside of these three
Fig. 5. Insect channels associated with internal staining: A) Oblique cross-section of 7 month-old culm. No external
symptoms. (a) insect channels, (b) internal stain, (c) defence barrier restricts spread, * B) Longitudinal section through
internode immediately below the extent of die back.

--- Edge of
die back

Insect
channels

Dark
staining

287
6b

Growth

Fig. 6. Blight development in about 7 month-old culms: a) Bambusa balcooa, streaking on 8 m culm, die back
(not shown) of above internodes. Note discrete areas of streaking (arrows); b) B. vulgaris, culms attacked at early
stage of growth; c) 8. tulda s.1.

1 level
approximately

Fig. 7. New culms at early stage of development: a) New culm and mother culm from which it arises. The new
culm is completely ensheathed at this stage; b) Dead new shoot of Bambusa tulda s.l. as seen in January;
c) Dying new culm. f?. balcooa, wet stain in basal portion only, immature culm sheaths healthy.

288
 7b

amboo blight
small selected areas where healthy and
between Clumps blighted clumps have been kept under close
observation, and there has been no evidence
Prior to 1982 there was little information to indicate that blight is a fast spreading
available on either the extent of the disease or disease. In three cases only (all B vulgaris
its severity in different regions. Initially blight have healthy clumps adjacent to blighted
was reported only from Rajshahi (Rahman clumps, become diseased It is therefore
and Zethner, 1971). Four years later Gibson unlikely that bamboo blight first occurred only
(1975) recorded blight from Sylhet, in the in the Rajshahi district: blight more probably
north east (Fig. 8), as well as Khulna and arose in several different regions around the
Jessore. From 19 2 to 1985 I have regularly same time. It is difficult to envisage blight
visited different regions, in particular several spreading from Rajshahi hundred miles to

289
Sylhet in the space of four years. In 1985 and culms divided into three classes: 1)
blight was readily seen between Rajshahi healthy; 2) blighted; 3) dead yong culms (Fig.
and Nawabganj but there was every indication 7b). Observations were made mainly of
that the incidence had decreased, A high inci- blighted clumps of B. vulgaris and B, balcooa,
dence of blight. was seen in Dhaka and other Results show (Fig, 9) that more new culms in
regions since 1982. This suggests that there t h e B. vulgaris sample became blighted,
has been wide spread of the disease but it also although other observations have shown
demonstrates that the status of blight is not similar levels of disease in some clumps of
static and may even be on the decrease. blighted N. balcooa, Culms of B, vulgaris
become blighted at an earlier stage in their
growth, and subsequently blight symptoms
extend further down the culm (Fig. 10). InB,
balcooa there is a tendency for new culms to
Lasses in Bamboo clumps due to become blighted after expanding to 8 m or
Blight more (Fig. 2a); in B. vulgaris culms are at-
tacked at a much earlier stage (Fig. 6c), the
Selected clumps of healthy and blighted consequence of which is that more culms are
bamboo from Chittagong, Sylhet and completely killed (Fig. 10). This is an unusual
Rajshahi were marked for all the new culms event in blighted clumps of B. balcooa. In
that appeared in 1983. and these new culms both species the progress of die back is limited
monitored monthly throughout the growing (Fig. 2b) and only occurs during or soon after
season. Final assessments were then made the growing season has finished. There is

290
 B a m b u s a vulgaris - blighted clumps

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
9a Clump

Healthy
Dead new culms
Blighted

Fig. 9. The fate of new culms produced by healthy and blighted bamboo clumps in 1983: A) Bambusa vulgaris
blighted clumps: B) B. balcooa blighted clumps; C) B. balcooa and B. vulgaris healthy clumps.

then no further development of blight symp- factor in their decline although the situation
toms although in following years new has been exacerbated by bad planning and
branches which develop (on the blighted culm) over-cutting. In B. balcooa there is no direct
healthy portion may die back. A major source indication that blight can kill clumps. Often
of loss in both healthy and blighted clumps is the proportion of new shoots that become
the failure of very young culms to develop blighted in successive years remains more or
(Fig. 9). This may be up to 60% of the new less constant and the fact that culms grow to a
shoots in the case of blighted clumps of B. much greater height before becoming blighted
vulgaris. There was little difference in losses must contribute to the lessened effect of
due to dead young culms in healthy and disease on the health of the clump. So far
blighted clumps of B. balcooa. Ueda (1960) only anecdotal evidence and some indirect
reported similar levels in healthy clumps of evidence (Fig. 11) exist to suggest that blight
Phyllostachys spp in Japan. it is not clear results in the death of some clumps of B.
whether the phenomenon of young culms balcooa (Fig. 12)
failing to develop beyond a minimal height is
therefore part of the bamboo blight disease
syndrome. Isolation of Fungi from blighted
What is the cumulative effect of blight on and healthy Bamboos
clumps over a period of years? Several of the
clumps of B. vulgaris in Fig. 9 have died in Pieces of culm tissue were taken from the
either 1984 or 1985. Others will die in 1986. edge of blight symptoms and healthy culm
In all these clumps blight has been the main tissue and placed on tap water agar (TWA)

292
 8. balcooa - blighted clumps

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Clump
9b

Healthy clumps

6 1

B. balcooa B. vulgaris

9c Clump

293
 40 Bambusa
balcooa

30

30

20

10

s: IC
P

Extent of die back as a

propagation of height
Extent of d i e b a c k a s a
proportion of height
Height of O-1 m l-4 m 4-8 m
blighted
of O-l m l-4 m 4-8 m
blighted

Fig 10 Final extent of back new of blighted clumps: A) Bambusa (9 clumps); B) balcooa
(7 clumps)
 Fig, 11. Bambusa balcooa rhizomes dug up from clumps reportedly killed by blight in the Faridpur district; to be
used for fuel in brick making,

(1.5% w/v) and incubated at 30C, TWA that were only a week old to 2-3 months (Fig.
restricted the growth of the faster growing 4). The recovery of S. oryzae from blight
saprobic fungi which were commonly symptoms on such culms was much higher
isolated, including Coniothyriurn fuckelii (Table 3). Table 4 gives details of the tissues
Sacc., Fusarium spp. and Pteroconium and sampled from blighted and healthy clumps
Arthrinium anamorphs of A. piospora spp. a n d t h e r e s u l t s o f S, oryzae recovery.
lsolations from older blight symptoms: S. oryzae sporulates freely on TWA and can be
The first set of isolations were made from easily seen ( x 50) under a dissecting micro-
scope, even when other faster growing fungi
blight symptoms on 4-8 month-old culms
(Figs. 3 and 6). The fungus which aroused in-
are present. Conidiophores tend to be simple
terest was the hyphomycete S arocladium and unbranched on the original isolation
oryzae (Sawada) W. Gams and D. Hawks. plate, the typical branched aerial con-
idiophores (Brady, 1980) best being seen on
(Bady, 1980). the sheath rot pathogen on
potato carrot agar subcultures,
r i c e ( S h a h j a h a n e t al,, 1977), a n d w a s
isolated from several clumps. S. oryzae was
obtained from 68 out of all clumps of blighted I n b o t h f3, balcooa a n d B . vulgaris, S,
bamboo (Table 2). In several of these clumps oryzae was almost always isolated from the
die back symptoms only were present and if a black staining surrounding insect holes (Fig.
separate sample is taken from these clumps of 4). The range of fungi found in early and late
13 clumps of B , vudgaris and 15 clumps of infections stages was similar. How
B . balcooa. all of which showed internal stain- fungus. tentatively identified as Periconia sp.,
ing and insect channels in addition to die back, was often isolated from young symptoms and
then the recovery of S. oryzae increases to was also seen to freely sporulate on the outer
100% and 85% respectively. surface of dying culm sheaths both on blighted
and healthy culms. In some cases only bacteria
Isolations from young blight symptoms: developed from young symptoms, particul
In a follow-up series of isolations tissues with
with samples from water soaked areas,
early symptoms were sampled. from culms

295
296
 Table 2. Isolation of Sarocludium oryzae from older blight symptoms
(Figs. 2b, 3, 5) on 4-8 month-old culms

Isolation of
Species Number of Sarocladium
blighted oryzae
clumps
sampled !
Yes No

Bambusa balcooa 51 30 (59%) 21

B. tulda s.1. 15 10 (68%) 5
B. vulgaris 40 25 (63%) 15
JAWA (local 5 3 (60%) 2
name - Bambusa sp.?) 5 3 (60%) 2
TOTAL: 116 71(61%) 45 (39%)

One or two culms per clump were sampled.

Table 3. Isolation of Sarocbdium oryzae from young blight symptoms (Fig. 4) onO-3 month-old
culms and from O-3 month-old culms in healthy clumps
State Number Isolation of
Species of of Sarocladium
clump clumps ! oryzae

Yes No

Bambusa balcooa Healthy !" 9 8 (89%) 1

Blighted 18 15 (83%) 3
B . vulgaris Healthy !" ! 10 6 (60%) 4
Blighted 13 11 (85%) 2

! One or two culms per clump were sampled.

! No die back or streaking was seen on any of the culms but insect holes and staining could be found in a few places
only.

freely sporulate on the outer surface of dying culm lumens (Fig. 7a). S. oryzae was also
culm sheaths both on blighted and healthy isolated from one apex of a completely
culms. In some cases only bacteria developed healthy new culm in a blighted clump of B.
from young symptoms, particularly with balcooa and B. vulgaris.
samples from water soaked areas. Isolations from culm sheaths: The
Where S. oryzae only grew f r o m a presence of S. oryzae on culm sheaths of
sample it was described as pure, and healthy and blighted clumps was investigated.
mixed when other fungi were present (as Both B. vulgaris and B. balcooa have hairy
seen x 50 on TWA). About half the samples culm sheaths (Fig. 12) and these hairs were
from black staining at insect holes were sampled by placing a few directly onto TWA.
pure; even where mixed the growth of S. Isolations were also attempted from surface
oryzae was still marked. Pure S. oryzae was sterilised necrotic patches on the culm sheath
also obtained from symptomless parts of the itself. S. oryzae was isolated from these early
culm (Table 4) in blighted clumps. These necrotic patches on some of the culm sheaths
parts included the compacted area of culm sampled (Table 4), but several other fungi
sheaths inside the growing culm apex and were always present as well, with only small
below this from the edge of the uppermost areas of S. oryzae developing on the TWA.

297
 Table 4. Isolation of Saroclaodium oryzae from O-3 month-old culms
in blighted snd healthy clumps according to type of sample.
Isolation of Sarocladium oryzae
Origin of sample Bambusa balcooa B. vulgaris

No. of No. of Yes No

Yes No clumps
clumps

a) Blighted Clumps
1. Black staining around insect holes 14 13 1 9 8 1
(Fig. 4)
2) Black staining extending into
culm wall without insect damage
(Fig. 4) Not seen 1

3. Surface discoloration of culm 3 8

(Fig. 4a)
4. Dying young culms (Fig. 7)
5. Culm sheath necroses (Fig. 12)
6. Insect larvae from 1
7. Tissue showing no sign of
symptom development
(see text and Fig. 7a)
b) Healthy Clumps
1. Black staining around isolated 1 6 4
insect holes occurring on a few
culms only
4. Dying young culms 1 1 0

5. Culm sheath necroses 0 5 2

The amount of growth varied from small Comments on the causes of

areas 1-2 mm in diameter to other instances Bamboo Blights
in which it sporulated up to 15 mm away from
the hairs. In a study of healthy bamboos Only limited artificial inoculations have
growing in the north west, where no blight is been carried out with S. oryzae on bamboo,
present, S. oryzue was recovered from nine both by Rahman and Khisa (1983) and my-
out of ten clumps of B. balcooa and three out self. Rahman and Khisa showed that S.
of four dumps of B. tulda s.1. Isdations from oryzae (A. strictum as mistakenly reported -
associated healthy culm tissue were not at- see above) produced a necrosis and resulted
tempted. in the death of young branches, which
Acremonium strictum on bamboo: showed a pattern of symptom deveIopment
Rahman and Khisa (1983) reported the isola- similar to that seen in the field. I inoculated
tion of Acremonium stricturn from blighted fully extended internodes of 5 month-old
bamboos, isolates of which were used in culms by wounding and which in turn
artificial inoculation experiments. These developed a black staining spreading above
isolates have recently been re-examined at and below the wound. No die back occurred
the Commonwealth Mycological Institute and or streaking. S. oryzae was re-isolated from
shown to be S. oryzae. The two fungi are in these symptoms, It is only recently that it has
fact very similar as shown by the descriptions been shown that the first symptoms of bam-
given in Holliday (1980). boo blight occur on growing internodes and

298
future artificial inoculations will concentrate ing the fungus into the culm and facilitating
on introducing S. oryzae to culm tissue at a the spread throughout the cuim (and between
similar stage. Cross inoculations are also clumps).
planned with bamboo isolates of S. oyzue on
riee and with rice isolates on bamboo to see References
whether we are dealing with exactly the same
Alam, M.K. 1982. A guide to 18 species of
fungus or whether a separate pathogenic race
has developed on bamboo. It is interesting to bamboo from Bangladesh. Bulletin 2,
note that sheath rot of rice was first reported Plant Taxonomy Series. Forest Research
from Bangladesh at the same time as bamboo Institute, Chittagong , Bangladesh.
blight (early 1970s). S. oyzae is seedborne in Boa, E.R. and Rahman, M.A. 1984. Bam-
rice (Shahjahan et al., 1977) and it is boo blight in Bangladesh. Overseas
suggested that this is how the fungus was in- Development Administration, London
troduced to Bangladesh (Dr S Miah, Bangla- UK. (Available at address of senior
desh Rice Research Institute, pers. comm.). author.)
The fungus is now found throughout Bang- Brady, B.L.K. 1980. Sarocladium oryzae.
ladesh on both diseased rice and blighted Commonwealth Mycological Institute
bamboo and even on the culm sheath hairs of Descriptions of Plant Pathogenic Fungi
healthy bamboos in blight-free areas. The ex- and Bacteria. No. 674. Commonwealth
tent to which S. oryzae is present on culm Mycological Institute, Ferry Lane, Kew,
sheaths of healthy clumps in blighted areas Surrey, UK.
has still to be examined.
Gamble, J.S. 1896. The Bambuseae of
British Inida. 7. Annals of the Royal
How important is Bamboo Botanic Garden, Calcutta.
Blight? Gibson, I.A.S. 1975. Report on a visit to the
Bamboo blight must be considered a Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. Over-
serious disease if only because it attacks the s e a s Development Administration,
growing cuim, stops any further growth and London.
produces a die back which may in some case Hoiiiday , P. 1980. Fungus diseases of
kill the cuim completely. Even if this only tropical crops. Cambridge University
happens in a few cuims of a seasons growth Press, London,
this could represent a major loss to the Hoittum, R.E. 1958. The bamboos of the
farmer. The importance of the disease in Malay Peninsula. Gardens Bulletin,
clumps of B. balcooa varies; some clumps Singapore 16: l- 135.
may show one or two clumps which develop
blight each growing season whilst in other Rahman, M.A. 1978. Isolation of fungi
clumps most of the new cuims become from blight affected bamboos in Bangla-
blighted. The effect of the disease on B. desh. Bano Biggyan Patrika 7: 42-49.
vulgaris is more serious, and blight can kill Rahman, M.A. and Khisa, S.K. 1983. Bam-
clumps, especially when the already signifi- boo blight with particular reference to
cant effects of blight are compounded by over- Acremonitium strictum. Bane Biggyan
cutting and badly planned cutting. Although Patrika 10: l-13 (Issued 1985).
the disease is not causing widespread damage Rahman, M.A. and Zethner, 0. 1971. An
throughout Bangladesh, as was feared might interim report on results obtained in
happen, it is a major problem in several areas. Forest Pathology Section from
Concern about the disease should not, September 1969 - August 1971. Forest
therefore, be allowed to wane. Blight may Dale News 4: 46-48.
have decreased in some areas but it has Shahjahan, A.K.M., Harahap, Z. and Rush
become more of a problem in others. The M.C. 1977. Sheath rot of rice caused by
disease is at present only found in Bangladesh Acrocylindrium oryzae in Louisiana.
but S. oryzae is a widespread pathogen on
rice and occurs throughout Asia along with Plant Disease Reporter. 61: 307-310.
various Bombusa spp. Priority areas of Ueda, K. 1960. Studies on physiology of
research must be to fully examine the patho- bamboo, with special reference to prac-
genicity of S. oryzae on bamboo and also in- tical application. Kyoto University Forests
vestigate the role of insects both in introduc- Bulletin. Number 30. Kyoto.
299
Utilisation

300
 The Role of Bamboo as a Potential
Food Source in Thailand
Kamol Visuphaka
Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract porting poles, pulping, basketry and other

handicrafts.
This paper summarises the information on
bamboo shoot production in Thailand, the The Sprouting of Bamboo
main components and food value of bamboo
shoots, possible increase in production for
Bamboo shoots develop from rhizomes
the next five years, and potential economic during the rainy season. The buds on rhizome-
benefits. nodes enlarge for several months in the soil.
The shoots emerge out of the ground in the
Introduction form of tender, pointed cones covered with
imbricate sheaths inserted at the nodes. These
Thailands total area is 513,115 km2. The shoots then elongate rapidly, and after o n e
country is located in Southeast Asia, month they will develop into mature woody
between the latitudes 5 and 21N and culms. The number and period of sprout-
the longitudes 97 and 105E. The humid emergence out of the ground vary according
tropical climate is influenced by seasonal to the species, the size and vigour of the
monsoon and the local topography. The clump, and also the environmental condition
forest types are varied, with rich flora ranging of the locality. It varies from 50 to 60 days
from tropical evergreen forests on the Penin- between early and late-sprouting. The sprout-
sula to dry, deciduous, dipterocarp forest ing is strongly influenced by rain in May and
scattered in the northern, central and north- June. An investigation on bamboo sprouting
eastern parts of the country. The species of was carried out during the rainy season in
bamboo in Thailand are abundant including 1970 (Watanabe, 1972) with results shown in
12 genera and 41 species. Bamboos grow Table 1.
naturally as scattered undergrowth in all forest
types throughout the country. There is only Nutritive Value of Bamboo
one area where bamboos are found as pure Shoot as Food
stands, in Kanchanaburi province, about
200 km west of Bangkok. In Thailand, bam- The young and tender shoots of most of
boos are used for a variety of purposes, the edible bamboo species are consumed
including food, household construction, sup- fresh or made into pickles, vegetables and

Table 1. Period of bamboo sprouting.

Species Beginning Ending Period (days)

Bambusa arundinacea May 1 0 J u n e 25 46
Bambusa vulgaris May 1 J u n e 22 52
B a m b u s a tulda May 25 J u n e 27 33
Thyrsostachys siamensis May 15 June 1 47

301
 10

.. 5

May June July

Number of shoot sprouted

O-----------O Precipitation

Fig. 1. Relationship between the number of bamboo sprouts emerged out of the ground and the precipitation.

dried forms that are considered delicacies. Bamboo for Food Production
Young and tender bamboo shoots are
Quantities of shoots at three ages (7, 10 used as daily food for Thai people because of
and 15 days after emergence) have been its good taste and low cost. The shoots are
studied (Tamolang et al., 1980). The nutrient highly nutritious, palatable and can be cooked
components such as protein, fat, ash, total and prepared in many delicious ways. Most
carbohydrates, crude fiber, calcium, phos- bamboo sprouts consumed are harvested from
phorus, iron, thiamine (Vitamin Bl) a n d natural forests. Only one species comes from
ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) were chemically commercial plantation of Dendrocalamus
analysed. Results showed that age has no asper, which appears to top the list of edible
relationship to nutrient contents. The shoots bamboo species. The edible species of bam-
were made up of more than 75% water. boo in Thailand commonly used for food are
as follows:
The contents of nutrients in bamboo shoots
vary according to the different parts of the 1. Pai Tong - Dendrocalamus asper
bamboo sprout. The soft tissue, close to the 2. Pai Seesuk - Bambusa blumeana
apex, contains less coarse fibers and are pro- 3. Pai Ruak - Tbyrsostachys siamensis
tein rich. The lower parts, especially the por- 4. Pai Ruakdam - Thyrsostachys oliverii
tion where the sheaths were peeled off, con- 5. Pai Bong - Dendrocalamus brandisii
tain less protein and more coarse fibers.
Results of a study of nutrient components of 6. Pai Sangdoi - Dendrocalamus strictus
Phyllostachys edulis sprout were reported 7. Pai Rai - Gigantochloa albociliata
(Resources Bureau Reference Data No. 34, Besides local consumption, bamboo
1960) and are given in Table 2: shoots are also exported. (Table 3).

302
 Table 2. Analytical results of bamboo sprouts (per 100 g fresh matter).

Nutrient Fresh matter Canned food

Crude protein 2.5 g 1.9 g
Crude fat 0.2 g 0.1 g
Carbohydrates - Sugar 2.9 g 2.9 g
- Crude fiber 1.0 g 1.8 g
Water content 92.5 % 92.8 %
Calorie. 23 cal. 20 cal.
Ash 0.7 g 0.4 g
Lime 1 mg 1 mg
Phosphorus 43 m g 26 mg
Iron 7 mg 1 mg
Vitamin - A 50 i.u. 50 i.u.
- 0.10 m g 0.05 mg
- 0.08 mg 0.05 mg
- C 10 m g 0 mg

Table 3. The export of bamboo shoots of Thailand.

1 . Fresh, chilled
bamboo shoots 288.8 222,821 338.9 382,062 238.5 165,873
2 . Dry Bamboo shoots 29.7 129,182 15.2 48,332 - -
3 . Canned bamboo 5,864 3,030,309 8,557 3,406,347 - -
shoots

Source: Department of Business Economics, Ministry of Commerce, Bangkok, Thailand.

It is difficult to obtain accurate information Casin, F.R. and Espiloy, 1980. Properties
on the real consumption of natural bamboo and utilization of Philippines erect:
shoots, since there is no restriction for collec- bamboo. 180-200. In: Proceedings of
tion of bamboo shoots from forests. The Bamboo Workshop, Singapore.
original bamboo plantations are mainly in
Prachin Buri Province, 120 km east of Watanabe, M. 1972. Report of technical ser-
Bangkok, and others were subsequently vice and research work on silviculture
established successfully in every part of the and management of bamboo forest in
country. The agricultural areas converted to Thailand Overseas Technical Coopera-
plantations of Dendrocalamus asperare 6,000 tion Agency. Tokyo, Japan.
ha at present and expected to double to Resources Bureau Reference Data No. 34,
12.000 ha by 1991. 1960. Studies on the physiology of bam-
boo with reference to practical applica-
References tion. Tokyo, Japan.
Tamolang, F.N., Lopez, F.R., Semana, J.A.,

303
 The Changes in Nutrient Composition of
Bamboo Shoots at Different Ages
Hu Chaozong
Zhejiang Forest College, Zhejiang, China

Abstract were subsequently gathered once every five

days, seeing to it that they were almost of the
The moisture content of bamboo shoots of same size. At first collection, the average
three different ages increases gradually with shoot length was 19.53 cm and the peri-
age, and finally averages at about 92%. The meter was 20.37 cm. On April 9, the second
rough fibers also increase with age, as the collection, the average length and perimeter
tissue grows old. ln contrast, the nutrient com- were 25.23 cm and 20.74 cm and during
position such as protein, amino-acids, fat, car- third collection the averages were 36.41 cm
bohydrate, other minerals. inorganic salts and 2 1.06 cm respectively.
etc., decrease with age. Therefore, the right The gathered shoots were transported to
time to gather the spring bamboo shoots is laboratory in refrigerated flask. They were
when they are still underground. It will cer- peeled instantly and the unedible part was cut
tainly affect the quality of bamboo shoots if the off with a stainless steel knife. In order to do
gathering time is prolonged. away with individual differences as much as
possible, each shoot was first cut vertically
and then horizontally, forming small squares.
Introduction These squares were thoroughly mixed and
500 g was taken as samples. Of this, 20 g was
Phyllostachys pubescens, a l s o c a l l e d dried at 10C in an oven for 20 minutes,
Mengzong Bamboo Shoots is Chinas fresh samples were used for analysis of
bamboo. They are cultivated extensively for moisture content. The other samples were
their shoots. Chinas output of these shoots is then dried at 80C in a drier. The dried
the highest in the world. The quality of bam- samples were ground into powder and stored
boo shoots largely depends on the number of in bottles for further use.
days after the sprouts appearance on the
ground which is also taken as the age of bam- Methods of analysis: 1. Protein was
boo shoots. Both qualitative and quantative determined by Ks nitroimetric analysis.
analyses of the nutrient composition of bam- 2. Amino-acids were determined by Hitachi
boo shoots are made to provide scientific basis 835-50 Model amino-acids auto-analysis
for the gathering time of quality shoots. Better instrument. The qualitative and quantitative
quality shoots fetch higher prices. analyses were made of protein- hydrolysate
amino-acids. 3. Fat was determined by
residues. 4. Sugar and soluble sugar were
Samples and Methods determined by colorimetric analysis.
5. Fibers were determined by acid-alkali
On ApriI 4, 1984, in the bamboo groves analysis. 6. Ash content was analysed by dry
of Wuxing Village, Miaoshan Township in the ash determination. 7. Phosphorus was deter-
suburbs of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 23 mined by anti-calorimetric analysis of Molyb-
bamboo shoots, t h e s h e a t h s o f w h i c h denum and antimony. 8. Calcium and iron
appeared on the ground, with the sprouts still were determined by atom-absorption spectro-
underground, were selected as samples for metric analysis. 9. Moisture content was
analysis. On that day, five shoots were determined by drying at 105C in an oven.
gathered and the others were marked, which lg of carbohydrate produces 4,000 calories;

304
 1 g of fat produces 9,000 calories; 1 g of pro- sprouts appearing on the ground ten days),
tein produces 4,000 calories. 11. Vitamin C have a high content of protein, higher than
was substracted with 1% oxalic acid and deter- any other varieties of vegetables. However,
mined by titrimetry of 2.6 protein decreases with age; every five days,
the protein is reduced by 11.7% to 3.7%
Except the data for amino-acids, the data
for other items are the averages of the (Fig, 1)
three analyses. In order to compare the The bamboo shoots of the three different
present data with other vegetables, the data ages contain 18 varieties of protein hydro-
are converted into percentage of fresh lysate amino-acids. They are ASP, THR,
bamboo shoot weight. SER, GLU, GLY, ALA, CYS, VAL, MET,
ILE, IEU, TYR, PHE, LYS, NH3, HIS, ARG,
PRO, etc. (See Fig. 2, a.. .r indicate the
Analysis and Results peak amount of various amino-acids).
From part of the data shown in Fig. 2, we
The changes of protein and amino- got Chart I. The bamboo shoots of the three
acids: The bamboo shoots of the three different ages contain the highest amount of
different ages (one with sprouts underground, TYR, almost accounting for 3.51% of the
another with sprouts appearing on the weight of the dried bamboo shoots, which
ground five days, and still another with increases with age. TYR amounts to 4.8% in
g/100 g the bamboo shoots ten days after the sprouts
appeared on the ground. That is unfavour-
3
able for bamboo shoots processing and can-
ning for it produces some white coaguia,
E 2 greatly affecting the quality of boiled bamboo
shoots. Besides TYR, GLU and ASP are also
rich; their content decreases with age. Young
1 bamboo shoots of small size is delicious
because they are rich in GLU. The content of
PRO, IEU and ALA amounts to over 1%
respectively, that of the former decreasing
with age while that of the latter, though vary-
ing, a little, remaining almost stable.
Fig. 1. The changes of protein in bamboo shoots of the Nutrients contained in bamboo shoots are
three different ages. CYC and HIS, which are stable, too. The
(1) Sprouts underground. total content of amino-acids decreases with
( 2 ) Sprouts appearing on the ground 5 days.
( 3 ) Sprouts appearing on the ground 10 days the age of bamboo shoots.

Fig. 2. The changes of amino acids in bamboo shoots of the three different ages

305
 Table 1. The changes of amino acids in bamboo shoots of the three different ages
(per 100 g dried matter).

Sprouts appearing on the ground

sprouts
Portion underground 5 days 10 days
ASP 3.31474 2.42582 2.54518
THR 0.72376 0.75652 0.70892
SER 0.79628 0.79064 0.71882
GLU 3.22632 2.71544 2.7336
GLY 0.7221 0.77014 0.71612
ALA 1.12158 1.1923 1.05694
CYS 0.22232 0.20068 0.22068
YAL 0.947 1.0026 0.91458
MET 0.3095 0.35472 0.29906
ILE 0.63158 0.70166 0.61968
LEU 1.13114 1.24632 1.10554
TYR 3.51496 4.8589 4.81126
PHE 0.70734 0.81078 0.73556
LYS 0.64868 0.68206 0.52818
NH3 0.69698 0.52746 0.7234
HIS 0.30132 0.32292 0.28432
ARG 0.89742 0.92424 0.79932
PRO 1.2212 0.7913 0.5865
Total. 21.13422 21.0745 20.10766

The changes of fat in bamboo The changes of carbohydrate in

shoots of the three different ages: bamboo shoots of the three different
Though very little, fat is richest compared ages: Carbohydrate in bamboo shoots
with the fat content of other varieties of vege- include sugar, soluble sugar, rough fibers, etc.
tables. Fat increases progressively with the For the content of sugar, soluble sugar and
age of bamboo shoots though the change is rough fiber, see Fig. 4. With age, sugar and
very little (See Fig. 3). soluble sugar increase by 13.3% to 17.0% in
five days and by 26.6% to 32.2% in ten
days. Five days after the sprouts appearance
8/100 g on the ground, the rough fibers increase by
14.6%, and ten days by 18.8%. The tissue
grows older and gradually becomes inedible.
The changes of moisture content
and quantity of heat in the bamboo
shoots of the three different ages:The
analysis shows that moisture content in the
bamboo shoots of the three different ages
increases with age (90.83% - 91.72% -
Fig. 3. The changes of fat in bamboo shoots of the 92.05%) till it reaches a period of steadiness.
three different ages. In contrast, the quantity of heat decreases

306
 g/ 100g

3 Sugar Soluble
sugar

Crude fiber

Fig. 4. The changes of carbohydrate in bamboo shoots of the three different ages

progressively with age (23.56% 21.05% samples. The changes in ash content are little
- 18.7 1%) . In terms of the structure of quan- (from 0.73% to 0.75%) with age. Phos-
tity of heat (energy) bamboo shoots are rela- phorus and calcium decrease by 16.0% and
tively rich with nutrients (Fig. 5). 37.5% respectively five days after the
sprouts appearance on the ground, and by
The changes of inorganic salts in 25% and 43.8% respectively ten days after
the bamboo shoots of the three different the sprouts appearance on the ground. Iron
ages: Bamboo shoots are rich in ash content steadies between 0.29 mg to 0.44 mg (See
with the average of 0.74 g in 100 g of fresh Fig. 6).

11
(quantity of h e a t )
92 10

91 9

3
Sugar
(quantity of heat)

21

20 Fat
( q u a n t i t y of h e a t )
19 2
1
3
Calories

Fig. 5 The changes of moisture content and quantity of heat in the bamboo shoots of the
three different ages

307
 mg/100g
Ca

Fig. 6. The changes of inorganic salts in the bamboo shoots of the three different ages.

Vitamin C and other nutrient contents deserves greater attention for bamboo shoots
are very little, accounting for about 0.001% which are to be eaten fresh or to be canned. In
in the iced bamboo shoots. recent years, there appears a tendency in cer-
tain places in the countryside to put off the
gathering time for bamboo shoots. That
Conclusions raised the output a little, but greatly lowered
the quality of bamboo shoots. The edible
The above analyses show that bamboo parts becoming less, suitable for canning
shoots are nourishing vegetables. With the age and suitable only for drying.
of bamboo shoots after the sprouts appear-
ance on the ground, moisture content The following three references give addi-
increases slowly till it steadies at about tional information. "

92% Rough fibers increase with age, and as 1. T h e M e t h o d s o f D e t e r m i n g F o o d

a result, the tissue grows old, and the bamboo Nutrients, 1961. Compiled by China
shoots become inedible. In contrast, protein, Research Institute of Medical Labour
amino-acids, fat, carbohydrate, quantity of Hygiene, Protection and Occupational
heat and inorganic salts, etc., decrease vari- Diseases, Peoples Publishing House,
ably with the age of bamboo shoots. There- Beijing.
fore, in terms of nourishment, it is wrong to
2. Chemical Analysis of Food, 1979.
put off the gathering time of bamboo shoots,
Compiled by Shanghai Commodities
which results in higher output but of poor
Examination Bureau, Shanghai Science
quality. In terms of processing, early gather- and Technology Publishing House,
ing of bamboo shoots results in high quality
Beijing.
though lower output. In particular, the
increase of white coagula greatly affects the 3. Li Shixuan, 1984. Physiology of Vege-
quality of boiled bamboo shoots. Therefore, it tables Storage and the Techniques of Air
is the right time to gather bamboo shoots Conditioning. Shanghai Science and
when they are still underground with sheaths Technology Publishing House, Beijing.
just appearing on the ground. Quality "! not cited in text.

308
Characterization of Steam-Exploded Bamboos
for Cattle Feed
T. Higuchi, M. Tanahashi and Y. Togamura

Wood Research institute, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto 61 1, Japan

*Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University,
Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606, Japan

Abstract (Tsao et al., 1978). We have investigated the

steam-explosion of woods and bamboos to
By steam-explosion process bamboos accomplish economically feasible separation
such as M o s o c h i k u (Phyllostachys of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin of
pubescence) and Chishimazasa (Sass woody materials for chemicals, pulp and
k u r i l e n s i s ) were converted t o easily enzymic saccharification (Tanahashi, 1983;
hydrolyzable materials (EXBs) by cellulase, Tanahashi and Higuchi, 1983; 1985;
and the EXBs were digested remarkably by the Tanahashi et al., 1983). This paper reports on
ruminants. The different values were as fol- the enzymic saccharification and ruminant
lows: Saccharification, 95% and 87% of cellu- digestion of the steam-exploded bamboo
lose of the respective EXBs, and in vitro (EXB).
digestibility of the Mosochiku EXB, 50% of
dry matter (DM). These values are comparable
to those of exploded wood (EXW) of white Materials and Methods
birch (Betula platiphilla and better than
those of Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) Chemical analysis of bamboos:The
EXW. The results indicated that the utilization culms of Mosochiku (P hyllostachys
of bamboos for cattle feed and fermentation pubescence) and Chishimazasa . (Sasa
are promising by the steam-explosion process. kurilensis) were pulverized to 60-80 meshes
and analyzed by a standard wood analysis
method.
Introduction Preparation of steam-exploded bam-
boos (EXBs): Chips (500g. ca. 30 mm x 20
Wood including bamboo is by far the most mm x 15 mm) of Mosochiku and Chishima-
abundant biomass on earth, and it can be end- zasa were treated with saturated steam at
lessly renewed. The need to develop renew- 28kg/cm2, about 230C for 1, 2.4.8 and 16
able alternatives to petroleum, and to meet the mins. Then steam pressure was instanta-
worlds growing requirements for fuel and neously released to the atmospheric pressure
food are important. However, because of via a ball bulb to give the EXB. White birch
chemical and structural heterogeneity the (Betula platiphilla). Japanese larch (Laix
wood conversion process is still not econom- leptolepis) and rice straw were exploded at a
ically feasible. Wood is a composite material similar condition. For the enzymic saccharifi-
composed of cellulose. hemicellulose and cation and determination of in vitro digestibi-
lignin, and that cellulose is embedded in a lity, wet EXB and EXW were freeze-dried and
matrix of lignin-hemicellulose complexes. milled by a Willey mill with 1 mm meshes
Papers on the conversion of wood to ruminant filter.
feed are published (Jackson, 1977; Klopfen- Saccharification ofEXBs and EXWs
stein, 1981). It is known that for enzymic with cellulase: Two hundred mg of freeze-
saccharification and digestion of wood by dried EXBs. EXWs. and untreated bamboo
ruminants, delignification or cleavage of the and wood powder (40 meshs pass 80 meshes
lignin-carbohydrate linkages is a prerequiste. on) were subjected to Trichoderma cellulase

309
(Meicelase 8000 units, kindly donated by a cleft along the fiber axis (Fig. 1B) rupture at
Meiji Seika Co.) digestion in 10 ml of acetate the middle of a fiber (Fig. lC), expansion in a
buffer (OIOZM, pH 5.0), at 4OC for 48 hrs by dome shape (Fig. 1D). The appearance of
using a Monod-shaking incubator. After EXBs was similar.
enzymic hydrolysis the sample was heated in Mosochiku and Chishimazasa EXBs, and
a boiling water bath for 1 min and filtered. EXWs of white birch and Japanese larch were
One ml of the filtrate was diluted to 100 ml subjected to enzymic hydrolysis using a
and the total reducing sugars or glucose was Trichoderma cellulase (Meicelase). The
determined according to Somogi-Nelson results are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Untreated
method or by a glucose analyzer. wood and bamboo powder gave less than 5%
in vitro Digestibility ofEXBs and saccharification with the enzyme, whereas
EXWs: Freeze-dried EXBs, EXWs, untreated Mosochiku EXB, Chishimazasa EXB and
bamboo and wood powder were analyzed for white birch EXW gave 59%, 44% and 68%
dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude saccharification, corresponding to 95%, 87 %
protein and fat by the standard method. and 98% of cellulose of the samples, respec-
Separately, EXBs and EXWs were treated tively. However, Japanese larch EXW
with a pronase solution and separated to (28kg/cm2, 4 min) gave 37% saccharifica-
insoluble cell wall structural fraction (CW) and tion. The poor saccharification of the larch
soluble fraction according to the Abes EXW with the cellulase could be ascribed to
method (Abe et al., 1979). In vitro digestibi- anatomical differences of wood, higher Iignin
lity of EXBs and EXWs was measured by content, and structural differences of lignin.
treating the samples with a mixture solution of Coniferous woods are composed of mainly
the stomach juice of a sheep and an artificial tracheids, and the lignin is composed mainly
saliva of McDougall at 38C under of guaiacyl lignin which is more condensed
stream for 48 hrs. After the treatment the than guaiacylsyringyl lignin in hardwoods and
sample was centrifuged and treated with the grasses. However, we recently found that
pronase. Then, DM, OM, and OCW were pretreatment of electron beam irradiation of
determined, and in vitro digestibility of the conifer wood chips or after ball milling of
respective fractions was calculated conifer EXWs gave almost the same sacchari-
(Togamura et al., 1983). fication as in hardwood EXWs (Tanahashi
and Higuchi, Unpublished data). Hence, it
was indicated that EXBs and white birch
Results and Discussion EXW were suitable for enzymic saccharifica-
tion and ruminant feed.
Chemical composition of bamboos used
in the present investigation is shown in Table in vitro Digestibility of EXBs and
1. Cellulose contents of both bamboos were EXWs: Bamboo, wood and rice straw con-
about 50%. Fig. lA-D shows scanning elec- tain large amounts of cellulose and hemicellu-
tron micrographs of the fibers of white birch lose but are low in values as ruminant feed,
EXW (Tanahashi et al., 1983). Vessels (a), because of their low digestibility due to
fibers (b) and amorphous substances (c) are physical and chemical linkages between poly-
seen in Fig. 1A. Most of vessels were saccharides and lignin in the materials. How-
destroyed to small fragments. Fibers suffered ever, by steam-explosion these linkages were
from some damage as a buckling (Fig. IA-D), cleaved and these materials were converted

Table 1. Chemical composition of bamboos

Solubility in
Ash Hot-water 1% Alcoholbenzene Cellulose Pentosan Lignin
NaOH
(%) (%) (%) (%) (8) (%) (%)
Mosochiku 1.3 20.0 32.2 4.6 49.1 27.7 26.1
Chishimazasa 1.9 13.1 38.7 9.2 52.3 25.0 19.4

310
Fig 1 Photographs of white birch EXW (28 kg cm2,
2 mm 1 (Scanning electron microscope
A, (a) vessels, (b) ftbers, (c) arnorphous substance.
(d) buckling and (e) exponslon of a fiber
B, a cleft along a fiber
C. explosion of a fiber
D, expansron

311
80

20

0 0 1 2 4 8 16
0 1 2 4 8 16
S t e a m i n g time(min)
St eami ng time (mi n)

Fig 2 Saccharification (%) of cellulose of Mosochiku EXB Fig. 3 Saccharification (% ) of cellulose of exploded materials

0 : steam pressure, 28 kg/cm2 o : Chishimazaso (steam pressure, 28 kg/cm2)

A . white birch (steam pressure, 28 kg/cm2)
: steam pressure. 24 kg/cm2
0 : steam pressure. 20 kg/cm2 0 : Japanese larch (steam pressure. 28 kg/cm2)
unexploded bamboo powder
 Table 2. Nutritional analysis and digestibility of exploded Mosochiku

Nutritional analysis in vitro Digestibility

Samples Steaming DM OM CW ocw Ash DM OM ocw
(Mosochiku) time (min) (%) % of DM (%) (%) (%)
Unexploded 0 92.4 98.0 94.1 93.2 2.0 9.6 8.0 3.2
1 93.3 98.0 73.0 72.4 2.0 32.6 31.8 7.1
2 94.5 98.8 72.3 71.6 1.2 33.8 33.5 8.1
Exploded 4 91.8 99.0 71.1 70.3 1.0 47.8 47.3 25.8
8 91.9 98.9 81.0 80.1 1.1 48.6 48.7 36.6
16 91.2 98.9 82.3 81.5 1.1 50.0 49.8 39.1

Table 3. Nutritional analysis and in vitro digestibility

of exploded materials

Nutritional analysis in vitro Digestibility

DM OM Crude Crude OCW DM OM ocw
protein fat
(%) (%) (%) (%)
(%) of DM
Mixed hey of orchardgrass 85.8 90.9 18.1 2.0 61.9 70.2 68.5 53.7
and timothy
Alfalfa 86.5 89.9 20.1 2.4 46.4 64.0 64.4 31.1
Rice straw (unexploded) 86.1 85.1 5.2 1.8 60.9 43.6 43.7 20.9
Rice straw (exploded) 90.2 84.6 4.5 2.2 56.8 69.1 75.0 64.2
(24 kg/cm2, 4 min)
Bagasse (unexploded) 92.0 97.2 - - 93.7 41.6 41.8 39.6
Bagasse (exploded) 91.9 96.9 - - 77.5 63.3 65.8 57.2
(27 kg/cm2, 2 min)
Japanese larch 90.3 99.8 - - 88.4 11.6 12.1 0.6
(unexploded)
Japanese larch (exploded) 92.3 99.7 - - 72.1 29.1 29.4 2.4
(28 kg/cm2, 4 min)
White birch (unexploded) 94.9 93.7 - - 83.5 13.3 13.4 2.8
White birch (exploded) 87.4 86.8 - - 51.4 76.5 76.5 60.6
(28 kg/cm2. 4 min)
White birch (exploded) 25.2 99.8 0.6 3.4 75.8 52.7 54.0 41.0
(26 kg/cm2, 4 min)
EXW with P. valioti 40.7 97.2 7.2 0.9 82.7 52.4 52.7 45.4
(26 kg/cm2, 4 min,
4OC. 14 days)

to easily digestible materials in a mixture of bility of organic cell wall (OCW) (unexpioded
the stomach juice of a sheep and artificial samples, 3.2% and 21%). respectively.
saliva of McDougall. Exploded Mosochiku Thus, digestibility of Mosochiku EXB and
and rice straw gave 50% and 75% digesti- white birch EXW is comparable to that of
bility of organic matter (OM) in comparison standard feeds, orchard-timothy (68.5%)
with 8.0% and 44 % of those in the unex- and alfalfa (64.4%) (Table 2 and 3).
ploded samples, and 39% and 64% digesti-

313
 Digestibility of white birch EXW by cattle G.T. Tsao, M. Ladisch, C. Ladisch, T.A.
and goats in a preliminary investigation also Hsu, B. Dale and T. Chuo, Fermenta-
showed a better value (90%) than that of hey tion Processes E d . b y D . Perlman,
cube (73%). Body weight of the goats fed Academic Press, N.Y. (1978).
with white birch EXW were the same to those
Jackson, M.G. Feed Sci. Technol., 2: 105
of control (Kameoka et al., unpublished
data). In addition, we recently found (1977)
(Tanahashi et al., in press) that the culture of K. Forss and K. Passinen, Paperi Ja Puu, 9,
Paecilomyces varioti which was developed by 608(1976).
Forss et al. (1976) to produce microbial pro- K. Kameoka et al., unpublished data.
tein, with white birch EXW considerably
M. Tanahashi, S. Takada, T. Aoki, T. Goto:
improved nutritional quality of EXW (crude
T. Higuchi and S. Hanai, Wood Re-
protein content increased to 7.2%. Table 3)
search, 69, 36 (1983).
as ruminant feed. Sugars derived from hemi-
celluloses, phenolic compounds from lignin, M. Tanahashi and T. Higuchi, Polymer
and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in water soluble Applications (in Japanese) 32, 595
fraction of the white birch EXW were almost (1983).
completely catabolized by the culture. It is M. Tanashashi, Wood Research and Tech-
thus concluded that EXB and EXW are suit- nical Note (in Japanese) 18, 34 (1983).
able for fermentation and ruminant feed. It M. Tanahashi and T. Higuchi, Japan Tappi,
was also shown that the steam-explosion pro- 39,118(1985).
cess is one of the best pretreatment of M. Tanahashi and T. Higuchi, unpublished
bamboo and woody residues for enzymic sac- data.
charification, and preparation of ruminant
M. Tanahashi, T. Higuchi, H. Kobayashi,
feed and wood chemicals. Y. Togamura and M. Shimada, Cellulose
Chem. Technol., in press.
Acknowledgement T. Klopfenstein. in Upgrading Residues and
Byproducts for Animal, . ed. by J.H.
This research was partly supported by a Huber, CRC Press Inc., Florida, p, 40.
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. (1981).
59127037) from the Ministry of Education, Y. Togamura. A. Miyazaki, R. Kawashima,
Science and Culture of Japan. T. Higuchi, M. Tanahashi and K. Kyoto,
Jap. J. Zootechnical Sci., 54, 206
References (1983).

A. Abe, S. Horii and K. Kameoka, J. Anim.

Sci., 48, 1483 (1979).
 The use of Bamboo as Waterpipes
T.N. Lipangile
Wood/Bamboo Project P. 0. Box 570,
lringa, Tanzania

Abstract of the world, scientific information regarding

its behaviour as a water pipe is very scant.
Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Morgan (1974) reports the use of bamboo
the Third World. About 10 years ago the pipes in Ethiopia and the Indonesian engineer
T a n z a n i a n gouernment, guided b y t h e Sudjarwo constructed a six kilometer pipeline
National Political Party, the CCM, introduced on the slopes of the Merapi Volcano, Java. In
a village settlement policy. Around the same Tanzania the use of bamboo as water conduits
time, the Ministry of Water, Energy and was unknown, although van den Huevel
Minerals, started the Bamboo Project in sup- (1981) reports on one village where bamboo
port of the village settlement policy and to was used as a water pipe. The project has so
reduce dependency on imported materials as far constructed 150 km of bamboo pipe lines in
well as to provide water to the rural population 28 villages, supplying water to a 100,000
by quickest and cheapest means. Most of the people who are benefitted. Though there was
activities were centered on the use of bamboo initial resistance from the Ministry of Water
as a piping material, The use of bamboo in the against this backward* technology, the pro-
Tanzanian rural life is feasible and about ject is gaining more recognition for its activities
100,000 people are getting water through and since July, 1985, it has become a division
bamboo water systems. The whole construc- within the Ministry. The project is regarded as
tion activity is labour intensive carried out at a good example of the theory of self-reliance
village level with the exception of the design as expressed in the Ujamaa policy of Tanzania.
work. The Tanzanian government has
adopted this technology as a viable alternative
for rural water supply and a division has been Types Of Bamboo
formed within the Ministry of Water, Energy
and Minerals. The first bamboo water supply scheme at
the shores of lake Victoria was constructed of
Oxytenantera abyssinica and Bambusa vul-
Introduction garis (Clayton, 1979). In South of Tanzania
vast forests of bamboo are found most of
The Bamboo Project has been active now 1500 meter a.s.1. The indigenous bamboo is
for a decade in researching and promoting the abundantly available here and is very suitable
use of bamboo as water pipes within Tanzania. for water piping. Arundinaria alpina, or
We started investigations on the use of locally the green mountain bamboo grows gre-
available materials as water conduits to reduce gariously but not in clumps (monopodial).
reliance on conventional materials. The usage The density is about 5,000 stems per hectare.
of these materials should be undertaken with Culms grow up to 18 mtr and show the
an eye on economisation and reduction of the internal diameters between 50 - 85 mm.
foreign exchange component in construction Because the project does not practise clear
works. Fields of application could be village cutting, the forest regenerates after 4 - 5
water supply systems and small scale irrigation years. No specific records are available on
works. Although bamboos have been tradi- flowering of Arundinaria alpina in Tanzania.
tionally used as water conduits in many parts (Wimbush, 1945); the other sympodial

315
species used in the project is Bambusa vuI- of the exponential formula would be justified.
garis which was brought to Tanzania during The values of Mannings and Hazen-Williams
the German colonial time (1890 - 1918). It roughness coefficient were determined and
is less straight than the green bamboo, and found to vary between 0.013 - 0.016 n and
cutting it into right sizes is also more labour- 75 - 9OC respectively. The lower n-value
ious. However these disadvantages are indicating good node removal and the higher
offset by its bigger diameters, up to 125 mm ones poor node removal.
and its greater pressure bearing capacity. It is
abundantly found north of lake Nyasa (Fig. 1),
where it Is also used in housing construction. Preservation
When all engineering and preservation prob-
lems are solved they can be used satisfactorily. When burried in the ground as a pipe,
unprotected bamboo will deteriorate rapidly
Measurement to determine variation in and in the first village constructed it was
bore size along the bamboo stem o f observed that part of the pipes were
Arundinaria alpina. revealed that the portion destroyed within two months time by
of the bamboo starting from one meter above termites. It is not feasible to construct the pipe
the ground up to five meters was of uniform line Above ground. Cattle and people will
bore size and thickness. For a 50 mm (internal damage it easily, while cracks develop rapidly
diameter) bamboo pipe there was an average when water flow stops. Because forest and
difference of 1 mm over the 4 mtr. while for a village are in most cases widely seperated,
75 mm pipe this difference was almost nil. replacements are not done easily.
Experiments carried out to ascertain pressures
which bamboo can withstand revealed that The problem of termite attack was solved
the material-is capable of taking very high by the use of chlorinated insecticides and the
instantaneous pressures. For Arundinaria chemicals are sprayed in the trench as
alpina values up to 6 bar were recorded and solutions of 0.5% aldrin or 1% chlordane.
for Bambusa vulgaris it sometimes reached 10 Pipe and chemicals are kept at a distance by
bars. However the pressure withstanding partly backfilling the trench before the
capability differs very much from bamboo bamboo pipe is laid. Possible contamination
stem to stem and that maximum values of the watek through these chemicals was
drop considerably when the stem is exposed investigated by the Tropical Pesticide
to those pressures for longer times. No Research Institute at Arusha. Tanzania, and
parameters could be established which the laboratory of the water chemistry group of
can correlate or predict the pressure with- the Delft University of Technology, the
standing capability. From experience Netherlands. Results showed that no health
gathered in the field. it was concluded that hazards arise from the use of these pesticides.
the working pressure for Arundinaria alpine (van den Heuvel 1981). Their persistance in
should not exceed 1 bar and for Bambusa the environment makes them very useful for
vulgaris 2 b a r s . When the bamboo is long-term protection and since 1977, no
reinforced by putting wire aroud it. these failures due to termite attack have been
values-can reach 2 - 3 bars. The low real reported (Lipangile 1985). In November
working pressure for the bamboo pipe may be 1984 a case of termite attack was reported in
caused by the water hammer impact. The the first village constructed, Likuyufusi. This
installation of water hammer absorbing continued occasionally this year, indicating
devices may lead to enhanced working pres- that retention values of the pesticide in the soil
sure ranges. From discharge - pressure are becoming less which is in accordance with
measurements conducted at the Hydraulics reported data (Matsumura 1972). Depending
section of the Department of Civil Engineer- on soil condition, temperature, pH a n d
ing, University of Dar es Salaam. the variation organic material a reapplication of the chem-
of the friction factor (X) was determined by the ical will be necessary after 7 to 15 years. Rot
Darcy Weisbach equation with Reynolds becomes a severe problem in bamboo water
number (Re) (Fig. 2). The plotted Moody pipes after 3 - 5 years. An early experiment
diagram clearly depicts the values plotted in with tar culms gave good results (up to 8
the turbulent flow zone. Consequently the use years and not for life), though this was tem-

316
porarily abandoned. Another strategy colder) altitudes. Taking these observations
adopted was the intermittent chlorination of into account, present preservation techniques
bamboo water schemes. This killed spores of should protect the pipe for more than 10
fungi as well. Since starting this practice there years.
has been a remarkable improvement in perfor- Al1 the bamboo water schemes con-
mance for the existing schemes. More structed so far are by gravity flow. The intake
research should be done to determine the con- is normaIly a weir across a perennial stream.
centration and period of usage. Resuming, The design of the scheme is mostly based on
present preservation technique involves: a 24-hour flow demand from intake to
a) spraying of the trench with chlorinated storage tank and for the distribution system
pesticides; b) coating the outside with tar and on a peak-flow demand. Breakpressure
c) intermittent chlorination. chambers are constructed where the head
exceeds the pressure ratings of the bamboo
Extensive research has been carried out to pipes.
impregnate the bamboo culm with other pre- The pipe making and laying process
servatives and al1 such tests failed because of involves the following:
the leaching of the preservative into the water.
- Mature stems of over 3 years age are cut
It is thought that enhanced durability should
in the forest. Presently the project uses
be possible by coating the pipe (inside and
only one forest near Mbeya (Fig. 1)
outside) with epoxy materials. W h e n
necessary a fungicide (copper sulphate) could - 4 meter pieces are transported to a
be impregnated in the culm before applying nearby river.
the coating. It has been observed that dur- - the nodes are partly removed and the
ability of the bamboo pipe is increased by: a) stems are submerged for at least three
clean water; b) careful design and con- months in the river to allow desapping. If
struction aimed at a water saturated pipe; fresh bamboo are used, the water will get
and c) construction of schemes at higher (= a horrible smell.

FIG. 1: MAP OF TANZANA_

SAL A AM

B: BAMBUSA VULGARIS
X : OTHER REPORTED PLACES OF BAMBOO OF-
UNKNOWN QUANTITY

317
 0

0 0 0
0
0 0 0 0 0

318
- from this centralized pond the bamboos and the cause of these failures. They also
are transported to the village construction report depletion of stock. From these reports
sites. the average number of replacements received
- here again the bamboos are stored in a in a month/per scheme can be calculated.
pre-constructed pond. Failures could be due to:
- the bamboo pipes are reinforced with - the use of ungafvanized wires for rein-
galvanized wire. forcement and rusted wire, the plugs
- the butt-ends are sharpened by knife to fit used to fill the insect holes often become
the joint. loose, especially during the first months.
- nodes are manually removed by drilling - Excessive water pressure developed
with a 2.5 mtr. long steel rod on which (Msimbe, 1984).
augers of different sizes (to fit the different Very seldom termite attack is reported
diameters of the bamboo) can be but, if the bamboos rot, then the whole
screwed. operation has to be repeated.
- bamboos are air-dried before they are
submerged in a boiling tar solution for 2-3
minutes. Coating is only applied on the Economics
outside.
- After drying the pipes are transported to A 63 mm bamboo pipe is about 4 times
the trenches. cheaper than a focally purchased plastic pipe
- the trenches have been sprayed with a of the same diameter (Lipangife 1984). The
economics of bamboo pipes were estimated
0.5% solution of afdrin and are partly by an independent evaluation mission to the
backfilled.
Bamboo Project, paid for by the Swedish
- the pipes are laid and jointed by pieces
International Development Agency (SIDA).
(20 cm) of polyethylene, class B (6 bar). They came to the conclusion that bamboo
- Before inserting the bamboo pipes the pipes are cost competitive both in terms of
joints are slightly heated to allow expan- financial - and economical annualized costs
sion. The pipes are hammered into the (Broconsuft 1983). From these cost analyses
joints, which will form upon shrinkage a it is apparent that transport contributes greatly
leak-proof joint. to the total costs (up to 50%). This can be
- the trench is backfilled with some soil. On reduced considerably by using bamboos in
top of this again afdrin solution is the nearby forests and by exploiting more
sprayed. than one forest. The economic advantage of
- finally the whole trench is backfilled. a bamboo pipe depends also on what size of
pofythene pipe it is going to replace. Msimbe,
In this construction methodology all fit- (1985) reports that at low gradients increased
tings, Ts, connectors, reducing sockets, flows will be conveyed more economically by
breakpressure chambers and domestic points bamboo pipes.
used are of conventional materials.

Maintenance References
During construction period two villagers BROconsult. 1983. Wood - Bamboo Pro-
are selected and trained in construction activ- ject. Final Report. Prepared by evalua-
ities. After completion of the scheme they tion mission to the Bamboo Project on
receive a supply of spare bamboos and other instructions of the Swedish International
materials to enable them to carry out repair Development Association (SIDA). Stock-
works. They are also supplied with a stock of holm.
chlorine lime. Each month they are obliged to Clayton W. D. (1979, Flora of tropical East
send a maintenance report to the HQ at Africa, Ministry of Overseas Develop-
Iringa. In this report they should indicate the ment. London.
number of failures during previous month (1
failure = 1 pipe of 4 mtr has been replaced)

319
 Heuvel K. van den 1981, Wood and Bam- nology development. Regional Water
boo for rural Water - Supply a Tanzanian Engineers Conference Tanga, Tanzania.
initiative for self-reliance-. Delft Misimbe L. 1985, Wooden and bamboo
University Press, the Netherlands. materials in the implementation of water
Lipangile T.N. (1984), Wood - Bamboo for all Tanzanians by 1991, 11th WEDC
Project. Rural Hydraulic Development Conference Water and Sanitation in
Conference, Marseille. Africa, Dar es Salaam.
Lipangjle T.N. 1985, Bamboo Water Pipes. University of Dar es Salaam 1980, Labora-
Waterlines 3. tory investigations for determining
Matsumurra F. et al. 1972, Environmental hydraulic design for bamboo P and wood-
toxicology of pesticides stave pipes Consultancy report prepared
by the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Univer:
Morgan J. (1974), Water pipes from bamboo sity of Dar Es Salaam.
in Mezam Tefari, Ethiopia. Appropriate
Technology Vol. 1. Wimbush S.H. 1945, The African alpina
Msimbe L. (1984), Wood - Bamboo tech- bamboo, The Empire Forestry Journal
24.

( !" Further details from the anthor - Eds)

320
 CCA Impregnation of Bamboo-
Leaching and Fixation Characteristics
J. W . Slob, P. F. Nangawe, E. de Leer and J. Donker
!

Wood/Bamboo Project, P. 0. Box 570, Tringa, Tanzania

*Water Chemistry Group, Delft University of Technology,
P.O. Box 5029, Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract insecticide, in combination with potassium

dichromate, a fixing agent, should contain the
properties of an excellent wood preservative.
Leaching tests c a r r i e d o u t o n C C A
Since the early development of Ascu, as the
(Copper. Chrome, Arsenic) impregnated
first copper-chrome-arsenic preservative was
Arundinaria alpina bamboo by Boucherie
called, others have become available on a
method, revealed that As was leaching exces-
commercial scale. These included Tanalith C,
sively. An average of 15 % Cu, 17% Cr and
Celcure A and Boliden K33. They differ in
34 % As could be removed by submerging 2
ratio of the used components. Copper is used
cm bamboo rings in water. Concerning total
in the form of copper oxide or copper sul-
salt retehtion, Boucherie impregnation was
phate. Chromium can be found as chromium
successful. An average of 12.0 kg salt per
trioxide, sodium chromate or potassium di-
cubic meter of bamboo was retained. The
chromate. Arsenic is used as arsenic pen-
leaching results were in marked contrast to
earlier laboratory findings with CCA impreg- toxide of different water of crystallization. The
experiments described in this paper were
nation of bamboo sawdust. These experi-
carried out with Tanalith C. Its composition is
ments showed that good fixation is possible
given in the experimental part of this paper.
when sufficiently high (= 5 - 10 %) concen-
trations of CCA are used. Differences are From the available data all of the CCA
explained by discrepancies between the path- formulations appear to be excellent wood
ways of fixation that are followed. Within the preservatives, especially for soft woods. In
bamboo culm, fixation is mainly the result of hard woods, early failures may occur. The
the formation of Cu - Cr - As complexes in wide spread use of these chemicals in wood
the vascular bundles. From these vascular protection was greatly encouraged by its
bundles the metal ions diffuse slowly to the adherence property to the wood. Arsenault
surrounding tissue. In sawdust, fixation takes (1975) reported the use of CCA treated
plalce through the formation of CCA com- timber in all kinds of structures where resis-
plexes with the bamboo constituents - cellu- tance to leaching and high fixation degrees
Iose and lignin-. In this process fixation of were needed and proven i.e. cooling towers.
chromium onto cellulose and lignin is the key- water storage tanks, flumes, mushroom trays,
step. tomato and grape stakes. Dunbar (1962)
described the fixation of water-borne preser-
vatives in cooling tower timber. Henshaw
Introduction (1978) reported the fixation of copper,
chrome and arsenic in softwoods and hard-
Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) for- woods. The leaching of copper, chrome and
mulations have been in use as commercial arsenic from CCA impregnated poles was
wood preservatives for more than 45 years reported (Evans, 1978). All of them are good
and these are the most effective wood preser- fixatives with low leaching rates.
vatives, first developed by Kamesam in 1933.
With this background information, the
He conceived that copper sulphate, a proven
Bamboo Project in Tanzania was started to
fungicide, and arsenic pentoxide, a proven
investigate the use of CCA as a preservative

321
for bamboo water pipes. The aim of the out and assessed for leaching and fixation
project is to develop a technology which characteristics. According to these laboratory
replaces imported hardware elements in findings, field trials were performed with CCA
village water supply works by materials made impregnation of bamboo culms by Boucherie
out of locally available wood and bamboo. method. Most chemical analyses were
Bamboo could be a viable piping material performed in the Delft laboratory, while field
when its durability could be guaranteed for experiments were carried out in Tanzania.
more than 10 years. The well-defined com-
ponents of the CCA preservative, the known
toxicity and tolerance standards, the fixation Results and Discussion
properties and its protective working against
termites and rot could make it an excellent Type of bamboo: When not otherwise
preservative for bamboo water pipes if indeed mentioned, all experiments were conducted
protection and fixation could b e proven for with the bamboo Anmdinaria alpha, also
this case. Unprotected bamboo water pipes called the green African mountain bamboo. It
buried in the soil will be destroyed rapidly by is the species most abundantly available in
termites (van den Heuvel, 1981). By spraying Tanzania and because of its size (internal
the trench with chlorinated insecticides (aldrin diameter 50 - 75 mm) and straightness, it is
or chlordane) this problem could be over- very suitable as a water pipe.
come. Since the project started using these Type of CCA: All experiments described
insecticides in 1977, no damage due to termite in this paper were carried out with Tanalith C.
attack has been recorded (Lipangile, 1985). A CCA-type preservative had the following
However rot is not prevented in this bray. composition (as % w/w) :
Service data records show that without any 45% potassium dichromate -
additional protection bamboo pipes must be molar ratio Cr 2.2; 35% coppersulphate
replaced within one to five years. Present pre- - molar ratio Cu 1; and
servation technique involves spraying the 20% arsenic pentoxide -
trenches with chlorinated insecticides, coating molar ratio As 1.1.
the outside with tar and intermittent chlorina-
tion of the constructed schemes (Msimbe, It resembles closely the CCA type C, defined
1985), while careful design and construction according to the American Wood Preservers
- aimed at 100% filled pipes - may add to Association standard PS-74. This standard
the life-span of the pipe. CCA impregnation defines the molar ratio for CCA type C as
of the bamboo culm would enhance life-span, Cr/Cu/As as 2.0/1.0/l. 1.
reduce costs and facilitate the manufacture of Tanalith C was chosen because it is the
the bamboo pipes. CCA preservative most widely used in
Very little data is available on the use of Tanzania.
CCA as a preservative for bamboo. In a Chemical analysis of copper, chro-
report of the United Nations (1972). recom- mium and arsenic: Copper and chromium
mendations were made for the protection of were determined according to standard proce-
bamboo in use under different conditions. A dures for the atomic adsorption technique.
few other publications mentioned the advis- An air-acetylene flame was used. The
able solution strength of CCA for bamboo Tanzanian laboratory used a Pye Unicam SP
treatment. Wimbush (1945) gives2%, Bleyen- 9, the Delft laboratory the Varian Techtronic
daal (1978) 10% and Purushotham et al 1100. When the concentrations became very
(1965) 8%. The last author also reported that low or the matrix influences high, the flame-
a retention of 5 - 6 kg/m3 is needed for a 10 less technique was used in the Delft labora-
- 15 year protection. No data was available tory. The instrument. a Perkin Elmer S300.
on the leaching and fixation of CCA in bam- Arsenic was determined in the Delft
boo: Van den Heuvel (1981) reported the laboratory by the normal hydride generation
first part of this research on CCA impreg- technique. was atomized in a quartz
nation of bamboo water pipes. The aim of the tube with an air-acetylene flame and mea-
research was to investigate if CCA could be sured with the Varian Techtronic 1100. At
safely applied in bamboo water pipes. CCA the Government Chemist laboratory, Dar es
impregnation of bamboo sawdust was carried Salaam. was led through a solution of

322
silver diethyldithiocarbamate (SDDC) and the although highly basic chromic chromates,
red coloured complex measured at 540 nm persist for a long time. Depending on the pH,
with a spectrophotometer. the various exist in equilibrium with
Determination of Cu, Cr and As in one another as follows:
bamboo tissue: The total amount of +
copper, chromium and arsenic in the CCA +
treated bamboo was determined through The reduction of chromium than takes place
digestion. Pieces, varying from 3 - 6 grams,
according to the following reactions
were dried at 105C and accurately weighed.
They were transferred into glass tubes + + 6e +
( , 4.0 cm x 30 cm), 25 ml of concentrated
nitric acid was added and the tubes were
+ + 3e +
slowly heated in an aluminium heating block
at 40 - 6OC. After a few hours, another 25
ml of conc was added and heating
c o n t i n u e d a t 16OC The digestion was
stopped when all the bamboo had dissolved +
and the evolution of nitrous fumes had The last reaction only takes place under
stopped. The solution was transferred quanti- alkaline conditions and is of no interest for the
tatively to a measuring flask and water added C C A - wood/bamboo system. During the
to make up a final volume of 100 ml. Concen- course of chromium reduction, the pH will
trations of copper, chromium and arsenic were increase due to the depletion of ions. pH
measured with the techniques mentioned and increase in time was measured for the CCA
expressed as grams per kg of bamboo tissue. - bamboo system. 8 grams of bamboo
CCA fixation onto bamboo sawdust: sawdust was mixed with 8 ml of CCA solution
The CCA reaction in wood is a fixation reac- of different strength (2%, 5% and 10%). The
tion involving the reduction of hexavalent samples were placed in the dark and the pH
chromium to trivalent chromium, followed by measured in time with a flat-membrane pH
the formation of a complex mixture of insoluble electrode, The results are given in fig. 1, The
salts. According to Dahlgren and Hartford date clearly indicate that there is a sharp initial
(1972 II and III) the final equilibrium fixation rise in pH (pH of a 5% CCA solution = 2).
products are ion-exchanged Cu to the wood, An instant change in proton activity of this
CrAsO4, a n d magnitude cannot possibly be explained by

PH

Fig. 1. The pH changes during fixation of CCA onto bamboo sawdust for different concentrations of CCA

323
chromic acid oxidation of bamboo tissue. was due to rearrangement of lignin complex
Dahlgren and Hartford (1972 I) observed the under influence of the slow release of
same phenomenon for wood, although the For arsenic fixation, chromium reduction is
effect was not so pronounced. The pH in- essential. AI1 the arsenic is precipitated as
creased from 2.03 to 2.55 after 3 minutes for a which can form complexes with lignin
5% Tanalith C solution on pine wood. He attri- or stay loosely bound to cellulose (Pizzi, 1982
buted this to an absorption of chromic acid III). For chromium reduction, it is necessary to
onto the wood constituents. However, in have: 1) sufficient ions - during chro-
Tanalith C, the bulk of proton activity is gen- mium reduction is consumed causing the
erated through hydrolysis of arsenic. slow pH increase; 2) sufficient oxidizable
pentoxide, producing arsenic acid , material - chromium reduction is only possi-
which will be partially ionized. Bamboo tissue ble when another compound is oxidized.
must be capable of taking up ions (buffer
capacity) resulting in the large instant pH The formation of precipitates is favoured
increase, although it cannot be ruled out by: 3) a high final pH -- the higher the pH,
that rapid cdmplexing of chromium and the m o r e insoluble the complex. Dahlgren
arsenic anions contributes to the observed (1975) gave a pH of 6, above which all salts
effect. The observed oscillating pH effects at were precipitated; 4) a low ionic strength -
the end of the fixation time can be attributed to (solubility product) is the product of activ-
conversion reactions of already precipitated ities. The higher the ionic strength, the lower
materials into more stable compounds. the coefficient of these activities, the higher
Dahlgren and Hartford (1974 IV) postulated the concentrations.
the conversion of primarily formed acidic cop- To verify the above assumptions, bamboo
per arsenates into basic copper arsenates sawdust was treated with different concentra-
under release of arsenic acid, which in its turn tions of CCA (2%, 5% and 10%) under
reacts with the earlier formed chromic chro- addition of acetic acid (HAc) as a source of
mates. Pizzi (1981 I and 1982 IV) could not protons and sugar as an easily oxidizable
find copper arsenate complex in precipitates material. The redox potential (E) and the pH
obtained after reaction of CCA type C with were measured with flat-bottom electrodes
wood and its separate constituents - during a two month period. Samples were
glucose/cellulose and guaiacol/lignosuI- kept in the dark. pH and E are plotted against
p h o n a t e - and he postulated that the each other in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 for the different
oscillating pH at the end of the fixation time solution strengths and the different additions.

Fig. 2. E versus pH graph for the fixation reaction of 2% CCA (and different additions) onto fixation reaction.
The straigth drawn line depicts how E changes with pH in a pure 2% CCA solution.

324
 PH
Fig. 3. E versus pH graph for the fixation reaction of 5% CCA (and different additions) onto bamboo sawdust.
The straight line depicts how E changes with pH in a pure 5% CCA solution (for details, see text).

PH
Fig. 4. E versus pH graph for the fixation reaction of 10% CCA (and different additions) onto bamboo sawdust,
The straight line depicts how E changes with pH in a pure 10% CCA solution.

The straight lines in these figures depict copper, chromium and arsenic in mg per
how E changes with pH when no chromium gram bamboo and as a percentage of total
reduction takes place. The further the point copper, chromium and arsenic retention.
from this line, the more chrome VI has been Table 1 also shows that with a low loading of
reduced. After this fixation time the sawdust CCA on bamboo, the fixation was very
was washed twice with 100 ml deionized poor. A 2% Tanalith C solution gave a
water to determine the amount of unfixed leaching of 13% for Cu, 30% for Cr and
copper, chromium and arsenic and the con- 29% for As. Dahlgren and Hartford (1975 V)
centrations in the washing liquid were mea- reported the same phenomenon for Douglas
sured. Table 1 gives the values of washed out fir. Ponderosa pine and to a lesser degree

325
 Table 1. Leaching of copper (Cu), chromium(0) and arsenic (As) from CCA impregnated
bamboo sawdust, using different concentrations ofCCA and different additions for
impregnation.

2% CCA + 8% sugar + 0.2M HAc + l.OM HAc + 4.OM HAc

copper 0.30 - 1 3 % 0.37 - 16% 0.15 - 6 % 0.63 - 27% 0.90 - 39%
chromium 1.22 - 30% 0.67 - 16% 0.32 - 8 % 0.63 - 15% 0.99 - 24%
arsenic 0.87 - 29% 0.63 - 21% 0.51 - 17% 0.66 - 22% 0.95 - 32%
5% CCA
copper 0.16 - 3 % 0.18 - 3 % 0.18 - 3 % 0.92 - 16% 2.18 - 37%
chromium 1.20 - 12% 0.26 - 3 % 0.21 - 2 % 1.61 - 16% 3.68 - 36%
arsehic 0.14 - 2 % 0.16 - 2 % 0.18 - 2 % 0.79 - 1 1 % 1.74 - 23%
10% CCA
copper 0.31 - 3% 0.24 - 2 % 0.32 - 3 % 0.98 - 8 % 4.21 - 36%
chromium 2.06 - 10% 0.21 - 1 % 0.94 - 5 % 3.22 - 16% 10.51 - 5 1 %
arsenic 0.24 - 2 % 0.19 - 1 % 0.23 - 2 % 0.94 - 6 % 3.02 - 20%
All values are expressed as mg metal leached per gram sawdust.
The percentages are of total retention of the metal ion.

Southern yellow pine when treated with 2 - more chrome reduction at the end, although
2.5% preservative solutions, although he the reaction did not proceed any faster. The
mentioned unexpectedly high As leachability. fixation of chromium was improved for all
Doubling the concentration also gave normal solution strengths when sugar was added
leaching rates. When we interpret the leach- (Table 1). Addition of acetic acid solutions
ability of Cu, Cr and As for the different gave 1 M and 4 M a larger chrome reduction
solution strengths with the results drawn in (Fig. 5). However, because of the low final pH
Figs. 2, 3, and 4, we can conclude that these (pH 5) and the high ionic strength, precipi-
high leaching figures for the 2% solution are tates were poorly formed, causing high
due to poor chromium reduction. The figures leaching rates (Table 1). From Fig, 5, it can
also show that addition of sugar resulted in also be concluded that when is in excess. a

5% CCA
+Q2MH4c

+ 4 MHAC

Fig. 5. E versus pH graph for the fixation reaction of 5% CCA, dissolved in different concentrations of acetic acid
onto bamboo sawdust.

326
buffer of pH 4 - 5 will be formed (the natural This gives at the end of the first zone more
pH of bamboo}. When we used a smaller complexed on cellulose. For the second zone
quantity of HAc (0.2 M HAc), chrome reduc- The reaction of the second zone
tion will be somewhat quicker, while the end hardly adds to the total amount of -
pH hardly differs from that of the CCA cellulose complex. Reduction of chromium
solution without HAc. This indicates that the takes place through a rapid formation of
added protons were used. Chrome fixation is - cellulose complexes in the first zone, fol-
improved for all solution strengths. lowed by a slow in situ reduction on cellu-
lose. The - cellulose complex can release
From the prevailing data it is obvious that
trivalent chromium into the solution where it
the availability of H ions and oxidizable
forms complexes with arsenates. The second
groups is not a hindrance for chrome reduc-
zone kads hardly contributes to the total amount
tion. When this should be the case, leach-
of formed. First and second zone reactions
ability of As for the 5% and 10% solutions
are rapid compared to the kred of the -
should be the same or higher then for the 2%
cellulose complex. As was earlier mentioned,
solution (the amount of bamboo was kept
the pH of the CGA/bamboo system rises
constant). Final pH and ionic strength do
sharply at the beginning (Fig. 1). The effect is
influence the sofubility of the complexes, but
more pronounced for the 2% solution then for
in normal reaction circumstances, p h is suffi-
the 5% and 10%. Total chromium reduction
ciently high and ionic strength low, to guaran-
depends on the length of time of the first zone.
tee low solubility .
First zone reactions continue as long as the
With the model of fixation as postulated is the dominant chromium anion.
by Dahlgren and Hartford (1972 II and III) and Due to the sharp initial rise in pH for the CCA-
Dahlgren (1975). it is difficult to explain the bamboo system will be rapidly
results obtained. The mere formation of preci- r e p l a c e d b y HCr04- (see eq. 1).
pitates as model of fixation appears very Consequently only little will be complexed
simple. Our date support the results of Pizzi. on cellulose and thus only little will
Pizzi (1981 I, 1982 II, III and IV) based his be available for chrome arsenate com-
model on the reactions of hexavaient chro- plexes, From Fig. 1 it can be concluded that
mium with the different wood constituents. He the 2% solution forms the least causing
concluded that this reaction takes place in the high leaching rate of arsenic.
three different reaction zones depending on
PH. The effects of adding sugar and ions
can also be explained by this model. Addition
First zone: Low initial pH, of sugar merely raises the initial concentration
the dominant chromium anion of the complexing cellulose/sugar. Because of
this higher concentration, more will be
+ cellulose kads - cellulose]
complexed on cellulose/sugar and arsenic
complex leaching will be reduced (sugar also reduces
+ lignin - lignin] Figs. 2, 3 and 4 show that in case of
complex sugar addition, the reactions do not proceed
faster but more will be formed at the end.
Second zone: pH has increased,
This is in accordance with the presented
the reacting chromium anion model. Addition of in the form of 0.2 M
+ cellulose kads - cellulose] HAc gives for the 2% CCA solution a lower
complex initial pH (Fig. 6). extending the period of the
+ iignin - iignin] first zone reactions and therefore enhancing
the total amount of chromium reduced.
complex Arsenic leachability will be reduced (Table 1).
Third zone: further pH increase albeit slow, all Extensive washing of bamboo sawdust before
removed from solution CCA impregnation (sap removal) also gives
lower leaching rates. Washed and unwashed
- cefiuiose] kred - Cellulose]
bamboo sawdust was impregnated with 5%
+ cellulose CCA solution. After four weeks arsenic
For the system, the reaction leaching was determined. The washed
rates (k) were determined for the different bamboo gave very low leachability (1.1%).
zones (Pizzi 1981 I). For the first zone kads > while for the unwashed bamboo, this figure
327
 I I I I I
1 10 100 1000
fixatian time (hrs)
Fig. 6. The pH course during fixation of 2% CCA (with and without HAc) onto washed and
unwashed bamboo sawdust.

1
o = 5% CCA , unwashed sawdust
+= r, , washed I,

2001 ..

Fig. 7. E versus pH graph for the fixation reaction of 5% CCA onto washed (sap removed) and
unwashed bamboo sawdust.
was 10% .-From Fig. 6, it can be seen that sap of chromium into the bamboo (through the for-
removal causes a lower initial pH. More chro- mation of chromic - chromate - lignin com-
mium will be reduced according to the model plexes). It is recalled that Pizzi obtained his
presented earlier. This is verified by the E - results with guaiacof and lignosulphonate as
pH diagram (Fig. 7). Washing may also result model compounds for wood fignin. which
in a lower ionic strength, favouring the forma- is present in soft wood mainly as guaiacyl
tion of precipitates. units and in hard woods as guaiacyl and
The model presented does not offer an syringil. The lignin of bamboo is a typical grass
explanation for the behaviour of copper and Iignin of mixed dehydrogenation polymers of
chromium leachabilities. According to Piui, coniferyl-, singapyl- and p-coumaryl alchohois
- lignin complexes are quite stable and (Higuchi and Kawamura, 1966; Nakatsubo et
not. easily leached out. Our data indicates that al, 1972). Apparently the type of complexes
is necessary to a certain extent for fixation and the rate of complex formation will be

328
 effected by this difference. Piui (1982 II) part of the culm was poorly treated and the
reports that 10 - 20% of the Cu is fixed onto up-take through the inner wall was higher
lignin as complex and the remaining is than from outside. However, the main dis-
ion-exchanged fixed to lignin and cellulose advantage of the steeping method was the
with a preference for lignin. No explanation crystallization of the salt on the inner- and
can be offered for the observed lower leach- outer culm wall, giving rise to health hazards
ability of copper in case of higher solution during handling and usage, Steeping
strengths and addition of ions. Sugar has methods tested on bamboos with the partition
no influence, probably indicating that is walls intact were not successful because of
not involved in copper complexing. A lower the low retention of the CCA. Sap displace-
initial pH seems to favour Cu complexing onto ment techniques gave poor longitudinal distri-
bamboo. bution, although retention at. the butt-
From all the above, it can be concluded treatment end was sufficient. For further
that the fixation mechanism of CCA onto experiments, it was decided to use the
bamboo resemhles closely the fixation modified sap displacement technique, namely
mechanism of CCA onto wood, the main the Boucherie method. Boucherie impreg-
difference being the high initial rise of pH (due nation was carried out using gravity pressure.
to the buffer capacity of bamboo). This causes In the area where the Arundinaria alpha
for low solution strengths a poor chromium (green African mountain bamboo) grows,
reduction and therefore high leaching rates of selection of a suitable site was easy. The
arsenic. Although the data presented in Table supply vat was placed on top of the hill and
I gives the amount of easily removed (and connected through a 12.5 mm plastic hose
thus not precipitated or complexed) copper, with the distribution system at the foot of the
chromium and arsenic, severe leaching hill. The gravity pressure applied was 20 m.
conditions will lead to additional removal of For research purposes three separate systems
the different compounds. Tests carried out, were installed to run the different tests con-
representing severe leaching conditions currently. Each of the systems had five con-
(bamboo sawdust was put into a column and nections for bamboo. Fig. 8 gives in sche-
eluted with 10 1 of water), indicate that for a matic drawing the distribution system. The
2% CCA solution + 0.2 M HAc still as much most difficult part of the Boucherie installation
as 24% copper, 11% chromium and 12% was the connection between the bamboo and
arsenic could be removed after washing. For the installation (the *cap). We used a piece
the 5 and 10% CCA solution these figures of polyethylene, class B 0 63.5 mm, inserted
respectively were 15% - 2% - 6% and 2% in an ordinary poly connector. The cap
- 5 % - 3%, again in favour of the high operated well and was leak-proof when suit-
solution strengths. able (i.e., with the right diameter) bamboos
were selected. As it was the aim to investigate
CCA impregnation Of Bamboo retention, distribution and leaching, the instal-
lation was sophisticated enough. However for
Pipes by Boucherie Method large scale operations, a cap should be
Liese (1980) and Tewari (1981) described developed which makes coupling and
the different methods to impregnate bamboo uncoupling easier and more rapid and which
with water soluble chemicals. Van den fits different diameters of bamboo. Boucherie
Heuvel (1981) reported the experiments impregnation was carried out with 5%
carried out by the Tanzanian Bamboo Pro- Tanalith C solution. This solution was chosen
ject to impregnate CCA into the bamboo following the results of bamboo sawdust
culm by different methods. He reported that impregnation. The use of a 10% solution led
methods using air-dried bamboos failed to rapid blocking of the vessels. .Bamboos, 4
because of the high percentage of cracking. m long, were treated, varying the treatment
Steeping of fresh bamboos, hot and cold time. The normal procedure was over-
bath and sap displacement techniques were night (O/N) treatment. Before leaching
extensively tested. The steeping method gave experiments were conducted, the bamboos
satisfactory salt retentions (5 kg/m3), but were stored for more than three months in a
radial distribution was very poor. The inner shed. They were covered and kept wet.

329
 Fig. 8. Boucherie installation (gravity fed pressure).

Retention and distribution: Retention practice in the wood preservation) is not very
values (as kg salt/m3 bamboo) were calcu- practical. Densities differ from stem to stem
lated from the -concentrations of copper, and species to species, while measurements
chromium and arsenic as found in the diges- of volume are laborious. It would be more con-
tion experiments. When the first leaching ex- venient to use gr salt/kg bamboo. This gives an
periments were performed, the amount of average retention value of 18.1 g CCA per kg
salt leached out was added. The tissue bamboo (st.d. 6.6). Table 2 shows the
density of -the Arundinaria alpina was calcu- average retention of copper, chromium and
lated to be 0.66 10 kg/m3. The average arsenic (g/kg bamboo) and their molar ratios
retention for a 5% CCA solution was 12.0 within one stem. The last data clearly indicates
kg/m3. This was calculated from 23 that the salt composition has changed consi-
bamboos, the standard deviation being 4.3. It derably during the Boucherie treatment. The
is suggested that expressing retention values amount of arsenic retained in the bamboo is
as kg salt/m3 bamboo (as is the international lower compared to the original solution.

Table 2. Average retention of copper (Cu), chromium (Cr) and arsenic (As) for a number of
bamboos and their respective molar ratios.

Retention (gr/kg bamboo) Molar Ra tios

Bamboo Cu (st dev) Cr (st dev) As (st dev) cu Cr As
1 1.05 40.20) 2.67 (0.89) 0.85 (0.20) 1.5 4.5 1.0
2 1.31 (0.43) 2.38 (0.65) 0.97 (0.18) 1.6 3.5 1.0
3 1.14 (0.50) 1.86 (0.65) 0.77 (0.16) 1.7 3.5 1.0
4 1.02 10.35) 4.51 (1.72) 0.92 (0.14) 1.3 7.1 1.0
5 0.93 (0.23) 2.13 (0.51) 0.95 (0.32) 1.2 3.3 1.0
6 A 2.13 (l.15) 1.61 11.21) 0.88 (0.59) 2.9 2.7 1.0
B 1.92 (0.971 1.99 (0.62) 1.12 (0.18) 2.0 2.6 1.0
7A 3.61 (2.30) 3.96 (1.64) 2.22 (0.511 1.9 2.6 1.0
B 2.81 (1.57) 2.82 (l.31) 1.50 (0.26) 2.2 2.7 1.0
8A 1.15 (0.38) 2.39 (0.65) 1.85 (0.43) 0.7 1.9 1.0
B 3.04 (2.20) 2.36 (1.25) 1.39 (0.42) 2.5 2.4 1.0
TANALITH C - 0.9 2.0 1.0

!" A indicates that samples were taken 50 - 100 cm from butt-treatment-end.

B samoles were taken 250 - 300 c m from butt-treatment-end.

330
For copper this is reversed (copper is best For good treatment the time between cutting
retained). From the large standard deviations and impregnation should be as short as
of average retention of the different com- possible.
pounds within one stem (Table 2), it can be MTT longitudinal distribution will not be
concluded that longitudinal distribution is very determined by distance to the butt-treatment
unequal throughout the culm. Fig. 9 depicts end and longitudinal distribution is not equal.
how retention increases with time for the dif- Large differences are observed (standard
ferent parts of the culm. It is seen that a certain deviations in Table 2), but they do not corre-
length of time (the Minimum Treatment Time late with the distance to the butt-treatment
= MTT) is needed to guarantee sufficient end. These differences are explained by the
retention throughout the culm. From the same fact that complexes of precipitates are
figure it can be concluded that arsenic passes formed in the vessels (crystal growth). It
most rapidly (so fixes most poorly), while is also clear from Fig. 9 that when the MTT is
chromium fixes best. The uptake of copper observed, longer treatment time would not
continues for the longest period, indicating enhance retentions. Radial distribution was
that copper diffuses best. The MTT depends investigated using rontgen-scanning tech-
on bamboo stem, species of bamboo, pres- niques. Energy dispersive rontgen-spectra
sure applied and solution concentration. It is were made from different parts of the bam-
easily determined by measuring the specific boo. Fig. 10 shows the spectra for a vascular
gravity of the effluent preservative (which bundle of untreated and treated bamboo and
should closely resemble that of the original Fig. 11, for the parenchyma tissue for dif-
solution). Not surprisingly, it correlates well ferent energies. From these spectra it can be
with the flow velocity of the preservative concluded that the bulk of the salt is retained
through the culm. It was observed that flow in the vascular bundles and gradual diffusion
velocity decreases during treatment time. This to the surrounding tissues takes place (to
was true not only in the case for CCA solutions detect the metals in the parenchyma tissue,
but also when water was flushed through the higher energies had to be used). From these
stem. Initial flow velocity is strongly reduced in results it is obvious that the outer part of the
aged stems and will also drop considerably if culm is better protected due to the higher
the period between cutting and treatment density of vascular bundles in this part. The
is prolonged. We failed to impregnate bamboo results support the idea that retention and
by Boucherie method three days after cutting. longitudinal distribution is mainly dependent

treatment time (hrs)

Fig. 9. Retention of as function of time determined at 3 m from the
butt-treatment-end. The dotted line predicts how retention will increase near the butt-treatment-end.

331
 As

Fig, 10, Rontgen spectrum of treated and untreated Fig. 11. Rontgen spectrum of parenchyma tissue of
bamboo. The scan taken in a vascular bundle. treated bamboo using different energies.

.
.
---

teaching time (hrs)

Fig. 12. Leaching of C u , Cr and As from bamboo beakers (I) and 2 cm bamboo rings (II).

on formation of Cu - Cr - As complexes placed in water. This time the ends were not
within the vascular bundles. sealed. The third experimental set-up
Leaching and fixation: To investigate simulated most closely the use of bamboo as
leaching patterns. three kinds of experiments water pipe. Water was circulated with a pump
were conducted. In the first, pieces of CCA (so under pressure) through the bamboo.
treated bamboo were placed in a glass From total water volume, content of the bam-
column ( 10 cm x 50 cm). The sawn ends boo pipe and discharge, it could be calculated
were sealed with a silicone kit. The column how many meters of pipe line correspond
was filled with water and this water in time with one hour of pumped circulation. Figs. 12
analysed for copper, chromium and arsenic. and 13 show the characteristic leaching
In the second experiment rings of 2 cm were patterns for the different experiments. Leach-

332
 1
2 6 10 14 18 ' 22
circulation time (hrsj
(lhr = 35 mtr pipe)
Fig. 13. Leaching of Cu, Cr and As from bamboo pipes through pumped water circulation.

ing is most severe in experiment II, due to the is only dependent on the concentration of
high surface/tissue ratio deliberately caused CCA in the bamboo; r = k CCA, r being the
by not sealing the ends. After 20 days of sub- leaching rate and k the first order rate con-
merging in water, leaching seems to have ter- stant. Because CCA is present in large
minated for these experiments. Percentages excess, the CCA concentration may be
of totally leached copper, chromium and regarded as constant during the leaching
arsenic were determined from these experi- experiment I. This gives a pseudo zero-order
ments II. For copper. the values ranged process. The leaching rate (r). mg/kg hr, and
from 5 - 28%. average 15%. for the first order leaching rate constant k =
chromium from 4 - 36%. average 17%. r/CCAtot (hr-) were calculated for Cu, Cr
for arsenic from 7 - 68%. average 34% and As from the experiment I. Results are
(Table 3). From Fig. 12, it appears that the given in Table 4. Copper, chromium and
leaching of CCA proceeds at an almost con- arsenic leaching for the different pipes can be
stant rate. This may be explained by assum- best compared by looking at the first order
ing that leaching is a first order process, which leaching rate constants, because in k differ-

Table 3. Retention (as gr metal ion per kg bamboo) and Leaching (as
% of retention) of
copper (Cu), chromium (Cr) and arsenic (As) from 2 cm bamboo rings.

Bamboo Copper Chromium Arsenic

ring - ret. leac. ret. leac. ret. leac.

1 0.89 23% 2.04 24% 0.70 46%

2 1.35 14% 2.60 19% 0.97 41%
3 1.20 13% 1.95 15% 0.77 41%
4 1.09 24% 3.67 20% 0.92 24%
5 0.92 28% 2.32 30% 0.95 55%
6A 3.12 5% 2.46 21% 1.21 42%
B 2.37 13% 2.51 11% 1.30 30%
7A 5.84 9% 5.55 18% 2.66 33%
B 4.32 10% 4.05 22% 1.72 43%
8A 1.06 12% 2.82 4% 2.05 11%
B 4.20 14% 3.47 5% 1.81 14%
* = A indicates that samples were taken 50 100 cm from butt-treatment-end
I3 2 5 0 - 3 0 0 cm from butt-treatment-end.

333
 Table 4. Leaching rates (r = mg metal ion per kg bamboo per hour) and first order
leaching rate constants (k = 10-4 h r -1) for copper (Cu), chromium (Cr) and arsenic (As)
in a number of bamboos,

Bamboo Copper Chromium Arsenic

r k r k r k

1 0.30 2.5 0.78 2.5 0.25 2.5

0.28 0.11 2.3 1.2 0.90 0.41 4.2 2.1 0.67 0.34 6.8 4.3
4 0.21 2.1 0.73 1.7 0.17 2.0
5 0.47 4.9 0.95 4.8 0.58 6.2
6 A 0.28 2.5 0.61 7.8 0.84 15.1
B 0.14 1.0 0.27 1.8 0.42 4.5
7A 0.36 2.6 0.83 3.5 1.10 6.1
B 0.71 5.4 1.60 10.0 1.70 13.2
8A 0.06 0.5 0.20 1.0 0.26 1.6
B 0.18 1.0 0.31 2.5 0.45 4.6

average 0.28 2.4 0.69 3.8 0.62 6.1

"! A= 50 - 100 cm fmm the butt-treatment-end.
B = 250 - 300 cm from the butt-treatment-end.

ences in loading of CCA are levelled out. tioned if the salt retained after extensive wash-
From the data it is clear that copper leached ing is sufficient for protection. The amount of
less and arsenic most as a percentage of total salt retained was determined in a pipe installed
retention. However because of the higher r as test pipe three years ago, and found to be
values, chromium will contaminate the water down to 3.4 kg. Leaching and fixation were
more. There is a positive correlation between investigated for different procedures of Bou-
chromium and arsenic leaching. cherie impregnation (first flushing with water
All experiments show that when these - sap removal - or acid, following the results
pipes are used for transportation of drinking of bamboo sawdust impregnation). However,
water. high concentrations of Cu. Cr and As possible effects were masked by the very irre-
can be expected in the water. A 2 m long CCA gular leaching patterns of normally 5% CCA
treated bamboo pipe was washed in the river treated bamboo.
for one month. After this washing time it was In the Bamboo Project, the results
connected to the circulation installation obtained with CCA - Boucherie impregna-
(experiment III) and water was pumped tion of bamboo pipes were disappointing,
through it for ten hours representing 500 m of High leaching rates of the toxic compounds
pipeline. The next concentrations of Cu, Cr make the use of a CCA - Boucherie treated
and As were measured: bamboo pipe as water conduit impossible.
500 m bamboo pipe Cu = 0.2 mg/l This result is in marked contrast to the results
Cr = 0 . 2 mg/l obtained with CCA bamboo sawdust impreg-
nation. For this system, good fixation could be
A s = 0.3 mg/l reached when sufficiently high concentrations
Tanzanian standard Cu = 3 mg/l were used. Selective adsorption and diffusion
allowed in Cr = 0 . 0 5 mg/l of the different metal ions during and after the
drinking water A s = 0.05 mg/l Boucherie process and invalidates the model
as presented for the CCA - bamboo saw-
These results do not need further elaboration. dust system. Experiments for CCA -
Although the experiment II shows that bamboo sawdust impregnation revealed that
leaching may terminate in time, extensive a high instantaneous loading of CCA is neces-
washing procedures on a large scale are not sary for good fixation (more than 50 g CCA
recommended because of high environ- per kg bamboo). This condition will be real-
mental pollution. It should even be ques- ized in the vessels, when we look to the

334
 amount of CCA in direct contact with the research program in Tanzania. He was
bamboo tissue. This is confirmed by the mea- assisted by Mr Nangawe, a Tanzanian forest
surement of the pH of the effluent preserva- officer with a long standing experience in
tive. Immediately after starting the treatment, wood preservation. They conducted the field
the pH of the collected sap reached 5.16 (the experiments, while laboratory facilities were
n a t u r a l pH o f t h e Arundinaria alpina put at their disposal by Dr Madati, Head of
bamboo). During the course of the treatment, the Government Chemist Laboratory, Dar es
the pH dropped to + 3.5. However, the CCA Salaam. Here Mr Siafu assisted in the chem-
in the vascular bundles was hardly exposed to ical analyses.
the reactive groups of the bamboo tissue and
this low pH would not result in good chromium
reduction (as in the sawdust system). Fixation References
of CCA is merely the result of the formation
of precipitates within the sap vessels and even Arsenault, R.D. 1975. CCA treated wood
for this the situation is not optimal (low pH). foundations, a study of performance,
Investigations of CCA - Boucherie treated effectiveness, durability and environ-
bamboo pipes buried for three years in the mental considerations. 126-149. In:
soil as test pipes revealed that the bamboo Conference of the American Wood Pre-
was still sound, although slight nibbles of ter- servers Association.
mite attack could be seen on the outside. The Bleyendaal, H.P.O. 1978. Protection of
control pipes were totally destroyed by ter- wood and bamboo in the tropics. Paper
mites and rot. The total salt retained had No. 4, Department of Forestry, Univer-
dropped considerably due to the severe sity of Agriculture, Wageningen, the
leaching conditions. All experiments indicate Netherlands.
that CCA - Boucherie treated bamboo will
be well protected against termite attack and Dahlgren, S.E. and Hartford, W.H. 1972.
rot for a long time when not exposed to Kinetics and mechanism of fixation of
severe leaching conditions. By using different Cu-Cr-As wood preservatives. Part I. pH
techniques of impregnation, it is possible that behaviour and general aspects on fixa-
sufficiently high fixation can be reached. All tion. Holzforschung 26: 62-69.
techniques depend on diffusion of the metal Dahlgren, S.E. and Hartford, W.H. 1972.
ions and therefore resemble closely the Bou- Part II. Fixation of Boliden K33. Holz-
cherie impregnation. Experiments carried out forschung 26: 105-l 13.
with pressure impregnation gave an average Dahlgren, S.E. and Hartford, W.H. 1972.
leaching of arsenic of 44%. Part III, Fixation of Tanalith C and com-
parison of different preservatives, Holz-
Acknowledgements forschung 26: 142-149.
Dahlgren, S.E. and Hartford, W.H. 1974.
The results presented here are the data of Part IV. Conversion reactions during
a joint-research programme of the Bamboo storage. Holzforschung 28: 58.
Project in Tanzania and the water chemistry
Dahlgren, S.E. and Hartford, W.H. 1975.
group of the Delft University of Technology. Part V. Effect of wood species and pre-
the Netherlands. The research was financed
servative composition on the leaching
by the Netherland Ministry for Development
during storage. Holzforschung 29: 84.
Cooperation (hard currency component) and
the Tanzanian Ministry of Water (under which Dahlgren, S.E. 1975. Fixation of Cu-Gr-As
the Bamboo Project falls). The bulk of the based wood preservatives, The Swedish
chemical analyses were performed at the Wood Preservation Institute. Report 113.
Delft laboratory by J. Donker. Mr de Leer Stockholm.
(initially P. Schreur) supervised this work in Dunbar, J. 1962. The fixation of waterborn
his function as head of department. Mr Slob preservatives in cooling tower timber. 25-
(a chemist) was employed through SNV 39. In: Proceedings of 12th Annual Con-
(Netherland organization for Development ference of the British Wood Preservers
Assistance) as a scientific coordinator of the Association.

335
Evans, F.G. 1978. The leaching of copper, Pizzi, A. 1981. The chemistry and kinetic be-
chromium and arsenic from CCA haviour of Cu-Cr-As/B wood preserva-
impregnated poles stored for ten years in tives. Part I. Fixation of chromium on
running water. 10th Annual Meeting of wood. Holzforschung und Holzverwer-
the International Research Group/Wood tung 33: 87- 100.
Preservation. Document IRG/WP 3122.
Peebles, Scotland. Pizzi, A. 1982. Part II. Fixation of the Cu/Cr
system on wood. Journal of Polymer
Henshaw, B. 1978. Fixation of copper, Science, Polymer Chemistry Edition 20:
chromium and arsenic in softwoods and 707-724.
hardwoods. Princess Risborough Labora-
WA Buckinghamshire, England. Pizzi, A. 1982. Part III. Fixation of the Cr/As
Document P.D. 152/78 P.R. 30/024. system on wood. Journal of Polymer
Heuvel, K. van den. 1981. Wood and bam- Science, Polymer Chemistry Edition 20:
boo for rural water supply - a Tanzanian 725-738.
initiative for self-reliance. Delft University Pizzi, A. 1982. Part IV. Fixation of CCA to
Press, the Netherlands. wood .l Journal of Polymer Science,
Higuchi, T. and Kawamura, I. 1966. Occur- Polymer Chemistry Edition 20: 739-764.
rence of p-hydroxyphenyl-glycerol B-aryl
ether structures in lignins. Holzforschung Purushotham, A., Singh, S.N. and Nigam,
20: 16-21. P.N. 1965. Preservation treatment of
Liese, W. 1980, Preservation of bamboos:In: green bamboos. Journal of the Timber
Proceedings of the workshop on Bamboo Development Association - India 11: 8-
Research in Asia. International Develop- 11.
ment Research Centre and International
Tewari, M.C. 1981. Recent studies on the
Union of Forestry Research, Singapore.
protection against deterioration. Pro-
Lipangile, T.N. 1985. Bamboo water pipes. ceedings of the World Congress on
Waterlines 3. London. Bamboo Production and Utilization,
Msimbe, L. 1985. W o o d e n a n d b a m b o o Group 5.3A. Kyoto, Japan. Japan
materials in the implementation of water Society of Bamboo Development and
for all Tanzanians by 1991. WEDC 1 lth Protection.
Conference on Water and Sanitation in
Africa. Dar es Salaam Tanzania. United Nations. 1972. Use of bamboo and
reeds in building construction. ST/SOA
Nakatsubo, F., Tanahashi, M. and Higuchi, 113.
T. 1972. Acidolysis olf bamboo lignin,
part 2 isolation and identification o f Wimbush, S.H. 1945. The African alpina
acidolysis products. Wood Research 53: bamboo. The Empire Forestry Journal
9-18. 24. London.

336
 Bamboo Plywood - A New Product of
Structural Material with High
Strength Properties
Chen Guisheng
Project Leader, Bamboo Plywood Research Group and Director of Forest Products
Laboratory, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract anisotropy. This property may be evaluated

The paper describes the procedures as a disadvantage on the one hand and an
involued in making bamboo plywood. It then advantage on the-other. Some may place this
d i s c u s s e s the comparative merit of the property of bamboo at a disadvantage in
product. competition with other products. In fact,
many of the disadvantages, real or implied, as
Bamboo plywood is a panel consisting of decay and insect attack, could be overcome
an assembly of plies of bamboo sheets by intelligent use of bamboo, based on a com-
bonded together with the direction of the prehensive knowledge of its characteristics.
grain, in alternate plies at right angles. An
adhesive of phenolic resin is used. The bam- It is known that bamboo is exceptionally
anisotropic in nature and this character could
boo species used for the raw material is Phyl-
be overcome by crossbanding to a certain
lostachys pubescens (Mazd) which averages extent as desired. The problem is in devel-
9 cm in diameter at the breast height.
oping the resulting characteristics to a much
The processing procedure is as follows: higher degree as we do in oriented strand
Bamboo culm is first crosscut into four or board (OSB) and also in oriented strand com-
so with the desired lengths and the inner and posite plywood (OSCP). Bamboo plywood
outer surface layers are scraped out on equip- serves this purpose. As the orientation of
ment specially designed. The cuts are then fibers in bamboo is nearly perfect along the
split open into two or three pieces. Following grain, the bending strength of the product is
a pretreatment by soaking the pieces in a remarkably superior to those of OSB and
cooking vat for several hours, the pieces are OSCP. It is also high in flexible rigidity. In
dipped in a vessel with a medium at a tem- comparison with other structural materials
perature far beyond 100C so as to enhance other than wood and wood products, they
the temperature of the pieces to a certain are mostly isotropic and there is no way to
degree to soften the wood. This serves to strengthen the bending strength and stiffness
thermoplasticize the Iignin and hemicellu- as expected.
lose more effectively. The treated pieces are A tentative comparison of strength pro-
then spread out, flattened, dried and stabilized perties of a few structural materials is shown
through a heated press and a breathing drier, in Table 1.
specially used for processing bamboo sheets.
The pieces are planed smooth and edged We understand that the nature of the cell
straight on both sides. This prepares, the wall substance and its distribution as a system
material - faces, backs and crossbands - for of thin-walled tubes makes wood very effi-
the manufacturing of bamboo plywood. The cient in flexible rigidity. So does bamboo. This
forthcoming procedures are just the same as high flexible rigidity is most effective in mem-
the manufacture of plywood. Bamboo ply- bers as beams in which length is far in excess
wood is extremely high in bending strength - of depth. In comparison with other structural
modulus of rupture (MOR); modulus of elas- materials, the weight - strength ratio for
ticity (MOE) and it probably ranks as the bamboo product is very favorable for some
highest among all of the structural boards and applications. This high stiffness - to -
even as good as the solid wood of high weight ratio exhibits a characteristic which is
density commercial timbers. Bamboo coupled considered to be an important criterion for
with wood is a material of heterogeneity and evaluating the mechanical properties of a
337
 Table 1. Comparison of five wood based materials.

Material Strength Properties

MOR (Kg/cm2) MOE (Kg/cm2)
,
Particleboard (random) 235 34,483
OSCP 740 42,200
Bamboo Plywood 1,175 211,000
Oak, Chinese species 1,506 149,000
Oak, American species 1,655 163,448
.

material and this form of cellular organization Wood structures can withstand an impact
is also a highly efficient means for obtaining load twice as great as that of static loading. It
the maximum moment of inertia from a is also true for bamboo products. This excep-
minimum amount of material. The moment tional impact strength gives it a considerable
of inertia of a bending member is vastly mechanical and economic advantage for
increased if a given amount of material is structures designed to resist earthquakes or
arranged as a tubular structure rather than a for situations where abrupt loads are
solid rod. For this reason, bamboo products imposed. Bamboo is susceptible to fungi and
have a high index of rigidity in comparison insect. Experiments demonstrate that no
with solid structural materials and is well damage of decay and insect attack has
suited for use in situations that require elastic occurred, when phenolic resin is used as the
stability. Compared with wood, bamboo pro- binder of the bamboo plywood. This is also
duct is at least nine times as good an energy- the case in fire resistance. There is no reason
absorbing medium as steel. This makes it an why, if properly used, bamboo products
excellent material for floors and similar appli- should not last indefinitely. Because of the
cations where energy absorption is important. shortage and uneven distribution of forest
resources in China, the supply of timber is far
Bamboo, being similar to wood, is a cel-
lular substance and in the dry state the cell below the ever-increasing demands of the
country. Therefore Chinas scientists explore
cavities are filled with air, which is one of the
all possibilities to use wood efficiently and
poorest conductors known. Because of this
fibrous structure and the entrapped air, bam- develop new product replacement for it. The
manufacture of bamboo plywood is perhaps
boo has an excellent insulating property. The
common building materials used in house one such achievement in this field.
construction with the exception of wood are China is lucky in having extensive bam-
not good insulators. In comparison with boo resources with more than 300 species.
wood, the heat loss through common brick is There are 3,401,800 ha of bamboo stands of
six times and through a glass window eight which 2,418,600 ha is made up of Phyl-
times as great, whereas concrete and steel are lostachys pubescens. The growing stock is
fifteen and three hundred ninety times as con- a b o u t 3,759,890,000 ( 3 . 7 9 6 t h o u s a n d
ductive as wood respectively. Experiments million) bamboo culms. On a hypothetical
show that the coefficient of heat conductivity rotation of six years, the annual harvesting
of bamboo product is a little higher than that will be about 632,648,300 culms. An
of wood, but the difference is too small to be estimate on the number of culms of bamboo
taken into account. of 9 cm diameter needed for making 1 m3 of
bamboo plywood has been made on a pilot
Bamboo plywood associated with wood
and wood products provides thermal insula- plant. The results show that 150 culms would
be sufficient to meet the need at the present
tion the year round. It is effective not only in
winter against cold, but also in the summer
running level. This means a total of
against heat. Combined with wood, it is a 4,217,650 m3 of bamboo plywood which is
equivalent to four times the present produc-
remarkable structural material for shelter
where an effective thermal insulating property tion of all the wood-based materials, could be
is necessary. made annually.

338
 A Brief Introduction to the Bamboo Tower
in Zurich, Switzerland
Li Qihuang, Li Dezhao, Song Changkun
Kunming Architectural Design Institute, China.

Abstract configuration of the building varied and

co1ourful.
The details of a bamboo tower construc-
tion undertaken in Switzerland are described. Details of Technical Treatment

Introduction The combined pillars were made up of 3-

6 pieces of bamboo and bundled up at every
meter by at least 10 strands of bamboo strings
Based on the sketch by Mr Peter Staub, a
at each point. The lower end of the pillar was
well-known plastic artist, a bamboo tower was
connected to its foundation through a steel
set up as one of the exhibits in the
plate. A timber was provided on the horizon-
phenomena Exhibition held in Zurich,
tal bamboo pole under the floor to form the
Switzerland in 1984, and it really provided a
combined upper chord of bamboo-wood
rare opportunity in displaying the graceful
which dispersed loads and reduced bending
bearing of a bamboo building. The tower was
stresses as well as helped fix wood boards.
successfully completed through a joint effort
The tongue and groove boards were arranged
by the Kunming Architectural Design Institute
along the different directions to make the
and the Kunming Construction Company.
floor more even.
Facts proved that the sponsors of the Exhibi-
tion had actually made a wise decision with The following joints were used. i) the butt
foresight and sagacity. The building added joint with wood/bamboo core plus bamboo
Iustre to the Exhibition and was widely pins, ii) the bake-bent joint, iii) the shear
acclaimed. It was later reconstructed in joint with a bracing piece, iv) the tenon joint
Rotterdam, Holland in the middle of 1985. with or without wood core, v) the screw joint
With the maximum height of 22.50 m, it was with holding boards (used for central joint in
divided into five floors, from bottom up each three hinged arches), and vi) the joint with
with 5.40, 4.05, 4.05, 6.0 and 3.0 meters scooping-out plus bamboo pins. In the regular
high respectively. Furthermore, one large hexagon plain unit, spiral stairs were
spiral slide with 19.50 m in height, 60 m in designed. The radial foot rest passed through
slope length and three small slides with 5.4 m the straight vertical pillars outside and central
in height were also provided. Since the tubes were decorated with bamboo slips.
building of this kind had hardly been seen, it Through ingenious arrangement of the
attracted a good deal of attention and interest bamboo poles, the entire stair hall was well
from the architectural circle and bamboo revealed giving an appearance of the bamboo
researchers. structure.
The following measures were taken pre-
venting the bamboo from rot, crack and
General Considerations of decay. i) The bamboo was cut over in the
Design late autumn or early winter, ii) Insecticides
was sprayed on ends of the bamboo. iii) The
An equilateral triangle 2.40 m length for bamboo was strengthened by means of fire-
each side was taken as a basic plan unit. 49 baking and was cleared of any greasy dirt.
honeycomb spaces were made up by means This also brought the natural colour and lustre
of a separation of floors, which had advan- of the bamboo surface, iv) Bamboo strings
tages of stable plain and fewer members in are used in important sections to prevent the
kind. In addition, the architectural appear- bamboo from cracking. v) Good care was
ance was very obvious. All these made the taken of the bamboo material during
339
transportation and storage to avoid deformity chased and shipped to Zurich The selected
and damage. bamboos were more than 4 years old,
straight and free of rot, The bamboo used was
straightened and surface treatment carried.
Main Points in the construction out prior to processing. The frames on pro-
of the tower cessing were numbered, classified and
packed in containers,
The project involved all together 6,000 The large bamboo tower in Zurich was
pieces of bamboo with over 100 mm in attractive and contructed by joining.
diameter, and 5,000 pieces of other kinds Mr Yang Benkuan and Mr Tian Jianong
and dimensions. With a net weight of 120 of our Institute, also participated in construct-
tons all of the required bamboos was pur- ing the Bamboo tower.

340
 A Study on Bamboo Cellulose Triacetate
(B-CTA) Ultrafiltration Membranes
Liu Yu-Rong, Chen Yi-Ming, Lang Kang-Min and Bao
Zhi-Guo
The Development Centre of Seawater Desalination
and Water Treatment Technology
National Bureau of Oceanography Hangzhou, China.

Abstract the requirement of production and industry. It

was more than 20 years since Loeb and
The methods for making B-CTA and C- Sourirajan successfully developed asym-
CTA (cottqn-cellulose triacetate) ultrafiltration metric CA membranes. Although other mem-
membranes a n d t h e f a c t o r s a f f e c t i n g t h e brane materials have been widely studied by
membrane properties are described here. The many membrane scientists during this period,
storage of the membranes in 95% ethanol to date CA is still the main membrane material
and aqueous solution is mentioned. at home and abroad, The main reasons for this
The results for trial of the membranes in phar- are as follows: Compared with other mem-
maceutical a n d f o o d p r o c e s s e s a r e a l s o brane materials, the resource of raw material
reported. for CA is easily available and the price is cheap.
The technology for making CA membranes is
simple, and the membranes have good sepa-
Introduction ration properties, are resistant to chlorine and
non-toxic. However there are a few limita-
Ultrafiltration (UF) is a new technique of tions for the applications. In order to expand
membrane separation .- The filtration process the range of applications of CTA membranes,
involves sieving effect and chemical behav- and to utilize t h e a b u n d a n t b a m b o o
iour of the substance on the surface of the resources, fully B-CTA ultrafiltration mem-
membrane. Solvents and materials with low branes with different pore size were made by
molecular weight pass through the membrane the industrial Bureau of Suichang county,
under a given pressure, and suspended Zhejang Province.
matters and macromolecules are rejected,
therefore the filtration, separation or purifica-
tion of liquids treated are obtained. UF tech- Preparation Of Filters
niques were used only in laboratories before
1960. Various types of ultrafilters have been 1. Components of cast solution: Cotton-
subsequently manufactured with the success- velvet CTA, B-CTA, acetone, Dioxane,
ful development of the UF membranes. UF has methaiene dichloride, formamide, ethanol
become an independent unit operation in and water.
chemical engineering. Widely used in food, 2. Preparation of cast solution: The CTA was
chemical and pharmaceutical industries dried in the oven at 105C for about 1 hour,
abroad. The applications of UF were tested in and the temperature droped to ambient. The
treatment of eiectrophoretic paints, purifica- CTA, solvents and additives were added in
tion of dyeing waste, separation and concen- proper proportion into a glass flask with
tration of biological products and clarification an agitator. The mixture in the flask was
of beverages in our country. Some of these agitated for dissolution, then filtered and stilled
tests have been applied in corresponding pro- to make it bubble free.
ductions. It is important to choose and use
membrane materials correctly with proper 3. Preparation of membranes: The room for
membrane-making technology according to preparation of membranes was air-condi-

342
 tioned and humidity-controfled. The cast solu- the membrane-making conditions on the pro-
tion was decanted into the slot of casting knife perties of the membranes. These are sum-
mounted on the casting machine, and the marized as follows:
casting machine was allowed to run. The cast 1. Effects of contents of B-CTA and C-CTA
solution passed through the casting knife, and in cast solution on properties of the mem-
was spread into thin layers of solution under branes: For the last 20 years, asymmetric C-
controlled solvent evaporation. After gelation CTA membranes have been made in our labo-
in water bath, the wet UF membranes were ratory but we do not have any knowledge of
formed. The dry UF membranes could be making B-CTA membrane. Through a series
made when the wet membranes were treated of experiments, it was found that B-CTA
with post-treatment agents. 84038 was suitable for making membranes. At
4. Measurement of the membrane proper- the beginning, we prepared the B-CTA ultrafil-
ties: The dry UF membranes were cut into tration membrane using the recipe for making
proper size and shape, and mounted into C-CTA membrane.
ultrafilters. The water flux and cut-off of mole- The structure of the membrane as seen
cular weight were measured under given under electron microscope is shown in Fig. 1.
pressure, using distilled water and differ- The flux was low and the cut-off of molecular
ent protein solutions as feed respectively. weight was also poor for these UF mem-
branes. Therefore further experiments were
made to determine proper composition of
cast solution. The results are summarized in
Results and Discussion Table 1.
Membranes with good rejection and high The properties of the UF membranes for
flux are essential for the application of UF. the two kind of CTA were basically similar
The composition of cast solutions and the pro- after dozens of sifting test, and their micro-
cessing conditions in making the membranes structures were also similar (Fig, 2).
are decisive factors for preparing UF 2. Effect of additive contents on the mem-
membranes with good properties. We have brane properties: The results are summarized
made a comparison on the properties as shown in Table 1. Both kinds of additives
between the B-CTA and C-CTA membranes, and the different amounts of the same additive
and a systematic investigation of the effects of have a great influence on the dissolvable state

Table 1. Effect of contents of B-CTA and C-CTA in cast solution

on the membrane properties.

B-CTA 84038 C-CTA 82855 Flux

(Wt%) (Wt%) (ml/cm2 hr)

5 5 490 760 472

6 4 462 692 644
7 3 442 708 580
8 2 438 668 512
9 1 414 448 452
10 0 708 710
0 10 738 716
Temperature of feed water
(C) 10 14 10
Measurement apparatus: Ultrafilter with effective membrane area 10 cm2
Measurement conditions: Operating pressure 3 kg/cm2. feed tap water.

343
Fig. 1. Electron rnicrograph of B-CTA ultrafiltration
membrane (3000 x 1

of cast solution. It is therefore very important

to choose a proper additive as a pore-forming
agent in making UF membrane with excellent
properties. It was found that the mixture of
formaldehyde and ethanol was a suitable addi-
tive for B-CTA after a lot of times in sifting the
additive. The effect of the additive contents on
the membrane properties is shown in Table 2,

It can be seen from Table 2 that water flux

was increased with the increase of additive
content. When the ratio of the additive in cast
solution was more than 70
dissolve the polymer, Va

Table 2. Effect of additive contents on the membrane properties,

itwe content

Additive content

344
with different water flux can be m a d e to membranes became denser and their flux
satisfy the requirements of c o r r e s p o n d i n g were also low when the gelation tem-
applications. perature was higher than 30C, this mi
3. Effects of membrane-making conditions caused by the change of gelation mecha
on the properties of membranes: There were (ii) Effects ofincreasing temperature and time
many great differences in properties of the on the membrane properties: The UF mem-
membranes which were prepared from the branes need to be sterilized at high tempera-
same cast solution, hut under different ture when they are used for purification and
membrane-making conditions. More dense separation in pharmaceutical and food pro-
membranes with lower flux were formed cesses. Thus the membranes were put into
under certain conditions, but the membrane hot water at different
with high flux and large pore size could be certain period to test the
obtained by changing some o f t h e s e perties, The results are s
conditions. The microstructures of the two 5.
kind of membranes are shown in Fig, 3,
( i )E f f e c t o f gelation temperature on
membrane properties* The more important
step for preparation of UF membrane from
cast solution is to dip the just-cast membrane
into water ~ t h e elation me d i u m The
exchange rate between water, solvent and
additive is faster in water with high tempora-
tures than at low. The pore size and water flux
of the membrane obtained from the bath at
high temperatures are higher than those from
the bath at low temperatures The expcen-
mental results are listed in Table 3.
As may be seen from Table 3, the
exchange rate between water, solvent and
additives increased with the increase of tem-
perature. The flux reached maximum at
the gelation temperature of about 30 The

345
 Table 4. Effect of increasing temperature on the membraneproperties.

Annealing temperature 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 loo

(C)
Water flux
2 840 824 680 672 592 580
(ml/cm hr)
Water 2flux
(ml/cm hr) 956 912 686 786 762 568 540 512

!" The annealing period: 30 min.

Table 5. Effect of annealing on the membrane properties !

Annealing period (hr) 0.5 1.0 2.0

Water
(ml/cm2fluxhr) 540 386 342

!" The annealing temperature; 1OOC.

It was obvious that the flux of the mem- (iii) Effects of the concentration of plasticizer
brane decreased with the increase of annealing and drying temperature on the membrane
temperature. Because annealing is a process properties: Dry membranes are convenient
of dehydration and shrinkage of the mem- for storage, transportation and operations in
brane. UF membranes with different pro- the manufacture of modules, and bacteria was
perties (flux, pore size and surface structure) also eliminated in the dry membranes. The
could be prepared by adjusting annealing membranes dried naturally at ambient condi-
temperature. tion were brittle and poor in strength. The
reason for this might be the large surface
The flux of the membranes decreased and
the strength of membranes increased with tension between water and the wall of pore in
the membrane: and crevices were then
extension of annealing period, indicating con-
created at the wall of the pore after water
traction of the pore sizes in the membranes.
evaporated from these pores. If the action
The flux of the membrane was still acceptable
after annealing of the membrane at lOOC for between water and CTA is decreased by
lowering the surface tension between them,
2 hours.

Table 6. Effect of pl
asticizer concentration on the membrane properties.

Plasticizer concentration 0 10 15 20 25 30 35
(Wt%)
Water flux 768 936 748 736 624 580 868
(ml/cm2 hr) 852 702 630 570 668 812 652
676 472 560 744 1075 548 612
644 368 528 723 1023 ! 516 524
apperance of dry and white, Flexibility of the membrane is increased with the
the membrane brittle and breakable increase of glycerol concentration. Usually 15-20%
glycerol was chosen for drying membrane.
!" Temperature of feed water: 78C. other temperature: 12C.

346
the loss of water in the membranes does the properties of B-CTA ultrafiltration mem-
not cause the cracks on the pore wall. We brane after storing them for more than 3
tested a few surfactants and plasticizers, months under the above conditions.
and finally glycerol was chosen as plasticizer, (v) Effect of feed temperature on the mem-
as it is non-toxic and suitable for food and brane properties: UF membranes have high
pharmaceutical processes. Table 6 shows the flux. The operating conditions, such as feed
effect of concentration of plasticizer on the temperature, etc, have a great influence on
properties of membrane. the membrane properties. The effect of feed
The drying of the membranes was faster at temperature on membrane flux was tested
high temperatures than at low. Effect of drying with tap water as feed. The results are given,
temperature on the membrane properties was in Table 9.
tested in order to find a proper combination As shown in Table 9, the flux increased
between drying temperature and period for with the increase of feed temperature. This is
casting membrane continuously by machine. because the viscosity of water at high tem-
The results are given in Table 7. perature is smaller than that at low tempera-
It can be seen from Table 7 that drying ture, and the resistance to water passing
temperature only had a slight influence on the through the membrane also shows the same
properties of the membrane. Drying tempera- trend.
ture at 60-70C was chosen for convenient 4. Trial of B-CTA ultrafiltration membrane in
operation, and the membrane could be dried food and pharmaceutical processes: There are
in 5-10 minutes at this range of temperature. no phase change and thermal effect in UF
(iv) Storage experiment: In order to satisfy the process and therefore UF process plays a very
requirements in food and pharmaceutical important role in food and pharmaceutical
industries, the membranes were dipped into industries. For example, in UF of beverages,
95% ethanol and medical aqueous the impurities are removed, bacteria elimi-
solution for a certain period to see the change nated and the colour, flavour and nutrients of
of membrane properties. The results are the beverage are preserved, making the
shown in Table 8. beverage more tasty. The preliminary results
on UF of wines are shown in Table 10.
Table 8 shows that there was no change in

Table 7. Effect of drying temperature on the membrane properties.

Drying temperature 9 30 40 50 60 70 80 110 126 142

(C)

Water flux 248 452 384 400 393 450 462 - - -

(ml/cm2 hr) 476 363 - - - 360 336 336 318 544

Table 8. Effect of storage on membrane properties under different conditions*

Date of measurement April 15, May 6, July 18.

1985 1985 1985

Flux of membrane stored in 95% ethanol 226 224 216

(ml/cm2 hr)
Flux of membrane stored in medical 219 218 210
aqueous solution (ml/cm2 hr)
Flux of dried membrane (ml/cm2 hr) 248 - 250
"! The flux of wet membrane: 248 ml/cm2 hr
measurement conditions are the same as in Table 1.

347
 Table 9. Effect of feed temperature on the membrane properties.

F e e d temperature (C) 7 15 30 50 78

Water flux
339 447 672 1278 1872
(ml/cm2 hr)

Table 10. Ultrafiltration of wines.

name corn alcohol sorghum wine hangzhou Xiangqu

before There are flaked Flaked coagulants Grey and black Milky white and
UF coagulants at 50 and black precipitants grey particles
precipitants present
after Clear bright Clear transparent clear transparent tasty no
UF tasty tasty particles

In addition, UF was used in glucose infu- the properties of C-CTA and B-CTA ultrafil-
sion and the maximum of finished product was tration membranes.
raised from original 85%) to 99%. According The properties of B-CTA ultrafiltration
to the results reported elsewhere, UF was membrane are similar to that of C-CTA.
successfully used in food, pharmaceutical,
chemical engineering and electronic indus- B-CTA with degree of polymerization 300
tries. UF will also be widely used in the pro- can easily be dissolved, but the conditions for
duction of ultrapure water, separation in making membranes are more severe.
chemical engineering, pharmaceutical and Cast solution of B-CTA is clear and trans-
food, industries in our country. parent. B-CTA is slightly better than C-CTA
in resistance to acids and alkali. so the range
of application f o r B - C T A ultrafiltration
Conclusion membrane is wider than that of C-CTA.

Experiments were carried out to compare

348
 Traditional Preservation of Bamboo in Java,
Indonesia
Achmad Sulthoni
Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah Mada University
Yogyakartu, Indonesia

Abstract extensively used, especially for construction

purposes, i.e., Gigantochloa apus Kurz, G .
The traditional method of bamboo preser- atter ( H a s s k . ) Kurz e x M u n r o , Dendro-
uation by immersion in water, followed by the calamus asper Back., and Bambusa s p .
rural Javanese is adequate. The immersion (Abdurachim, 1967; Hildebrand, 1954;
for a month decreases the starch content of the Heyne, 1950; Widjaya, 1980). Utilization of
treated bamboos and provides considerable bamboos for construction is about 13% in the
resistance against the powder post beetle, rural areas of the provinces of Yogyakarta,
Dinoderus minutus and D. brevis. The Central Java, East Java, and Bali; its role
Javanese felling season mangsa XI helps increasing to 30% for residential building con-
to prevent damage by beetles. Traditional struction; it is used for roofing, partition
preservation of Dendrocalamus asper wall, and ceiling frames (Anon., 1977; Anon.,
indicates an improvement in the resistance. 1982) .
On Gigantochloa apus and G. atter the Bamboo is more susceptible to biodeteri-
effect is insignificant, but these two bamboo orating agents as compared to timber, such as
species have the least starch contents and fungi, termite, and especially insect borers
highest degree of resistance. The immersion (Liese, 1980). Among the insect borers
treatment does not work sufficiently for Bam- o b s e r v e d in his study, Sulthoni (1981;
busa vulgaris due to its high content of 1983a) considered powder post beetles Dino-
starch. The treated bamboos indicate a consi- derus minutus Fab. and D. brevis Horn. the
derably better performance at Ieast for one most damaging.
year. Untreated bamboos used in open places
and on ground are generally destroyed in
about one or two years (Varmah and Pant,
1981). Treatment of bamboos with preserva-
Introduction tives is widely regarded as necessary, but
however it is seldom carried out; the reasons
Bamboo is an important, cheap, and are a lack of knowledge about possible
plentiful resources in Indonesia. It could be use of chemical preservatives, the uncer-
found almost everywhere, mostly in the tainty about the advantage of bamboo preser-
islands of Java and South Sulawesi, consist- vation, and the lack of market for treated
ing of more than 30 species, distributed geo- bamboos (Liese, 1980).
graphically up to 2000 m above sea level
(Hildebrand, 1954). A survey conducted in
the Province of Yogyakarta on 30 kecama- Preservation Of Bamboo
tan indicated that bamboos grow every-
where, planted by the rural communities
(Haryono Danusastro et al., 1979; 1980; Two methods of preservation could be
1981). It has been observed that 13 species of done either chemically or non-chemically.
Chemical treatment of bamboo using preser-
bamboo are grown by rural people in their
vatives could be applied on dry or green or
homeyards; four of which have been most
fresh bamboos, and some techniques for

349
preservation are the following (Tewari and 5. Steeping method: This method gen-
Bidhi Singh, 1979) : erally consists of allowing freshly cut culms,
1. Washing and coating:A variety of with the crown and branches intact, to stand
coatings such as tar, lime wash, tar and lime in a container holding the preservative solu-
wash, and tar sprinkled with sand are used in tion to a depth of 30 to 60 cm. Through leaf
Indonesia by house builders. These coatings transpiration current, the solution is drawn up
are successful only when continuously done to the stem. The period of treatment depends
on cut surfaces, exposed internodes, abra- upon the species, the length of the culm,
sions and splits. weather conditions, preservative used, etc.
2. Brushing, swabbing, spraytng and 6. Sap displacement method: Green
dippling: These surface treatments are for round or split bamboos are immersed partly in
temporary protection of bamboo in storage or water based preservatives. The preservative
before it is given impregnation treatments. rises gradually to the top through absorption
Various chemicals used are aqueous emul- due to replacement of the sap.
sion of insectisides like dieldrin 0.03%, aldrin 7. Hot and cold bath process:When
0.015%, or D.D.T. 7-10% in kerosene oil. In pressure facilities are not available, the hot
Japan, mercury and tin salts have also been and cold bath or open tank process can be
used for protection against borers and fungi applied for dry bamboos similarly to that used
respectively. Other chemicals such as sodium for timber. Absorption of creosote up to 70
pentachlorophenate, borax and boric acid are kg/m3 is reported to have been obtained by
also used. this process. Research studies at the Forest
3. Soaking: Air-dried bamboos have Research Institute, Dehra Dun indicate that
only to be submerged in the preservative solu- the period of heating significantly influences
tion (oil or oil solvent type) for a period the absorption of the preservative. By increas-
depending upon the species, age, thickness ing the heating period from 1 hour to 6 hours,
and absorption required. The penetration is the absorption increasesupto 100%.
predominantly by capillarity. The soaking 8. Diffusion process: This process can
method requires little equipment and tech- be employed using water soluble preserva-
nical knowledge, provided the schedule of tives, either in the form of solution or paste to
treatment, such as type of preservatives, their treat green bamboos.
concentration and the period of dipping, i s In this process the toxic chemicals diffuse
worked out. The absorption of preservative is from the place of application at high concen-
more in half round specimens in comparison tration to other zone through the water
to round ones. medium. With enough time the chemical pre-
4. Boucherie process: In normal Bou- servative spreads to almost the entire volume
cherie process the Bamboo is treated by pre- of the green material. This diffusion process
servative through gravity from a con- appears most suitable in the case of bamboos
tainer placed at a height. In India this method which are difficult to impregnate under pres-
was modified later on by using a simple hand sure in dry conditions. This process requires
pump. By means of air pressure of 1.0 to 1.4 simple equipment and are popular in many
kg/cm2 applied to the preservative container, countries such as Germany, Canada, U.S.A.,
the preservative is pushed through the tissues Australia and New Zealand. It appears that
of the green bamboo. This modified proce- permeability of bamboo to preservatives is
dure reduces the period of treatment signifi- significantly increased after ponding. Though
cantly and under the pressure the treating the service life of the bamboos treated by any
solution forces the sap out of the walls and process mentioned earlier may not be equal
septa of the bamboo through the open end to that obtained by pressure and open tank
and replaces it in course of time. method (where greater degree of quality con-
The penetration and absorption of the trol is possible), yet the method is cheap,
preservative depend upon several factors, simple and requires simple equipment, appli-
such as concentration, treatment time, nature cable even in remote areas and further-gives
of chemical used, age and dimension of the reasonably good protection to the treated
bamboo, moisture content, etc. bamboos.

350
 9. Pressure processes: Pressure pro- 1950). But further studies indicate that
cess is suitable for treating dry bamboos. starch content in bamboo is an important
When the bamboo moisture content is factor influencing the susceptibility to borer
reduced below 20%, satisfactory penetration (Plank, 1950; 1951); the damage caused by
and absorption is obtained by this process. the borer has been found proportional to the
The drying of bamboos is generally carried starch content of the bamboo (Purushotham.
out in the air under cover. To prevent deteri- et al., 1953; Beeson, 1961; Liese, 1980;
oration of bamboos during drying, it is impor- Tamolang et al., 1980; Sulthoni, 1984).
tant to impart prophylactic treatment with
suitable chemicals. For the installation of pres- P l a n k ( 1 9 5 0 ) a n d Beeson ( 1 9 6 1 )
sure treatment plants, heavy investment is observed that during the soaking period in the
usually required which the average in user water, the starch contents of the bamboo
cannot afford. tissue is reduced. It is therefore said to
be less attractive thereby improving the
Cracks are usually developed in bamboos
resistance level against borers (Liese, 1980;
if treated under high pressure which reduces
Tamolang et al., 1980). This assumption,
their strength. It has been observed that
however, remains to be proved because not
species having thin walls are susceptible to
much is known about the real effectiveness of
cracking when treated under low pressures
this traditiona! method of preservation (Liese,
(5-7 kg/cm2). Round specimens of Dendro-
1980) .
calamus strictus treated under high pressure
of 14.06 and 28.12 kg/cm2 absorbed 88.12
and 107.00 kg/m3 of creosote-fuel oil mix- The rural Javanese have been tradi-
ture respectively, while half split specimens tionally practicing this method of bamboo
absorbed 91.54 and 108.81 kg/m3 of the preservation; not only by soaking the half-
preservative. finished bamboo materials in the water or
muddy water, but also in determining the best
felling season of the selected bamboo species.
Traditional Preservation of They cut the bamboos for their use at a
Bamboo certain season what they call mangsa tua,
which they believe to be the most appropriate
Insect borers such as powder post beetle time, to obtain better quality of bamboos such
are a serious problem. These included Dino- as Gigantochloa apus and G. after, used for
derus minutus Fab., D. ocellaris Steph., and constructions. The Javanese have their own
D. brevis Horn., which is popularly known as seasonal calendar what they call prana-
bamboo ghoon in India (Beeson, 1961; tamangsa (the rule of season). It is actually a
Sen Sarma, 1977 and bubuk bambu in solar calendar system, but explicitly ecolog-
Java Kalshoven , 195 1). ically oriented to be in harmony with the
sequence of their agricultural activities. Dur-
A non-chemical traditional method of ing the year there are two main seasons (dry
preservation is practised quite often in the and rainy), which are further divided into four
Asian countries to prevent bamboo against detailed seasons, i.e., marengan (pre-dry
powder post beetle. This method is applied by season, 88 days before the real dry season),
soaking the cut bamboo culm under the katiga (88 days of real dry season), labuh
water. It costs almost nothing and can be (pre-rainy season, 95 days before the real
carried out by the rural people themselves rainy season), and rendengan (94 or 95
without any special equipment, It is more suit- days of real rainy season). Each detailed sea-
able for the reasonably cheap and easily avail- son is divided into 3 mangsa. but with
able bamboo raw materials (Liese, 1980). uneven number of days within each
The susceptibility of bamboo to borer mangsa. Mangsa I - VI is grouped as
attacks depends on the species, its starch con- mangsa muda (young season) and mangsa
tent, age of the culm, felling season, and the VII - XII as mangsa tua (old season)
physical properties of the bamboo (Plank, (Daldjoeni, 1983).

351
Justification of the Javanese relative population level of the borer
Dinoderus minutus and D. brevis has a ten-
Traditional Method of Bamboo dency to decrease in the mangsa tua, and
Preservation the lowest in mangsa XI (April 20 - May
11) (Table 1). Mangsa XI is the best season
Research has been conducted by the pre- the Javanese use to cut the bamboos for their
sent author, supported by IDRC on this sub- own use. In terms of the biological process of
ject (Sulthoni, 1983b). The main goal of the the bamboo clumps, mangsa XI is about the
study was to support with scientific reasons end of the sprouting period of the shoots.
the rural Javanese tradition in handling bam- Felling the mother bamboo at this time is not
boo for longer service life against powder post damaging to the shoots.
beetle Dinoderus sp.
Mangsa XII is actually the last mangsa
of the mangsa tua, but the rural people con-
Two specific objectives were formulated, sidered it too late to cut bamboos. In Table 1 it
to, quantify scientifically the time of felling can be observed that the population of the
mangsa tua, and to assess the efficacy of borer increases considerably.
the effect of water immersion of bamboo in
improving the resistance performance against It is concluded from the data in Table 1,
borer. that the felling period followed by the
Javanese rural people can be recommended.
Four species of bamboo were used:
1. Gigantochloa apus. the most favoured for 2. Selection of better quality of
construction. 2. G. otter. specifically bamboo species: It has been mentioned
favoured for furniture and musical instru- earlier that the rural people in Yogyakarta,
ments. 3. Dendrocalamus asper, indefinite, Java, prefer Gigantochloa apus and consider
but occasionally favoured for poles due to its Bambusa vulgaris as of minor quality. Table 2
tallness. 4. Bambusa vulgaris. minor value shows the average highest starch content in
and not favoured for constructional purposes. B. vulgaris, which fluctuates between 0.48 up
to 7.97% within a year. In G. apus and G.
The first objective of the research was to atter it fluctuates between 0.24 to 0.71% and
justify whether the fluctuation of the natural 0.24 to 0.64% respectively. The degree of
relative population of the borer synchronized susceptibility that the four bamboo species
the best felling season of the mangsa tua. indicate is proportional to their respective
The favoured and not favoured bamboo starch contents (Table 3). B. uulgaris shows
species were studied by determining the 0.12 to 13.87 boring holes per sample. while
starch contents of the monthly consecutive G. apus and G. atter show the most resistant
felling of the bamboo samples, and the corre- with boring holes of 0 to 0.81 and 0 to 1.25
sponding degree of susceptibility. respectively. D. asper has its susceptibility
The second objective was to determine degree between B. uulgaris and Giganto-
the decrease of the starch content of the chloa. with its starch contents fluctuating
immersed bamboo samples in water for between 0.27 - 2.80% and boring holes
various immersion periods, and hence to between 0 and 5.56. It is clearly proved
evaluate their corresponding degree of borer therefore, that classification followed by the
attacks. Southwood method (1978) was used rural people is scientifically justified.
to measure the natural relative population of 3 . Effect of water immersion on split
the borer. while Humphreys and Kellys bamboo: The results of the study are shown
method (1961) was used to determine the in Tables 4. 5, and 6. with different periods of
starch contents of the bamboo species. The immersion of one. two and three months.
degree of susceptibility in the bamboo species The data in the three tables are self
against attacks was assessed using the explaining: all treatments are effective in
method of Beeson (1961) by counting the improving the degree of resistance in the
borers hole per sample. bamboo treated. either in running or stagnant
water or mud. and the periods of immersions.
Results Of The Studies It is concluded that one month immersion is
enough. Bamboo species with less than 1%
1. Felling season of bamboo:The starch content is considered as good quality

352
bamboo useful for construction. due to its high content of starch. D. asper on
4. Service life of water-immersed the other hand indicates good performance.of
bamboo: Traditional preservation has indi- one year service life with only 2.08 holes of
cated to improve the resistance performance, borer attacks. G. apus and G. after show the
but it depends primarily on the bamboo best, even on the control specimen. It is again
species. One year of service life of the treated a stronger indication that least starch contents
bamboo species is indicated in Table 7. In B. in the two latter species promotes better qua-
*.
vulgaris the service life is still poor and this is lity.

Table 1. Fluctuation of the relativepopulation of Dinoderus beetle in the campus area ofGadjah Mada University
Yogyakarta. Indonesia (113 m above sea level. tempemture range max. 30-30C, humidity range max.
75-90% a t 2.00 p.m.

Relative pobulation of Relatrve populatron of

Months power post beetles Javanese mangsa and days power post beetle
related to months related to mangsa
a b C a b C

June. 1980 591 439 116 XII (May 12 - June 21) (41-t 515 380 86
July. 1980 461 82 30 1 (June 22 - Aug. 1 1 (41) 551 143 45
Aug. 1980 490 63 17 II (Aug 2 - Aug. 24) (23) 416 53 lb
Sep., !980 293 119 19 111 (Aug 25 Sept. 19) (24) 223 94 32
Oct . 1980 413 164 12 IV (Sept 18 Oct 12) (25) 220 46 9
Nov. 1980 610 189 11 V (Oct. 13 - Nov 8 ) (27) 625 194 12
Dec . 1980 230 138 6 VI (Nov 9 - Dec 2 1 ) (43) 4 % 246 10
Jan . 1981 105 88 4 VI1 (Dec 22 Feb 2 1 (43) 172 128
Feb.. 1981 155 6 0 VIII (Feb 3 - Feb 28) (26) 136 6
Mar. 1981. 250 219 1 IX (Mar 1 - Mar 25) (25) 206 198
Apr. 1981 93 130 1 X (Mar 26 - Apr 19) (24) 115 126
May. 1981 10 lb 0 XI (Apr 20 - May 11) (23) 26 39

Total 3 701 1 653 217 3 701 1 653 217

Table 2. Average starch content (%) of four bamboo species, based on 12 consecutive
monthly fellings.

B. vulgaris D. asper G. apus G. atter

Felling
months b m a b m a b m a b m a
May, 1980 4.39 3.86 4.00 0.72 0.81 1.18 0.46 0.39 0.28 0.63 0.54 0.42
June, 1980 2.77 2.83 5.49 0.41 0.78 0.49 0.29 0.31 0.31 0.49 0.43 0.33
July, 1980 0.83 3.42 1.63 0.29 0.31 0.60 0.32 0.47 0.37 0.31 0.30 0.29
Aug., 1980 1.33 2.87 3.80 0.27 0.27 0.85 0.27 0.32 0.28 0.54 0.44 0.64
Sept. 1980 2.61 3.61 4.53 1.40 2.01 2.80 0.27 0.32 0.24 0.33 0.25 0.24
Oct.. 1980 3.55 4.21 6.44 0.35 0.50 0.63 0.26 0.27 0.26 0.29 0.29 0.38
Nov., 1980 5.22 5.49 7.97 0.29 0.42 0.66 0.25 0.53 0.71 0.28 0.33 0.34
Dec.. 1980 2.31 2.56 3.59 0.26 0.51 0.67 0.25 0.32 0.36 0.30 0.32 0.39
Jan.. 1981 0.48 0.51 0.52 0.34 0.48 0.62 0.25 0.27 0.27 0.31 0.34 0.33
Feb.. 1981 0.65 1.60 2.39 1.06 1.17 1.48 0.35 0.31 0.27 0.33 0.24 0.35
Mar., 1981 2.62 3.63 5.62 2.32 2.52 1.42 0.31 0.27 0.26 0.44 0.34 0.31
Apr., 1981 1.32 1.66 3.00 0.31 0.33 0.32 0.30 0.46 0.49 0.33 0.31 0.54

Notes: b - basal part of culm

m - middle
a - apical
All bamboo samples are about two years old

353
 Table 3. Average Dinoderus beetle attacks (in number of holes) of four bamboo species,
based on 12 consecutive monthly fellings, corresponding to the related starch contents
shown in Table 2.

B . vulgaris D. asper G. apus G. atter

Felling
months b m a b m a b m a b m a
May. 1980 13.87 10.50 6.50 0.15 1.43 5.56 0 0 0 0.06 0.06 0
June, 1980 4.63 5.32 2.12 0.06 1.06 1.62 0 0 0 0.18 0 0
July, 1980 4.75 4.68 3.06 0.06 0.18 1.00 0.18 0.18 0 0 0 0
Aug., 1980 7.37 6.37 3.18 0 0.18 0.06 0 0 0 0 0.12 0.12
Sept. 1980 5.37 2.87 1.93 4.25 2.43 4.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
Oct., 1980 7.37 7.81 4.37 3.00 3.62 3.06 0 0 0 0 0.06 0
Nov., 1980 8.43 11.06 5.31 0.81 0.75 0.12 0.25 0.62 0.81 0 0 0
Dec.. 1980 5.43 6.37 4.18 1.25 1.43 1.62 0.06 0 0.06 0.18 0.06 0.12
Jan., 1981 3.93 0.44 4.62 2.00 2.62 2.62 0 0 0 0.62 1.25 0.81
Feb., 1981 3.25 1.68 2.00 1.87 2.87 0.87 0 0 0 0.43 0.75 1.06
Mar., 1981 1.18 2.93 1.81 5.25 4.43 3.25 0.06 0 0 0.25 0.18 0
Apr.. 1981 0.12 0.37 0.18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Notes: b - basal part cf culm

m - middle
a - spical
All bamboo samples are about two years old.

Table 4. Starch contents and the corresponding powder post beetle attacks of 4 bamboo
species after 1 month immersion in water.

First felling Second felling Third felling

Bamboo species Immersion
treatment a b a b a b
1. B. vulgaris Control 4.09 45 3.69 39 1.96 28
Running water 3.16 19 3.48 4 1.50 1
Stagnant water 3.39 16 3.38 0 0.33 11
Mud 3.31 16 3.29 0 1.61 5
2. D. asper- Control 0.90 6 0.56 12 0.40 1
Running water 0.33 0 0.55 0 0.35 0
Stagnant water 0.47 0 0.42 0 0.39 0
Mud 0.48 0 0.40 0 0.36 0
3. G. apus Control 0.37 0 0.30 0 0.38 3
Running water 0.30 0 0.25 0 0.35 0
Stagnant water 0.23 0 0.32 0 0.26 0
Mud 0.33 0 0.32 0 0.38 0
4. G. atter Control 0.53 2 0.41 4 0.30 1
Running water 0.33 0 0.28 0 0.30 0
Stagnant water 0.39 0 0.28 0 0.29 0
Mud 0.29 0 0.40 0 0.26 0

Notes: a - Starch contents in percent

b Powder post bettle attacks in number of holes after 1 year exposed in open
All bamboo samples are about two years old

All bamboo samples are about two years old. (The results presented in Table 4 and 5 are for the same
treatment Eds)

354
 Table 5. Starch contents and the corresponding powder post beetle attacks of 4 bamboo
species after 2 months immersion in water.

First felling Second felling Third felling

Bamboo species Immersion
treatment a b a b a b

1 . B. vulgaris Control 4.09 45 3.69 39 1.96 28

Running water 2.70 0 2.83 1 1.38 2
Stagnant water 2.87 1 3.28 8 0.27 2
Mud 3.35 2 2.98 1.39 0
2 . D. asper Control 0.90 6 0.56 12 0.40 1
Running water 0.32 0 0.40 0 0.31 0

Stagnant
M ud water 0.43
0.28 0 0.25 0 0.33
0.31 0
3 . G. apus Control 0.37 0 0.30 0 0.38 3
Running water 0.28 0 0.23 0 0.27 0
Stagnant water 0.26 0 0.32 0 0.21 0
Mud 0.35 0 0.24 0 0.28 0

4. G. atter Running water

Control 0.26
0.53 02 0.41 04 0.30 0
Stagnant water 0.30 0 0 0.25 0
Mud 0.30 0 0:27 0 0.22 0

Notes: a - Starch contents in percent

b - Power post beetle attacks in number of holes after 1 year exposed in open
All bamboo samples are about two years old.

Table 6. Starch contents and the corresponding powder post beetle attacks of 4 bamboo
species after 3 months immersion in water.

First felling Second felling Third felling

Bamboo species Immersion
treatment a b a b a b
1 . B. vulgaris Control 4.09 45 3.69 39 1.96 28
Running water 2.46 1 1.70 0 0.52 1
Stagnant water 3.27 0 1.91 1 0.23 13
Mud 3.27 0 1.58 0 1.05 0
2 . D. asper Con trot 0.90 6 0.56 12 0.40 1
Running water 0.31 0 0.39 0 0.25 0
Stagnant water 0.25 0 0.24 1 0.20 0
Mud 0.33 0 0.22 0 0.24 0
3 . G. apus Control 0.37 0 0.30 0 0.38 3
Running water 0.29 0 0.22 0 0.24 0
Stagnant water 0.26 0 0.24 0 0.25 0
Mud 0.27 0 0.17 0 0.25 0
4. G. atter Control 0.53 2 0.41 4 0.30 1
Running water 0.29 0 0.21 0 0.27 0
Stagnant water 0.24 0 0.25 0 0.25 0
Mud 0.25 0 0.18 0 0.18 0

Notes: a - Starch contents in percent

b - Powder p o s t beetle attacks in number of holes after 1 year exposed in open
All bamboo samples are about two years old

355
 Table 7. Powder post beetle attacks of stagnant water-immersed bamboo species as Indicator of the first year service life

Powder post beetle attacks on mdividual bamboo species. in number of holes

Felling
months B vulgaris D. asper G apus C atter

May 1980 10 0 49 19 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
June 1980 5 0 49 0 1 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Jufy I980 5 6 35 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0
Aug. 1980 6 0 53 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Sept. 1980 3 0 45 1 2 0 61 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Oct. 1980 8 0 27 0 4 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nov. 1980 11 0 27 61 1 0 7 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0
Dec. 1980 6 0 63 35 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jan. 1981 4 0 21 24 3 0 17 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15 0
Feb. 1981 2 0 29 14 3 0 7 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 15 0
Mar.. 1981 3 2 38 20 4 2 44 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Apr. 1981 0 0 17 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 63 6 453 18220 2 170 25 1 0 5 0 2 0 37 0

5.25 37.75 1 66 14.16 008 0.41 0 16 3 08
Average 0.5 15.66 0.16 2.08 0 0 0 0

Notes: % - untreated specimen - untreated spectmen

- 1 month immersion in stagnant water 1 month tmmerston in stagnant water

Data m and are recorded after one month off from the water immerston. whtle and after one year off

Conclusion Haryono Danusastro et al., 1980. Ibid.

Haryono Danusastro et al., 198 1. Ibid.
The Javanese traditional method of bam- Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van
boo preservation is justified to some extent. Indonesia. N.V. van Hoeve. Bandung,
The felling season followed is suitable. Indonesia, 1450 p.
Immersion in water improves the quality of Hildebrand, F.H., 1954. Catatan tentang
Dendrocalamus asper. Chemical treatment is bambu di Jawa. Laporan Balai Penyelidi-
not economical and beyond the means of the k a n K e h u t a n a n n o . 6 6 . Bogor,
users. Indonesia.
Humphreys, F.R. and J. Kelly, 1961. A
References method for the determination of starch in
wood. Anal. Chim. Acta, 24: 66-70.
Anon, 1977. Laporan Feasibility Study Pola Hunt, M. and G.A. Garratt, 1967. Wood
Konsumsi Kayu dan Peredarannya di Preservation. McGraw Hill Book Co.
Puiau Jawa dan Bali (Region II). Fakultas New York, USA, 433 p.
Kehutanan, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Kalshoven, L.G.E., 1951. De plagen van de
Yogyakarta, Indonesia. cultuurgewassen In Indonesia. Dee1 II.
Anon, 1982. Timber consumption survey di N.V. U i t g e v e r i j W. v a n Hoeve.
Pulau Jawa. Fakultas Kehutanan, Uni- sGranhage, Bandung, Indonesia. 1065
versitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakart, P-
Indonesia, 54 p.
Liese, W., 1980. Preservation of bamboos. In
Beeson, C.F.C., 1961. The Ecology and Bamboo Research in Asia. Proc. Work-
Control of the Forest Insects of India and shop Singapore, May 28-30, 1980.
Neighbouring Countries. Government of Plank, H.K., 1950. Studies of factors influ-
India, First Reprint, 767 p. encing attack and control of the bamboo
Daldjoeni, N., 1983. Pokok-pokok klimato- powder post beetle. Fed. Exp. Sta.
logi. Penerbit Alumni. Bandung, Indo- Mayaguez. Puerto Rico. Bull. no. 48: 39
nesia, 176 p. P-
Haryono Danusastro, et al., 1979. Laporan Plank, H.K., 1951. Starch and other car-
Suvey Pekarangan. Fakultas Pertanian, bohydrates in relation to powder post
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, beetle infestation in freshly harvested
Indonesia.

356
 b a m b o o . Journ. Econ. Entom. 44(l): Cong. Group 5. 3A, XVII IUFRO Con-
73-75. gress. Kyoto, September 6-17, 1981.
Purushotham, A., S.K. Sudan and Vidya Widjaya, E.A., 1980. Country Reports, Indo-
Sagar, 1953. Preservative treatment of nesia. In Bamboo Research in Asia. Proc.
green bamboos under low pneumatic Workshop. Singapore, May 28-30,
pressures. The Indian For. 79(12): 652- 1980.
672.
Sulthoni, Achmad, 1981. Preliminary study
Sen Sarma,P.K. 1977. Insect pests and their on traditional bamboo preservation in
control in rural housing. Indian Jour. Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Paper, XVII
Entom. 39(3): 284-288. IUFRO Congress. Kyoto, Sept. 6-17,
Southwood, T.R.E., 1978. Ecological 1981.
methods. With particular reference to the Sulthoni, Achmad, 1983a. Latar belakang
study of insect populations. ELBS and ilmiah usaha masyarakat pedesaan
Chapman & Hall, 524 p. mencegah serangan kumbang bubuk
Tamolang et al., 1980. Properties and utiliza- pada bambu. Kongres Entomologi II.
tion of Philippine Erect Bamboos. In Jakarta, Januari 24-26, 1983.
Bamboo Research in Asia. Proc. Work- Sulthoni, Achmad, 1983b. Bamboo handling
shop. Singapore, May 28-30, 1980. in the rural areas of Yogyakarta, Indo-
Tewari, M.C. and Bidhi Singh, 1979. Bam- nesia, with special reference to its tradi-
boos, their utilization and protection tional preservation. IDRC Project 3-P-80-
against biodeterioration. Jour. Timber 0017. Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah Mada
Dev., Assoc. India XXV (4) October. University, Yogyakarta.
Varmah, J.C. and M.M. Pant, 1981. Produc- Sulthoni, Achmad, 1984. Kumbang bubuk
tion and utilization of bamboos. In Bam- bambu dan pencegahannya secara tradi-
boo production and utilization. Proc. sional. Unpublished.

357
Socio-Economics

358
 Role of Bamboos in Rural Development and
Socio-economics: A Case Study in Thailand
Songkram Thammincha
Department of Forest Management, Faculty of Forestry,Kasetsart
University, Bangkok 10903, Thailand

Abstract This means that the government will have a

definite policy on bamboo resources. Bam-
Bamboo plays an important role in rurai boo will play a more significant role in rural
deoelopment of Thailand. Bamboo shoots development, bamboo cultivation will be
provide the rural people with an income
in promoted and more effective uses of bamboo
rainy season during which no products are will in turn be expected.
obtained from the major agricultural crops.
Bamboo culms are commonly used as con-
struction materialof the households in rural Uses and Applications
area whereas bamboo handicrafts provide an
important additional incTTome. The wide uses The uses of bamboo both in Thailand and
of bamboos give more employment opportu- elsewhere are so broad and the variety of
nities and better income distribution. Millions applications so numerous, only the more
of bamboo culms and thousandsof tons of important commercial and common types are
bamboo shoots are haruested annually. The covered in this discussion. Fig. 1 shows the
outputs of bamboo utilization from different location of the places referred to in the text.
study sites are presented and the problemsof
bamboo resource are discussed.

Introduction

Bamboo is the most universally useful

plant known to man. For over half the human
race, life would be completely different with-
out it. Ubiquitous, it provides food, raw
material, shelter, even medicine for the
greater part of the worlds population (Austin
et al. 1983). Bamboos are abundant in Thai-
land due to its tropical climate. However, the
taxonomic studies of bamboo species in Thai-
land is still in its infancy. 12 genera and 41
species have been described (Smitinand and
Ramyarangsi, 1980). Although bamboo has
long been recognized as a multipurpose
species, very useful in rural areas, it is har-
vested without any concern for conservation
measures and research has been virtually
ignored. In the recently formulated Sixth
National Economic and Social Development
Plan beginning 1987, bamboo has been
selected as one of the species to be developed. Fig. l Location of the study sites.

359
 Bamboo pulp: Bamboo is an excellent Construction material: In areas where
resource for pulp and paper making, used in it grows naturally, bamboo is a traditional
India, Japan and other Asian countries for a building material. Houses can be made exclu-
long time. Because of its tong fiber, mixing it sively from bamboo. Larger culms are used
with other pulp is not necessary and can be for the piles, stilts and the major framework.
used as the sole raw material for making Smaller sized pieces are used for floors, win-
paper. The Kanchanaburi Paper Mill, pro- dows and door frames. The bamboo can be
ducing paper from bamboo, was established split into slats for weaving into mat walls.
in 1936 by the Ministry of Industry, and it was When the culms are split in half and the nodes
a successful operation. But the paper mill had removed, they can be used interlockingly to
never been a real money earner. The red tape form waterproof roofs. The same ingenious
had plagued the operation and, as a result, application of bamboo is also carried through
the mill was closed in September 1984. for furniture, fences, cages, mats, farm imple-
Although the only mill producing paper from ments, ladders, and blinds. Pipes for irrigation
bamboo is no longer under operation, the use and guttering can also be fabricated when the
of bamboo for this purpose is still going on nodes are removed. Bamboo scaffolding is
under the experiment by Phoenix Pulp and commonly used in building construction since
Paper Co. Ltd. in Northeast Thailand. There bamboo is extremely resilient and longlasting.
is a potential that bamboo may serve as an Many construction workers also believe that
important raw material for pulp and paper bamboo is safer than rigid tubing. One seldom
making at this mill. hears of bamboo scaffolding collapsing even
Bamboo plywood: Because of its colour when it is used in multi-storey construction.
and its shiny surface, bamboo has been used
as a decorative material for centuries. More A great variety of bamboo handicrafts are
recently bamboo has been made into an made in the rural area throughout the
attractive plywood for buildings. There are country. They provide the rural people with
two manufacturers of bamboo plywood in an additional source of income, Apart from
Thailand, one in Kanchanaburi and the other domestic consumption, the 1984 export value
in Lampoon (near Chiangmai). Since the of bamboo handicrafts was 70 million Baht.
production requires quite a lot of raw Bamboo handicrafts are also regarded as an
materials, there are thousands of people old Thai tradition.
engaged in various activities, such as factory
workers, bamboo cutters, villagers who
weave the bamboo mats. The thickness of Role of Bamboo in Rural
bamboo plywood ranges from 1 mm to 10 Development
mm, the size being 120 x 240 cm. The pro-
duction capacity is about 20,000 boards per Most of the rural people in Thailand are in
month in each factory. the agricultural sector, with major crops being
Food: Bamboo shoots are widely used as rice, corn and cassava. They plant bam-
food in Thailand. The most popular species is boo as a living fence from which bamboo
Dendrocalamus asper, cultivated commer- shoot will be used for food and bamboo culm
cially in. Prachinburi where 37,975 tons of for building material and handicrafts. These
bamboo shoots were harvested last year. The people have no income from their agricultural
other varieties are harvested from natural crops during rainy season but they will have
forests throughout the country. Although bamboo for compensation. The surplus of
there is no actual figure of bamboo shoots bamboo shoots can be sold in the local market
harvested from natural forests, it can be esti- or preserved by steaming or pickling for future
mated that some hundred thousands tons of consumption. Bamboo culms can be cut and
bamboo shoots are harvested annually. Bam- made into a variety of bamboowares for use
boo shoots are preserved in three different in the household as well as for additional in-
ways: dried, steamed, and soured bamboo come when sold.
shoots. The export value of bamboo shoots, For those living close to the forest,
mainly in cans, was 80 million Baht in 1984 bamboo always shares a major part of their
(US$l = Baht 26.90). houses. It is typical that people in remote rural

360
areas are poor. Their earnings from agricultural Socio-Economics of Bamboo
crops are not sufficient to cover their yearly
expenditure, many of them being heavily in
Production
debt. Fortunately, bamboo can relieve such National bamboo culm production:
problems. These people will gather bamboo The quantities of bamboo culms harvested
shoots from the forest and sell them to the from natural forest and their values from the
trader for further processing, The roadside years 1981 to 1984 are presented in Table 1.
price of fresh bamboo ranges from 1 to 5 Baht The average annual production is 52 million
per kilogram depending on the time of the culms are worth 270 million Baht. The
year. One can gather as much as 100 kilo- figures represent only the output recorded by
grams of bamboo shoots in a day. With a six- the Royal Forest Department when bamboo
month season one can earn quite a lot of culms are transported through the check
money. With such opportunity for earning the points. In fact, a great number of bamboo
poor people in the rural areas will be better off culms are cut and used in the rural area and
and, as a result, the rural areas are developed are not included in those recorded by the
both directly and indirectly. Royal Forest Department. Consequently, the
actual figures of culm production may be five
to six times greater than those presented in
Table 1. The greater part of the culm produc-
A variety of bamboo handicrafts can be
tion is that of Thyrsostachys siamensis and T.
found throughout the country. They repre-
oliveri, the rest being Bambusa arundinacea,
sent a unique local tradition which differs blumeana, B. nana, B.
B. tulda,
from place to place. The rural people in eas-
Dendrocalamus strictus, D. hamiltonii, D.
tern Thailand have the reputation of making per-
membranaceus, Cephalostachyum
very fine bamboo handicrafts while the heavy-
graile, C. virgatum, and some other minor
duty ones are made in the western region.
species. There is no record of the quan-
Many people both Thais and foreigners are
tity of bamboo shoots harvested in the whole
astounded to see the very tiny baskets, 1 cm country. The figure one may get is only
in diameter. In Srisaket and Chiang Mai
the estimate. However, the only records of
tourists enjoy their shopping for a great variety bamboo shoot production are obtained from
of bamboo souvenirs. Bamboo is the most
bamboo farms and bamboo shoot proceasing
versatile raw material for home industry in the
factories. It must be kept in mind that such
rural area. Bamboo has managed to establish
records represent only a small part of the total
such preeminance because bamboo
production.
craftmanship is comparatively simple. While a
certain level of competence is necessary, one
Table 1. Outputs and value of bamboos
need not possess a high degree of skill to harvested from natural forest in Thailand.
fashion bamboo into an object that will stand
up for practical use. In fact, there have always output Value
been a good many people making baskets for Year culms Baht
their own use. Nowadays, specialist craftsmen
are outnumbered by farmers for whom work- 1981 63 187 919 259 272 947
ing bamboo is secondary trade. Even school 1982 52 981 878 344 924 205
children can make simple bambooware for 1983 45 022 244 232 827 187
commercial purpose.
1984 48 933 933 247 583 463

U.S. $1 = Baht 26.90

Housing in the rural area needs quite a Source: The Royal Forest Department 1981,1982. 1983.
great quantity of bamboo as construction 1984 Annual Reports.
material, especially for a new settlement in
the remote area, using bamboo as a substitute Bamboo in the north: From tourist
to timber and other material which are scarce souvenir to bamboo plywood industry:
and costly. The versatility of barnboo as con- Thailands major forest resources are found in
struction material mentioned in the previous the north. This means that the region is very
section indicates the great potential role of rich in bamboo resource as well. Apart from
bamboo in rural community development. the uses of bamboo in the households that

361
represent an old culture of this region, bam- Nearly half of the labour force for bamboo mat
boo is used to make a variety of products for making is shifted to for cultivation activities.
commercial purposes ranging from tiny items The situation is worse during harvesting period
to plywood. There are at least 23 manufac- when people earn more money and want to
turers of a variety of bamboo products in relax from hard work. However, the problem
Chiangmai and its neighbouring town, is not as serious as it should be since the
Lampoon (Table 2). The production capacity factory and the mat makers are dependent on
can indicate that these manufacturers need a each other. The factory cannot operate with-
great quantity of bamboo raw material. Bam- out the mats from the rural community, with-
boo-based industry differs from other indus- out the factory the members of the coopera-
tries in a way that more rural people participate tives will have no additional income in order
in the production process. The bamboo ply- to improve their living condition. Therefore,
wood factory in Lampoon is a good example. both sides have to adjust their view to achieve
The factory produces the standard-sized a good cooperation. They are symbiotic.
bamboo plywood, 1.20 x 2.40 m, with dif- Tiny bamboo baskets and sweet
ferent thickness: 1, 2.5,4,6, and 10 mm. The bamboo shoots in the northeast:The
production capacity is 20,000 pieces per rural people in Srisaket Province have the
month under 60 percent of full capacity. reputation of making very fine bamboo
Bamboo plywood is composed of layers of baskets. Apart from those larger-sized items
bamboo mats glued and pressed together, used in the households, the very tiny baskets,
O n l y Dendrocalamus strictus a n d Cepha- as small as 1 cm in diameter, are made from
lostachyum virgatum are used. The factory very fine bamboo slats. These slats are as
provides the members of village farm co- fine as a thread, therefore skill and patience
operatives with bamboo raw material. The are required when these slats are woven. The
villagers will split the bamboo into thin strips, technique has been passed on from genera-
weave them into 1.30 x 2.55 m mats before tion to generation and it symbolizes the old
sending them to the factory. The net income of tradition of the province. The miniature bam-
the villagers ranges from 35 to 45 Baht per boo baskets are made for, commercial pur-
person per day. poses as tourist souvenirs, decorative pins in
There are about 1,000 families of the rural particular.
community who are involved in the produc- There are four villages where such bamboo
tion of bamboo piywood. There is a labour basket making is concentrated. The results of
shortage in the industry during the rainy sea- the survey in July 1984 reveal that 53.50
son when the members spend most of the time percent of the households in four villages, or
on the paddy fields and other farm lands. 313 out of 585 households, engage in this

Table 2. Bamboo products in Chiangmai and Lampoon Provinces.

Type of products Number of Production capacity

producers units/month

1. Bamboo plywood 20 000

(1.20 X 2.40 m)
2. Trays 15 0 0 0
3. Handicrafts 4 300
4. Souvenirs 3 800
5. Jugs 3 450
6. Handicrafts for lacquerware making 2 000
7. Lanterns 1000
8. Sticks 7 0 0 0 kg.
9. Toothpicks 1 000 packs

362
activity. There is one village in which every old people who do not engage in farm
household makes the bamboo baskets for work. The broom handle is, of course,
commercial purposes. The income from the bamboo. A skilled person can make as many
products for each household ranges from as 50 to 60 brooms in a day, the profit being
3,600 to 6,000 Baht per year. This additional 1000 to 1500 Raht per month per person.
income is very important to the rural people, Since the brooms are used in every house in
most of whom earn rather little from their Thailand there will be a good potential for
main livelihood. There are 24 villages in broom market.
Loei Province where the people plant the so- Cephalostachyum pergracile is a typical
called sweat bamboo. It is called sweet bamboo for use in hat weaving in one district.
bamboo because the taste of its shoots is not. The bamboo culm will be split into very thin
bitter. The species are Bambusa burmanica strips. The strips are woven into bands of 2 cm
and Dendrocalamus whose species is not width, before being sewed into a hat. Three
known to the author. There are 585 farmers hats can be made from one bamboo inter-
who plant these two species on their landlot. node. The villagerscan make 60 m of bamboo
The size of the bamboo farm ranges from 0.5 band in a day from which they can earn about
to 10 hectares. However, nearly every house- 10 Baht per day. Although it is a rather small
hold plant sweet bamboo on their home earning, the rural people can enjoy their addi-
garden, three to five clumps being the most tional income.
common.
Bambusa blumeana is used for basket
When planted on the farm land, sweet making and mat weaving. This bamboo
bamboo can produce 1,600 to 2,400 kilo- species is usually planted as a living fence
grams of shoots per hectare. Each clump in the from which the culm, 8 to 10 m long, are
home garden can produce shoots weighing obtained and are worth 10 to 12 Baht when
up to 100-150 kg. The local market price sold. The net profit the villagers will get from
of sweet bamboo shoots is 10 to 15 Baht/kg. the baskets and the mats they make is about
This can demonstrate that even the rural 15 to 20 Baht per day.
people who plant sweet bamboo on their
home garden or as a living fence can earn a Bamboo furnitures in Prachinburi are
significant additional income. In the made from Bambusa nana and Thyrsostachys
northeastern part of Thailand many people siamensis. The survey for furniture making
still believe that planting bamboo will was made in one village of Prachantakam.
bring them death. In the ancient times, There are 213 households in the village, 40 of
bamboo poles were used for carrying which are involved in bamboo furniture
coffin. These people would not plant any making. The yearly income for each house-
bamboo since they believe that they would hold is about 16,000 Baht. The production
die when the bamboo they planted are big requires 90,000 culms of Bambusa nana
enough to use as carrying poles. This might nearly all of which are brought from Ubon-
be one of the reasons why there is very little ratchatani and Yasothorn Provinces, 400 to
bamboo resource in the northeast compared 500 km to the northeast. Faced with the
with the other regions. This belief is gradually problem of raw material, there is a potential
fading out and the people are beginning that more Bambusa nana will be planted in
to plant more bamboos on their land. They Prachinburi in order to avoid material shortage
have realized how important bamboo can be and long distance transport of bamboo culms.
in their rural development.
Dendrocalamus asper was brought from
Bamboo products: The lifeblood of
the rural peoplein Prachinburi:Bamboo
China and introduced to the farmers in
is commercially most important in Prachin- Prachinburi Province about 80 years ago.
buri, with many concentrated bamboo farms This province has since become the most well
that support a variety of home industries. The known centre for bamboo farms. The informa-
discussion will cover only the utilization of tion about bamboo farms in Prachinburi is pre-
bamboo for commercial purposes. The rural sented in Table 3. The f.o.b. price of the fresh
people in Prachinburi usually spend their free bamboo shoots ranges from 2 to 8 Baht per
time making items from bamboo. Broom kilogram depending on the time of the year.
making is popular among the young and Nearly all of the bamboo shoots harvested from

363
 Table 3. Shout production fromDendrocalamus asper plantations in Prachinburi Province
in 1984.

Planting Productive output Total Number

District area area tons/ output of
ha ha ha tons factories
Muang 2 368 20% 11.250 23 580 17
Prachantakam 480 10.625 4250 2
Kabinburi 458 256 9.375 2400 2
Nadee 409 320 10.625 3400 1
Srakaew 9.375 3 750 -
Srimahapote 56 32 10.000 320 -
Aranyapratet 46 24 8.750 210 -
Kokpeep 8 8 8.125 65 -
Total 4 465 3536 - 37 975 22

the farm are sold to canning factories. household per month. Such income was
Steamed bamboo shoots in cans serve both raised to 900-1,200 Baht per month during
domestic and foreign markets. The number of the first six years of the cooperatives. The
canning factories can very well guarantee the income has been 1,300 to 1,600 Baht per
future of bamboo farms. month since 1982, higher income being
expected during the years to come.
The art of bamboo handicrafts in
Cholburi Province: A very fine bamboo Kanchanaburi: The centre of bamboo
handicraft can be found in Panatnikom utilization: The most concentrated area of
District of Cholburi Province. Cephalosta- bamboo growth in Thailand is in Kanchana-
chyum pergracile is widely used not only for buri area, 130 km west of Bangkok. Log-
handicraft but also for other purposes. The ically, Kanchanaburi is the centre of bam-
market price of one internode about 1 m long, boo utilization in Thailand. It is worth men-
is 5 Baht. There are four bamboo culm tioning that Kanchanaburi is the only pro-
dealers in Panatnikom who sell about 12,000 vince in Thailand where 12 species of
internodes per month. The nodes can be bamboo are legitimately controlled species.
used as fuel which is also sold at 10 Baht These species are Thyrsostachys siamensis,
per sack or 0.5 Baht per kilogram. Ten T. oliveri, A r u n d i n a r i a pusila, A . ciliata,
baskets. 12 inches in diameter, can be made Bambusa arundinacea, B. blumeana, Cepha-
from the strips of three internodes. The vil- lostachyum pergracile, GigantochIoa alboci-
lagers receive 17 Baht for one basket. It is very liata, Melocalamus compactiflorus, Melo-
promising work for the rural people who invest canna humilis, Schizostachyum aciculare and
15 Baht for three bamboo internodes to get Teinostachyum griffithii.
170 Baht for ten baskets made. However, it 21.95 million culms were harvested from
must be kept in mind that this does not happen natural forest in 1982, 22.45 million culms
every day since people cannot devote much of in 1983 and 14.96 million culms in 1984.
their time for such work. These bamboos were used in different kinds
A special survey was made at the Handi- of industries both in Kanchanaburi and neigh-
craft Cooperatives of one village in Panatni- bouring provinces.
kOm. The cooperatives were founded in 1976 A special survey was made for the
in order to organize the activities of the amount of bamboo shoots harvested from the
members for better quality of products. better forest. It is impossible to ger the real figure.
marketing, and more benefits. Before the but the data from some specific study
cooperatives were founded, the income from sites will reveal the concentration of bamboo
bamboo handicrafts was 400 to 600 Baht per shoot utilization. The data was gathered from

364
 Table 4. Production of sour sliced bamboo shootsin Thongpapoom,
Kanchanaburi Province.

Producer Workers Production

Number of
No. working days Number Monthly wage
Baht/person kg

1 120. 25 800 294 700

2 120 15 1 100 195 000
3 120 4 900 62 500
4 90 5 1 200 125 000
5 60 5 1000 45 000
6 60 8 800 36 000
Total - 62 - 758 200

those who make sour sliced bamboo shoot in scarcity of bamboo resource in the future will
Thongpapoom, the district next to the force people to plant more bamboos for use in
Burmese border. The information about sour their households and sell the surplus, if any,
sliced bamboo shoot making is presented in for additional income.
Table 4. These producers employ only 62
workers, whose working period ranges from
60 to 120 days in a year. Occasionally. References
other people are also involved. They are the
bamboo shoot cutters who sell bamboo Austin, R., Levy, D. a n d Ueda, L. 1983.
shoots on roadside for 2 Baht per kilogram Bamboo. John Weatherhilt, Inc. New
on average; the shoots are those of Bambusa York and Tokyo.
arundinacea, Dendrocalamus brandisi and D. Royal Forest Department. 1981. Annual
strictus. The quantity of sour sliced bamboo R e p o r t . R o y a l F o r e s t Departmtnt
shoots made in this district can demonstrate Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
how the income is distributed to the rural Bangkok (in Thai).
people. There is one bamboo canning factory Royal Forest Department. 1982. Annual
in the city of Kanchanaburi that produces Report. Royal Forest Department,
steamed bamboo shoots for export to Japan. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives,
The production capacity is about 350-400 Bangkok (in Thai).
tons per year. Thyrsostachys siamensis and
Royal Forest Department. 1983. Annual
T. oliveri are the only species to be used.
Report. Royal Forest Department,
Kanchanaburi is and will continue to be the
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives,
centre of bamboo utilization in Thailand. This
Bangkok. (in Thai).
means that the rural people in this region can
still enjoy using this precious gift of nature. Royal Forest Department. 1984. Annual
Report. Royal Forest Department.
Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives,
Conclusion Bangkok (in Thai).
Smitinand, T. and Ramyarangsi, S. 1980.
The uses of bamboo have long been Country reports: Thailand. 85-90. In:
very well known to man. Since bamboo is Proceedings o f t h e W o r k s h o p o n
ubiquitous, people always harvest bamboo Bamboo Research in Asia held in Singa-
without any conservation measures. The pore, 28-30 May 1980. Eds. L. G.
natural bamboo resource will diminish in Lessard and A. Chouinard. IDRC,
relation to the depletion of forest area. The Ottawa, Canada.

365
 Genetic Diversity and Socio-Economic
Importance of Bamboos in India
T. A. Thomas, R. K. Arora and Ranbir Singh
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources
CT0 Complex, Pusa, New Delhi-120012. India.

Abstract India has perhaps the worlds richest

resources of bamboos, with almost 50% of the
India has the richest diversity of bamboos species present in north-eastern region. Bam-
and the total annual production is one of the boos occupy about 9.57 million hectares of
highest in the world. Distribution of bamboos forest area, which constitute about 12.8%
in the country, socio-economic role of bam- of total land area under forests (Vermah and
boos, conservation of gene pool and plant Bahadur, 1980). The estimated annual pro-
imprvoement are discussed. duction of dried bamboos is 3.23 million
tonnes which is about one fifth of total wood
production of the country (Vermah and
Introduction Bahadur, 1980). It is reported that about 2
million tons of bamboo is consumed every
The bamboo is an important economic year by the paper and rayon industries in
plant intimately associated with mankind since India (Subha Rao. 1966).
ancient times. It is a natural gift to the people
in areas where it is abundant. It provides
the basic necessities of life i.e. food, shelter Distribution of Bamboos
and clothing. Besides these, it also pro-
vides raw material for cottage and paper Out of 22 genera in India, 19 are indige-
industry. Thus it provides livelihood for nous and 3 exotic, introduced for cultivation.
millions of people. It is no more a poor mans
The indigenous genera are: Arundinaria,
timber as it serves both the poor and the rich Bambusa, Cephalostachyum, Chimono-
with its numerous useful products. It is a
bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Dinochloa, Gigan-
renewable source of energy in the form of fuel tochloa, lndocalamus. Melocanna. Neo-
for the rural population. huzeoua, Ochlandra. Oxytenanthera,
Bamboo is a fast growing grass with Phyllostachys, Pseudostachyum, Schizosta-
woody habit. It is widely distributed al1 over chyum. Semiarundinaria, Sinobambusa
the world. Sharma (1980) has reported about Teinostachyum, and Thamnocalamus.
75 genera and 1250 species distributed in dif-
ferent parts of the world, mostly confined to Other genera like Guadua, Pseudosasa
South-east Asia. India has a rich diversity of and Thyrsostachys - are occasionally culti-
bamboo genetic resources. Bahadur & Jain vated. Vermah and Bahadur (1980) reported
(1983) reported 113 species of bamboo the bamboo distribution in India as follows: -
belonging to 22 genera whereas Sharma In India, as elsewhere, bamboos form rich
(1980) reported nearly 136 species of bam- belts of vegetation in moist deciduous, and
boos occuring in India. The notable among semi-evergreen tropical and subtropical
these are Bambusa arundinacea and Dendro- forests. Very few species occur in the
calamus strictus. Although bamboo occurs in Himalayas of north-western India. The states
tropical, subtropical and temperate zones, it particularly rich in bamboos are Arunachal
prefers humid and warm climate for best Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
growth. Mizoram. Nagaland. Sikkim. Tripura and

366
West Bengal. Bamboos are also rich in once in a life cycle. Cultivation of bamboos is
Andamans. Baster region of Madhya Pradesh. done by seeds or offsets or by other vegeta-
hills of Uttar Pradesh. Bihar. Orissa and tive methods of propagation. Plant height
Western Ghats. varies from small to very tall. Yield of bamboo
Flowering in bamboos is rare and erratic. varies from 2.5 to 4.0 tonnes per hectare,
In some species it takes place after 3-4 years, depending upon the intensity of planting,
stocking and varieties available. A felling cycle
in others they flower once in 30 or 40 years,
of 3 or 4 years is normally adopted.

Region Number of Number of Genus (Species)

Genera Species

1. North-eastern India 16 58 Arundinaria (9),

Bambusa (12).
Cephalostachyum (5).
Chimonobambusa (6).
Dendrocalamus (7).
Dinochloa (2).
Gigantochloa (2).
Melocanna (1).
Neohouzeaua (2).
Oxytenanthera (2),
Phyllostachys (2).
Pseudostachyum (1).
Semiarundinaria (1).
Sinobambusa (I),
Teinostachyum (1) ,
Thamnocolamus (4).

2. North-western India 14 Bambusa (4).

Chimonobambusa (2).
Dendrocalamus (4),
Phyllostachys (2) ,
Thamnocalamus (2)

3. Indo-Gangetic Plains 8 Bambusa (4),

Cephalostachyum (1).
Dendrocalamus (2).
Oxytenanthera (1).

4. Peninsular/South India 8 24 Bambusa (3).

(Eastern & Western Ghats) Cephalostachyum (l),
Chimonobambusa (l),
Dendrocalamus (1).
Indocalamus (3).
Ochlandra (9).
Oxytenanthera (5).
Teinostachyum (1).

5. Andaman 6 7 Bambusa (2).

Cephalostachyum (I),
Dendrocalamus (1).
Dinochloa (1).
Oxytenanthera (l),
Schizostachyum (1).

367
Socio-economic Role of (Haque 1984). Bamboos are being utilized in
Bamboos a number of ways. The quality of its fast
regeneration, strong. straight, smooth, light
Bamboos occupy a very important place in and hard wood. easy transportation. splitting.
the economy of the countries in which it is cutting and its glossy surface make it suitable
commonly available and in abundance. Every for making a large number of products for daily
part of the bamboo is utilized in one way or use. The commonly used articles are mats.
another. It is one of the most useful indigenous basketeries, ropes, beds, brooms, bridges,
natural resource in India. Out of nearly 10 umbrella handles, pipes, fans, brushes, nails,
million tonnes of bamboo (annual world pro- anchors, fishing rods, furniture poles, agri-
duction), about 3.5 million tonnes are pro- cultural implements, ladder and others. The
duced in China (Sharma. 1980) and 3.23 present revenue derived from bamboo is esti-
million tonnes in India (Vermah and Bahadur. mated at about Rs. 66.77 million per year
1980). It provides raw material for cottage which can be further increased by encourag-
industry and employment for millions. It is esti- ing bamboo industry (Vermah and Bahadur,
mated that harvesting of bamboos in India 1980) .
itself requires about 71.25 million man days Inspite of modernisation in industry,
every year (Vermah and Pant. 1981). demand for bamboos is increasing, There has
been constant efforts to increase cultivation
Bamboo has been utilized for paper for a area to meet the demands. Nearly 160,000
long time, but- its utilization for large scale hectares of new land has been brought under
manufacture of paper is very recent. Nearly bamboo cultivation in different states of India.
80 paper-mills are dependent wholly or partly Recently bamboos are used as water pipes in
on bamboos in India. as they provide long- Bihar state (Vermah and Pant, 1981). Bam-
fibred resource easily available at cheap prices boos are extensively used in building con-
(Sharma. 1980). in Asia, India is the largest struction. Recent research at F.R.I. Dehradun
consumer of bamboos for the manufacture of has successfully used ,it as a reinforcing
paper. Most of the paper mills have been material, replacing steel in various cement
established in the region of large scale bamboo concrete construction, such as roof shed,
growing areas. Approximately 2 million beams, electric posts etc.
tonnes of bamboo are at present being utilized
for paper in India. and this leads to a produc- Use of bamboo shoots as pickles, in chut-
tion of nearly 600.000 tonnes of paper-pulp neys etc has been increasing. Some species
every year (Vermah and Bahadur. 1980). have very succulent shoots which are highly
There are many advantages of using bamboo nutritious and palatable. These are consumed
for making paper-pulp as compared to other in a variety of ways. Cultivation of edible
resources. Bamboo being very fast growing, bamboos can increase foreign exchange and
without bark. long-fibred. cheaply available. therefore bamboo-shoot farms are important.
supports paper industry with raw material for Leaves of some species form good fodder,
the manufacture of newsprint. quality paper especially for elephants. In some species,
and card-board paper. there is a bitter element - hydrocyanic acid
present in the leaves, poisonous to the
animals. Bamboo seeds are used as food
grains at the times of famine.
Commercial exploitation and
Living bamboos provide good fencing
Bamboo improvement along farm houses, gardens and bungalows
serving as ornamentais as well. Some of the
Out of more than 100 species of bamboo dwarf types of bamboos are used as orna-
growing in India, only about ten species are mental plants in trays and pots.
commercial1y exploited. A few other species
are utilized to a limited extent in cottage Bamboos are also used in the pharmaceu-
industry. Some of the economic bamboo tical industry. Extraction of an important drug
species are: Bambusa arundinacea. B. balcoa. - Taibashir from the dry-cuims of some
B. polymorpha. B. tulda, B. vulgaris, Dendro- species of bamboos is well known. The sugar
calamus brencisii, D. hamiltonii, D. strictus,
silica from the cuims is used as a cooling tonic
Ochlandra scriptorea and 0. travancorica
and an aphrodisiac.

368
 Rhizomes of bamboo species are cut into Project on Under-utilized and Under- .
small pieces for use as buttons. Bamboos are exploited Plants, scheme approved by
also grown for afforestation of denuded lands Indian Council of Agricultural Research
to check soil erosion. It is a fast growing (ICAR) with headquarters at National Bureau
source of fuel wood for the rural people. of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi and
Bamboo charcoal is preferred in gold-smithy. research centre for bamboos at I.C.A.R.
Research Complex for North-Eastern Hills is at
In India, there is an urgent need to check
Basar in Arundachal Pradesh (India). Activ-
devastation and protect natural vegetation of
ities on survey of bamboo genetic resources in
bamboos and to increase bamboo cultivation
north-eastern region, and their collection
for meeting the increasing demand. There is
a lot of scope in the export of bamboo handi- have been initiated from 1984-85. Germ-
crafts. Bamboo plantations raised solely for plasm of bamboos will be collected, evaluated
pulp and paper would not be profitable, as and conserved at the centre.
the royalty generally paid by the mills is very
low as compared to the cost of raising the References
plantation, but bamboo raised for cottage
industry pays good profit as they are sold by
Bahadur K.N. and Jain, S.S. (1983). Rare
the number of culms. Therefore when the bamboos of India is Published in An
bamboo plantation is raised for pulp and
Assessment of Threatened Plants of
paper, some of the plants should be ear-
India, edited by S.K. Jain and R.R.
marked solely for the cottage industry. Some Rao; Botanical Survey of-India; Howrah,
subsidy should also be paid to farmers culti- 265-271.
vating bamboo for commercial purposes.
According to one estimate, bamboo con- Haque, M.S. (1984). Bamboo - the tree
sumption in India for;, housing construction is grass. Science Reporters; 2 1: 474-476.
about 16%, for rural uses about 30% and the Sharma, Y.M.L. (1980). Bamboos in the
rest are for paper-pulp and other uses Asia-Pacific Region; in Bamboo
(Sharma, 1980). For increasing bamboo culti- Research in Asia, Proceedings of a
vation, the crop should be included under the workshop held in Singapore, 28-30 May,
social-forestry programme. 1980; pp. 99-120; (Ed.) G. Lessard and
Since vast genetic diversity of bamboos is A. Chouinard, IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
available in India, there is an urgent need to Subha Rao, T.V. (1966). Bamboo and its
conserve different species available. Forest utilization, Indian Forester 92: 186- 190.
Research Institute, Dehradun (India) has Vermah, J.C. and Bahadur K.N. (1980).
maintained the richest collection of bamboo Country report and status paper on bam-
germplasm at present. It has conserved more boos in India Forest Records (new series)
than 35 species of bamboos in several Botany; 6: l-28.
arboreta and are being used for taxonomic
Vermah, J.C. and Bahadur, K.N. (1980)
studies, breeding for improved types, timber-
Bamboo Research in Asia. Proceedings
engineering, pulp and paper technology, silvi-
of a workshop held in Singapore, 28-30
culture and tissue culture for quick multiplica-
tion. Research on physiology of flowering in May, 1980. 19-46; (Ed) G. Lessard and
Amy Chouinard. IDRC, Ottawa,
bamboos is also in progress at various univer-
Canada.
sities in India.
Vermah, J.C. and Pant, M.M. (1981). Pro-
Recently, bamboo has been included as duction and utilization of bamboos.
one of the multi-crop programme for study. Indian Forester; 107: 465-476.
under All India Coordinated Research

369
 Economics for Bamboo Forestry Research:
Some Suggested Approaches
C. W . MacCormac
IDRC, Asian Regional Office, Tanglin P. 0. Box 101, Singapore 9124.

Abstract food and in making paper. Its collection

and/or cultivation, processing and consump-
Bamboo is a commodity of historic tion involve people from different socio-
economic value in Asia, Within the context of economic groups in society. With new tech-
a steadily declining total natural forest stock in n o l o g y i n s u c h a r e a s a s - controlled
Asia, bamboo is becoming an increasingly flowering, seed technology, tissue culture,
scarce resource. Public and private initiatives insect control, preservation, etc; it will be
to reverse this trend, should consider bamboo possible to increase extensive and intensive
cultivation as a viable alternative benejitting production and improve processing, employ-
people both in public (social) and private ing many more physical and human
(market) lands. Bamboo research and subse- resources of land, labour and capital.
quent , development programmes should By definition, economics is a study of the
include economic analysis as an integral com- proper method of allocating scarce resources
ponent for developing appropriate techno- among competing uses (Ferguson, 1972).
logy and in investing resources for employing It attempts to answer the three basic questions
that technology. Specific techniques of of (Sammedson and Scott, 1968) 1. What to
economic analysis; i.e. benefit-cost analysis, produce? - what mix of different outputs?
marginal analysis, budgetting and market 2. How to produce? - what techniques
research; are suggested vis-a-vis specific should be used to produce output? 3. For
bamboo research and development whom to produce. - who should receive the
objectives. Foresters are encouraged to output produced? These are relevant ques-
involve experienced micro-economists in tions with respect to scientific research and
their research and/or undertake specialized national development activities on bamboo to
short-term relevant micro-economics training. improve peoples lives.
This paper is a limited attempt to provide
Introduction a rationale for economic analysis of new tech-
nology for bamboo production and preserva-
From the information provided at the tion. The arguments for conducting economic
1980 Workshop on Bamboo Research in analysis, and the suggestions for using specific
Asia (Lessard and Chouinard, 1980), and techniques, draws heavily from the work in
in other publications (Austin et al., 1983); it is Farming Systems Research (FSR) (Banta,
obvious that in Asia, bamboo is ecologically, 1982 Anon, 1984 Anon and Depart-
socially and commercially an important plant. ment of Agriculture Nepal, 1980), and Post-
From, this same literature, plus the results of Harverst Research (PH) Austin, 1981;
recent research as presented in this workshop; Edwardson and MacCormac, 1984) in Asia,
it is equally obvious that there exists a potential
to significantly increase the production of bam-
boo .and improve its productivity in present Bamboo as a Natural Forest
and alternative uses, In other words, bamboo Resource
has value. It is seen as a relatively scarce
resource (due to low productivity of natural Historially, in countries (or regions within
stands) with many uses in manufacturing, as a a country) with a very low population

370
density, the forest was considered a higher mean annual increments (MAI) than
common property natural resource. No natural forests, The extra costs of physical
single user had exclusive rights to the forest and management inputs should be offset from
nor could he prevent others from sharing in its direct increased production, and there are
exploitation. As long as the annual cut or other indirect national benefits in increased
harvest from the forest was less than or equal employment for production and wood pro-
to the annual net natural growth of the stock cessing. Bamboo has a rapid natural early
of the forest, peoples needs were assured. growth which can be increased with applica-
There was no incentive to control or limit tion of fertilizers, Traditional techniques and
access to the forest. This situation no longer industrial infrastructure for processing
exists for Asia today. Since the end of World bamboo exists, therefore expanding produc-
War ll, rapidly increasing population, with tion should be quickly followed by an expand-
associated demands for fuel and farm land, ing processing sector, provided a market
and the fact that the developed country wood exists for the extra production.
demand outpaces supply; has resulted in a
significant decrease in land under forest in The shorter the forest species rotation
Asia. Between 1960-80, one-half of the cycle, the less time this capital (growing
increase in food supply in Southeast Asia stock) has to be held before disposal. Related
came at the cost of extending crop areas in to this is that the longer the rotation cycle, the
forests (Barney, 1980). longer input costs are compounded and the
The remaining forest areas are generally, longer future benefits must be discounted
in principle, subject to laws regulating their back to the present. Bamboos very short rota-
tional cycle makes it very attractive in terms of
use. However, the effectiveness of these laws
are limit&d due to needs of shifting cultivation, cash flow vis-a-vis other hardwoods and soft-
the needs for fuel which can be obtained with- woods. This makes it attractive for those with
out cash by rural (and urban) people, and the little capital. The comparative net benefit over
ability of special interests to disregard the laws time would of course depend on factors such
without penalty. What this means is that tradi- as the relative magnitude of costs and
tional natural forest stands cannot maintain expected future prices of the species.
or increase supplies of wood. While informa- Monocyclic plantation systems require
tion on individual species is often difficult to large areas and present evidence suggests
obtain, it is reasonable to assume that the that relative to polycyclic systems; they pre-
forest stock of bamboo and the total annual sent a greater environmental threat due to a
net growth has and will continue to decrease lack of flora-fauna mix and by sudden exten-
significantly under present conditions in Asia. sive destabilization of water flows by the dis-
Increasing forest (including bamboo) output turbance of moisture absorbing watersheds.
over time by extending the area under cutting Bamboo seems well suited to poiycyclic har-
is no longer a long-term option. The raw vesting, can be grown on steep hillsides and
material for an expanding wood products along banks of rivers, its interlocking root
(including bamboo) demand will be found by
system and leaf deposit inhibit soil erosion
intensifying production (Scott, 1982), (Austin, 1983). In Asia, countries have.
(perhaps with the exception of Indonesia).
little high quality arable land left for expand-
ing crop area. Efficiency in the use of water
The Potential for Economic and maintaining soil quality in even marginal
agricultural areas, have both direct and
Intensive Bamboo Cultivation indirect benefits to food producers and con-
sumers.
Scott (1982) and Sedjo (1982) discuss the
potential for intensive forest production in Related to some of the above arguments
Asia. While they focus mainly on monocyclic is the issue (mentioned earlier) of the com-
and polycyclic timber (plantation) systems, petitiveness of forestry versus agriculture. As
several relevant points are made which are Asian countries move closer to the cleared-
important regarding the economic feasibility forest society, the success of forestry will
of bamboo cultivation. Both polycyclic and depend upon its relative (to farming and
monocyclic systems produce significantly urbanization) costs and benefits. Bamboo,

371
either as a plantation or integrated into a vesting techniques). It is up to researchers to
farming system as a crop has potential, for be aware of the social and private decision
many of the reasons stated earlier. However, makers objectives and the relative weighting
it is important to note that in such a situation, they give to those objectives, in the design
the decision to maintain a forest crop (as and evaluation of new bamboo production
bamboo) becomes highly decentralized. and processing technology.
Region or site specific factors of environment,
market demands, relative resource costs and
product prices, etc will be the key deter- Benefit-Cost Analysis
minants. A second characteristic is that the
decisions become more micro-economic Economic (Social): This form of
rather than socio-political (unless the govern- economic analysis has been widely used in
ment is willing to incur costs in the form of the natural resources to help assess the
subsidies or transfer payments for a perceived economic efficiency, from societys point of
social benefit). This means that local com- view, of new technology. It attempts to iden-
munities or associations and individual farm tify and quantify costs and benefits to society
households will also decide if bamboo should (not just individuals) by utilizing resources
be cultivated. This also means bamboo must over a specified time period. It is not depen-
be economic (per unit land area) not just dent only on known market prices for inputs
compared to other tree species but compared and outputs but estimates values for such
to agricultural crops too. Or at least, it must things as increased or decreased soil erosion,
complement crop production without reduc- reduced unemployment, improved foreign
ing farm household income. It would appear exchange earnings, and other public bads
that bamboo does have significant potential and goods. In the case of bamboo, this type
for economic intensive culture. Scientific of analysis can, for example, be used where
research to produce the necessary technology the objective of research is to - develop and
must be accompanied by economic analysis implement techniques for environmental soil
to evaluate the ability of that technology to and water conservation, soil improvement,
achieve private and social development shelterbelts, and increase the area under
goals. forest. The costs and benefits of those objec-
tives are not only shared or consumed by
specific individuals but by society or groups
Suggested Economic Analysis within society. This analysis calculates the
Approaches net benefit or return to society employing
alternative bamboo techniques.
This section is not a detailed how to
manual for conducting economic analysis for
specific bamboo forestry problems. That Financial (Private): This form of
would require a lengthy presentation com- analysis calculates the costs and benefits to
plete with detailed examples and take several identified individuals and organizations using
days to present. Instead, some specific market prices only. The same methodology
economic analysis approaches are listed of discounted (over time) cash flow is used as
followed by specific bamboo forestry research in Economic Benefit-Cost Analysis, however
and/or development objectives, to which the the focus is on calculating the net benefit and
economic approaches could be applied. It is return to the actual equity capital invested in
understood that bamboo research and/or the new technology. In the case of bamboo,
development projects can have more than this type of analysis can, for example, be used
one objective. How this is handled usually where the objective of research is to -
depends on the specific situation, Usually, maximize economicoutput per unit time for a
secondary objectives. are expressed as con- variety of market uses, i.e. paper-making,
straints for selecting techniques to achieve the furniture, food; minimize costs of production
main objective (Gregersen and Contreras, and processing for a given quantity of bam-
1979) (i.e. increasing bamboo output for boo cultivated or processed; and to develop
paper making is the main objective but economical techniques for improved quality
environmental objectives help determine har- of bamboo and bamboo products.

372
 In both forms of Benefit-Cost Analysis, The Single Variable
there are three main criteria by which a single Input-Output Production
or set of techniques can be assessed and Relatioship "
compared. These are: (i) Benefit-Cost ratio:
This is simply the total of the present worth of
Consider a product Y (bamboo, in kg),
expected benefits divided by the total of the whose yield depends only on one input X
present worth of expected costs. Only
(fertilizer, in kg) assuming all other inputs are
technologies with a ratio of greater than 1 are
used at a constant level. Where a unit of
economically efficient in terms of resource
fertilizer is added, total output increases by
use. (ii) Net Present Worth (sometimes
some amount. Extra output resulting from 1
referred to as net present value): This is the
kg increase in fertilizer is called the marginal
difference between the present worth of the product of fertilizer (MPx). When multiplied
expected benefits less the present worth of the by the price per kilogram of bamboo, we
expected costs. All technologies which result obtain a monetary measure called the mar-
in a positive net present worth are econom- ginal value product (MVPx) . The MVP repre-
ically efficient in terms of resource use. sents the value of extra bamboo resulting
(iii) Internal Rate of Return: This is defined as from the application of an additional kilogram
the average earning power of the value of of fertilizer. On the cost side, the addition of a
resources used from the application of the kilogram of fertilizer increases costs by a cer-
technology. Only technologies that give a rate tain amount. This is called the marginal factor
of return higher than the existing market cost (MFC). It is equal to the price of the ferti-
interest rate are resource efficient.
lizer, since increasing the use of fertilizer by
The formal mathematical statements of one unit increases cost by an amount equal to
these criteria are given below (Gittinger, the price of the fertilizer. Hence, using the
1976) : rule stated above, the use of fertilizer should
be increased as long as its MVP is greater than
its MFC. To identify the optimum level of
t = l fertilizer, that is, the level where profits are
Benefit-cost ratio = maximized, we need to observe how produc-
n
tion responds to fertilizer application. Assume
t=l that the output-input relationships are as
shown in columns 1 and 2 in Table 1.
n Bt - Ct These show that when fertilizer (x) is
Net present worth = increased, bamboo yield (Y) generally
t = l increases. At Iow fertilizer levels, the increase
Internal rate of return is that discount rate i in yield from each 10 kg of fertilizer used is
such that large. However, the yield increases from each
Bt - C t unit of input (10 kg fertilizer) become smaller
- 0 at successively higher levels of the input. In
t=l other words, extra yield (marginal product)
tends to decrease at successively higher ferti-
where, lizer levels if all other inputs are held constant.
Bt = benefits in each year. This observation is usually referred to as the
ct = costs in each year. law of diminishing marginal returns and
t = 1, 2 ,........ n. applies to all input-output situations. In Table
n = number of years. 1, percentage of yield increase begins to
i = interest (discount) rate. decrease when more than 30 kg of fertilizer is
applied. This reflects the law of diminishing
It should be noted that in comparing alter- returns. Total yield begins to decrease when
native (bamboo) technologies if due to more than 100 kg of fertilizer is applied, but
resource constraints, only one of the alterna- this decrease in total yield is not a necessary
tives can be employed, a comparison of the condition of the law of diminishing returns.
net present worths of the alternatives is the
appropriate selection criteria. Column 3 of Table 1 shows the marginal
product as fertilizer is increased in 10 kg units.

373
 Table 1. Illustration of a simple input-output relationship.

Fertilizer Yield Marginal Value of cost of

(kg) (kg) Product extra output extra input
(kg) (M) !" (M)

0 2000 - -
10 2100 100 110.00 40
20 2300 200 220.00 40
30 2600 300 330.00 40
40 2800 200 220.00 40
50 2900 100 110.00 40
60 2950 .50 55.00 40
70 2980 30 33.00 40
80 3000 20 22.00 40
90 3010 10 11.00 40
100 3010 0 0 40
110 3000 -1 -11.00 40

"! * M is used as monetary unit.

At fertilizer levels above 30 kg, yield increases that profit is maximized at 60 kg of fertilizer,
but marginal product decreases. We say compute total profit at each fertilizer level.
diminishing returns has set in at 30 kg ferti- This is illustrated in Table 2.
lizer. Assuming bamboo price is l.l0/kg,
column 4 shows the value of extra output, or Columns 1 and 2 are the same figures as
the marginal value product (MVP), which is in Table 1. Column 3 is obtained by multiply-
obtained by multiplying MP by the unit price ing yield by the bamboo price (l.l0/kg).
of bamboo. MVP equals the additional value Column 4 is obtained by multiplying the
of output resulting from each 10-kg increase amount of fertilizer applied by its price per kg
in fertilizer. Column 5 shows the cost of extra (4/kg). Column 5 shows net return, which
input or the marginal factor cost (MFC), equals value of production less total cost.
which equals the increased cost of each addi-
Note that profit increases as fertilizer is
tional IO-kg bag of fertilizer. If fertilizer price is increased from 0 to 60 kg. Maximum profit is
4/kg, a l0-kg increase in fertilizer will raise obtained at 60 kg fertilizer. Beyond 60 kg, net
cost by 40. Therefore, marginal factor cost return decreases. Note also that maximum
equals 40 because we are dealing with l0-kg yield (at 90-100 kg fertilizer) does not mean
bags of fertilizer, maximum profit.
Using this information, we can determine Although this illustration is simple, it
the quantity of fertilizer that will maximize provides a guideline for determining
profits by following the rule that additional maximum profit level of input use. We com-
fertilizer should be applied as long as extra pare the marginal value product with the
return (MVP) is greater than extra cost marginal factor cost. This analysis shows
(MFC). It is sufficient to compare columns 4 information on marginal productivity of an
and 5. We can see it pays to increase fertilizer input can be expressed in monetary terms
use up to 60 kg because value of additional and compared with the input price. When
output (MVP) is greater than additional ferti- MVPx>Px, less input is being used than
lizer cost at levels lower than 60 kg. would maximize profits. When MVPx<Px,
Does it pay to increase the fertilizer level too much input x is being used. Because the
up to 70 kg? The larger value of the bamboo law of diminishing returns generally holds for
obtained from using more fertilizer is 33. all input-output relations, the profit maxi-
Additional cost is 40. The farmer would be mimizing level of any input will be less than
losing 7. Clearly, this will mean a reduction in the yield maximizing level. Note that yield
net profit. Hence, he should stop at 60 kg was highest at 90 kg fertilizer but profits were
where profit maximization occurs. To confirm highest at 60 kg fertilizer.

374
 Table 2. Illustration of how to compute total profits.
Fertilizer Bamboo Total Value Total Cost Net
(kg) (kg) of productiona of fertilizerb returnsc
1 2 3 4 5
0 2000 2200 0 2200
2100 2310 40 2270
:i 2300 2530 80 2450
30 2600 2860 120 2740
40 2800 3080 160 2920
50 2900 3190 200 2990
60 2950 3245 240 3005
70 2980 3278 280 2998
80 3000 3300 320 2980
90 3010 3311 360 2951
100 3010 3311 400 2911
110 3000 3300 440 2860
aColumn 2 X 1.10. bColumn 1 x 4. cColumn 3 less 4

Budgets able costs). Gross margin measures the

contribution of an activity to profitability.
Budgets are one of the simplest yet most Input quantities and values used in produc-
widely used techniques in economic analyses. tion process (costs) and output quantities and
Budgets are used: i) to compare economic values (benefits) are the basic data required
profitability of - different technologies; ii) to for budgets.
indicate whether a proposed change (i.e. new (ii) Partial budgets: Partial budgets are
technology) will be profitable under a given used to evaluate the effects of a proposed
set of circumstances; and iii) to explore con- enterprise change. A partial budget is useful
ditions under which certain technologies only when the change is relatively small. A
become profitable or unprofitable. partial budget highlights variations in costs
Enterprise budgets, partial budgets, and and returns caused by proposed changes in
parametric budgets are the three common the enterprise. Only items affected by the
types. change are included in the budget. Levels
and costs of all unchanged inputs are not
(i) Enterprise budgets: The process of included. When constructing a partial budget
producing a particular commodity is called identify: costs that will increase or decrease,
enterprise. Small farms in tropical Asia and returns that will increase or decrease.
usually are multi-enterprise farms - they
produce more than one commodity possibly Table 3 shows a basic partial budget. The
including bamboo. Enterprise budgets enable left side shows negative effects of a proposed
us to evaluate costs and returns of production change - added costs and reduced returns of
processes. Comparing relative profitability of changing from an old to a new technology.
new technology with existing technology On the right side are the positive effects -
helps to show how the enterprise can be more added returns and reduced costs. If positive
profitable. The new technology may change effects exceed negative effects, proposed
existing technology to show a better way to practice is more profitable than the existing
grow bamboo or to compare possible new production practice.
cropping patterns including bamboo. (iii) Parametric budgets: For any new
A budget is a formalized way to compare technology, estimates of inputs and outputs
production process benefits and costs. If are approximate, and prices are subject to
benefits exceed costs, profit was earned. If change. Therefore, it is useful to explore how
benefits are fess than costs, a loss was sensitive benefits are to changes in assumed
incurred. The difference between gross levels of inputs, outputs, and prices. We often
returns and variable costs is called the gross want to learn what yields and/or prices are
margin (also referred to as returns above vari- necessary to make a technical change profit-

375
Table 3. Partial budget to estimate change Table 4. Effect of changes in yield on gross
in annual net cash income resulting from margin "! .
some change in resource use.
Yield (kg/ha) Gross margin (kg/ ha)
a. Added costs c. Added returns M
b. Reduced returns d. Reduced costs M- 0 -1258
1000 208
Subtotal A:M Subtotal B:M 2000 842
3000 1892
Estimated change (B-A)M 4000 2492
GM = (Y x 1.05) - 1258.
able. Parametric budgets, also called sensi-
tivity analyses, answer these questions. The
simplest situation to consider is the change in
profit if one parameter is varied. Gross margin
is then calculated as:
GM = (PXY) - VC
where
GM = total gross margin
Y = bamboo yield
(the factor to be varied)
P = the price of bamboo, and
VC = total variable cost.
Gross margin can now be calculated for
any yield within the range that yields are
expected to vary. Table 4 presents gross
margin for a range of yields between zero and
4,000 kg/ha. The data are also plotted in
Figure 1. The figure shows that a yield of less
than 1,198 kg is a loss for the enterprise. This -2000 1
yield is usually called break-even yield, calcu- 0
lated by solving for Y when (PY) - VC = 0. Yield (kg/ha)
It is where the producer just recovers variable Fig. 1. Effects of changes in yield levels in gross
costs. margin.

Market Research
Conclusions
Market research is an important type of
economic research with respect to the devel- This paper has had two objectives. First,
opment and recommendation of new techno- define a role for economic analysis as part of a
logies for growing and/or processing total research effort to develop new techno-
bamboo. For a,government or private institu- logies for bamboo cultivation and utilization,
tion (or private individual) to invest in new a n d s e c o n d , suggest specific economic
bamboo technology, it is essential to have analysis procedures that could be used. The
data on input markets (resources used in material presented for the second objective is
bamboo production or processing) and very superficial, in that the reader is strongly
output markets. The main marketing aspects recommended to consult the references cited
to be considered in a market study are for developing even a basic understanding of
(Ranaweera, 1984) : (i) input supplies, the related economic concepts and tech-
(ii) expected output increases, (iii) market niques. It is also recommended that agri-
potential (demand), (iv) capacity of the mar- cultural or resource economists with
keting system to handle increased output, experience in micro-economic analysis be
and (v) anticipated government interven- encouraged to undertake this research. Much
tions. of this analysis could be done by foresters if

376
they have received appropriate training (a English, H.E. and Scott, A. 1982. Renewable
minimum of 6-8 weeks) from economists. Resources in the Pacific. IDRC, Ottawa,
The decisions to include an economist and/or Canada.
train foresters in basic micro-economics for
this research should depend on: (i) how Ferguson, C.E. 1972. Microeconomic
basic or applied the bamboo research is, Theory. Irwin Series in Economics, New
(ii) the existing availability of interested York.
and/or experienced economists, and (iii) the G. Henger, P. J. 1982. Economic Analysis of
research and training resources available. Agricultural Projects. ED1 Series in
Economic Development. John Hopkins
References Press, USA.
Anon, 1980, Workshop on Economics and Gregerson, H.M. and Contreras, A.H. 1979.
Economic Analysis of Forestry Projects.
Cropping Systems. IRRI and Department
of Agriculture, Nepal. FAO Forestry Paper No. 17, Rome.
Anon, 1980. Profit Zmprouement through Hoekstra, D.A. The Use of Economics in
Operations Analysis. Management and Diagnosis and Design of Agroforestry
Production Centre, B.C. Research, Systems. ICRAF Working Paper No. 29.
Vancouver, Canada. Horton, D.E. 1984. Social Scientist in Agricul-
Anon, 1984. Basic Procedures for Agroeco- ture Research, IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
nomic Research. IRRI, Philippines. Lessard, G.L. and Chouinard, A. 1980. Bam-
Austin, J.E. 1981. Agro industrial Project boo Research in Asia. Proceedings of a
Analysis. EDI Series in Economic Devel- Workshop. IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
opment John Hopkins Press. USA. Ramsey, F. and Duerr, W.A. 1975. Social
Austin, R., Ueda, K. and Levy, D. 1983. Sciences in Forestry: A Book of Readings.
Bamboo. Weatherhill Inc., New York. Ranaweera, N.F.C. 1984. Studying
Banta, R.G. 1982. Asian Cropping Systems Marketing Systems. In Basic Procedures
Research - Procedures for Microeco- for Agroeconomic Research. IRRI, Philip-
nomic Evaluation. IDRC, Ottawa, pines.
Canada. Sammedson and Scott. 1968. Economics: An
Barney, G .O. 1980. Global 2000: Report to Introductory Analysis. McGraw-Hill,
President. US Government Printing Toronto, Canada.
Office. Washington, D.C. Scott, A. 1982. Intensive and Optimal Devel-
Brown, M.L. 1979. Farm Budgets: From opment of Forest Lands. In Renewable
Income Analysis to Agricultural Project Resources in the Pacific (ed: English, H . E.
Analysis. World Bank Staff Occasional and Scott, A.). IDRC, Ottawa, Canada.
Paper No. 29. World Bank, USA. Sedjo, R.A. 1982. Forest Plantations, Pro-
Edwardson. W. and MacCormac, C.W. duction and Trade in the Pacific Rim. In
1984. Improving Small Scale Food lndus- Renewable Resources in the Pacific (ed:
tries in Developing Countries. IDRC, English, H.E. and Scott, A.). IDRC,
Ottawa, Canada. Ottawa, Canada.
Reports on Sessions

378
 Reports on Technical Sessions
Technical Session.1 Several cottage industries in the country using
bamboo as basic material are adequately sus-
Chairman: Prof. Mu Z h o w g Lun tained. Regarding the development strategies
Rapporteur: Prof. A. N. Rao enough technology should develop to
improve the bamboo based, rurally centred
In the technical session I on Monday, 7 smafl scale industries and the techniques for
October 1985 six papers were presentd harnessing and managing the raw materials
during the morning and afternoon sessions. should improve. After presentation there was
1. In the first paper presented by Mr some useful discussion on the virtue of selec-
Sharma, the general importance of bamboos tive cutting, usefulness of aerial surveys and
in the Asia Pacific region was stressed. The proper methods for the administration of
present status of bamboo production and use bamboo projects and other related aspects.
in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Bamboo in Indonesia - a country report
Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, was the next paper presented by Dr
Sri Lanka, Burma, Korea, Japan and China Haryanto. The cultivation of bamboo is an
was briefly reviewed. The assessment for the ancient art in Indonesia and along with
total bamboo resources is available only for banana as well as coconut (popularly known
some of the Asian countries, especially those as BBC), they provide both food and building
where bamboo is used as raw material for materials for the rural population. The small
paper industries. The importance of a good holdings around villages Pekarangans are
assessment for each country was emphasised millions in number covering about 31,700 ha
especially where bamboo is an important as against 50,000 ha of bamboo land as part
component of the cottage and rural indus- of the natural forests. Research on cultivation
tries. Both the research output and the and utilisation is carried out in universities and
improvement of cultivation techniques are research institutes and further progress is
important to increase the bamboo resources necessary to meet the demand of the people
and altogether about 12 suggestions are in the 21st century. Many questions were
offered. The paper was well received and asked about the selective harvesting, curing
during discussion particular points regarding and treating of bamboos.
gregarious flowering habit, hormonal and
Professor Lantican was the next in pre-
water relationships, utilisation of abandoned
senting the paper on Bamboo production
land, suitability of bamboos to be used as and utilisation research in Philippines. Bam-
water pipes, salt tolerant varieties and the boos are extensively used in Philippines in the
other related aspects were covered. fishing, banana and furniture industries. The
Professor Wu Bo presented his paper on handicraft and furniture industry, based on
The present condition of bamboo research bamboo resources brings considerable foreign
and production in China and reviewed the exchange. Other uses of bamboo in building
development of bamboo industry in his construction, for flooring, pulp and paper
country. For most of the audience this was an industry were explained. Research needs to
excellent introduction to the status of bamboo improve the production and utilisation of dif-
research undertaken in China and the high ferent species were outlined and the research
quality bamboo production in enormous priorities were listed. After the paper presen-
quantities. tation there was some discussion on the rate
In the next paper presented by Dr Salleh of bamboo production/given land area and
Mohd. the bamboo resources in Malaysia was the dissemination of information on bamboos
reviewed with plans and strategies for further in the region.
development. In view of the other forest The next paper was the country report -
resources available in great abundance due Sri Lanka by Dr Vivekanandan. Bamboos
emphasis is not given so far for bamboos. The are mostly used for rural housing. Of the
annual production of bamboos for the whole seven genera and 21 species present in the
country is not estimated, though figures for country only Dendrocalamus strictus has
certain states like Kedah, are available. been planted on a large scale, The progress of
379
research work done in the previous year as a At the very end of the session a request
part of the IDRC project was outlined which was made to all the authors to submit the
concerns about the stem propagation original copies of their papers including
methods in Bambusa vulgaris. Other condi- graphs, figures, diagrams etc. Wherever
tions suitable or large scale propagation were necessary each paper will be discussed with
explained and discussed. After the presenta- the individual authors to make the necessary
tion there was discussion on the suitable amendments and to establish proper format
method of planting and the effects of for publication of the proceedings,
hormone treatment to improve the growth of
the propagules . Technical Session II
As the last paper of the session I, Dr Boa
Chairman: Prof Geng Bojie
presented a brief report on Bamboos in
Bangladesh as the other invited members Rapporteur: Prof Y M L Sharma
from Bangladesh could not attend the
seminar. There is a total area of 54,000 ha of Six papers were presented during the session.
bamboo forest in the country in addition to In the paper presented, Mr Stapleton,
bamboos grown in and around the villages. (Nepal) spelt out the efforts initiated by him
Recently an inventory was prepared for the on vegetative propagation techniques in barn-
whole country and the cultivation of bamboo boo (few important species) for evolving an
is increasing. However, there is very little efficient and appropriate technology to suite
space available for bamboos growing and due the topographic, climatic and biotic factors
to water logging bamboos die in certain areas. prevailing in Nepal. His paper stressed
Forest bamboos are thin and mostly used for on the efforts to induce quick rooting of bam-
paper. Both overcutting and extraction are boo species to achieve maximum percentage
the real problems. Many improvements to of success in the field.
remedy the situation were suggested. In an interesting and illustrated paper, Mr
After the presentation of all the papers the Hansken of Panda Products, USA, detailed
rapporteur summarised the main points that the efforts made to propagate Phyllostachys
emerged from the presentation of papers and pubescens, and raise seedlings for supply to
the discussion followed, which included the the people. It is a very enterprising venture
following: aimed at propagating Phyllostachys
1. There should be some standardisation pubescens, and reminds of some private
in the recognition of the various species. farmers in Tamil Nadu of India raising seed-
lings for supply to cultivators for raising bam-
2. A good network for the exchange of boos in the agricultural sector.
information on bamboos is urgently required.
Mr Fu Maoyi in his paper highlighted the
3. The cost of production and the relative benefits of the application of fertilisers to raise
effectiveness of different methods presently the bamboo crops including the methods of
followed should be carefully studied since the application, dosages and the result of applica-
bamboo resources are fast disappearing in tion of such fertilisers. It has been reported
many countries. that the fertiliser application helps greatly the
4. There is an urgent need for extra pro- growth of bamboos. In fact the current trend
pagation material in every country to use is the use of more and more of fertiliser in
bamboos as soil binders and to prevent soil forestry crops.
erosion. In her well presented paper, Miss Chen
5. Destruction of bamboos for better land Fangne highlighted the hybridisation work on
use is a myth since most of them grow only on bamboos carried out in China. She has also
marginal soils. highlighted the characters of pollen of bam-
boos and other features like the period of
6. Greater attention should be paid to
seed ripening, stressing the importance of the
recognise genetic variability available within
viability of pollen as the key factor in the suc-
the species to select better varieties for cultiva-
cess of these hybridisation work.
tion. Many of the taxonomic problems need
to be solved to eliminate duplication of Presenting his paper, Dr Eric Boa detailed
species and to establish the new ones, if need the different pests and diseases of Bamboo in
be. Bangladesh. The culm sheath regions were
380
reported to be the vulnerable places of Details on tissue culture of bamboos
infection. He has also cautioned about the created some interest with questions on the
drawbacks in raising large scale monoculture explants used for the experiments and the
of bamboos. meristemable tissues.
In his second paper, Dr Eric Boa high-
lighted the incidence of bamboo blight disease Technical Session IV
in some parts of Bangladesh, especially in the Chairman: Dr Walter Liese
village bamboos. He stressed the need for a
Rapporteur: Dr Celso Lantican
more intensive study of the subject, and to
determine the predisposing factors. It was
also suggested by the Rapporteur the possi- Ten papers were presented in this session.
bility of growing bamboos in mixtures with The paper on Anatomy and Properties of
tree crops, and the need to prevent the Bamboo was presented by Dr Walter Liese.
spread of the disease across the borders of With the aid of slides, Dr Liese gave a com-
Bangladesh. prehensive account of the present state of
knowledge about the anatomical, chemical,
Technical Session III physical and mechanical properties of bam-
boos. For many of the properties, he indicated
Chairman : Prof Hsiung Wen-yue that variations exist along the height and
Rapporteur:Dr Salleh Nor across the wall of a culm.
During discussion the following questions
Three papers were presented in this session. were raised.
According to Dr Anan Anantachote, bam- 1. Is penetration of preservatives possible
boo is a very important resource in Thailand, through the stomata of the center walls?
but it is decreasing in quantity; the silvics
unknown. Thus, his study focussed on the Preservatives enter by diffusion. There
basic flowering characteristics of economic are no stomata on the walls.
bamboos in Thailand. High variability in seed 2. You mentioned that bamboo shrinks
germination percentage, the correlation even when it is still green. Can you tell us
between moisture content and presence of what the fiber saturation point of bamboo
seed borne fungi are important. During dis- is?
cussion, clarifications were sought on actual
This is a subject that still needs to be
seed M.C., which is the air dry M.C. and on
investigated.
the seed borne fungi which has not been used
for inoculation tests yet. On the question of 3. When is a culm mature and why does a
physiological changes before flowering, Dr culm senesce?
Anan replied that when clumps do not Little research has been done on anatom-
produce new shoots, it is likely that they will ical changes as the culm gets older. The
flower the next dry season. work of Dr Chen at Nanjing has shown
Dr Usui of Japan discussed in detail the that there is a dramatic and puzzling
studies on morphology of a number of increase in the elements of older culms.
Japanese bamboos. Morphological studies We do not know why a culm senesces
must be supported by other basic research in and why it becomes brittle and loses its
anatomy and taxonomy. On a question strength.
whether branching of bamboo is regulated by The next paper was by Dr Higuchi on
arrangement of prophylls in a bud, it was left Characterisation o f Steam-exploded
unanswered. Bamboos for Cattle Feed. The paper, pre-
In his presentation, Prof Rao, Singapore, sented with slides, described the use of the
focussed on the growth, anatomy, taxonomy, steam explosion process to convert bamboo
cytology and reproduction of certain bam- chips into a form that can be hydrolysed by
boos in Singapore. Following there was a cellulose. According to the author, the pro-
second presentation on the preliminary work cess is promising for the production of cattle
on tissue culture of certain bamboos. feed and obtaining the material for fermenta-
tion.

381
 Questions were raised during discussion : the methods outlined are recommended.
In Germany, it has been observed that in The following questions were raised.
cattle dungs the parenchyma cells bearing Did you try to relate the biological life
the warty layer are not digested. What is cycle of beetles with the occurrence of
your finding on EXBs? beetle attack?
Ruminants cannot digest the ceils if they I studied the beetles involved but was not
are covered with lignin. EXBs are devoid able to correlate the life cycle changes
of lignin as this is separated in the and the occurrence of the attacks.
process.
The loss of starch in culms soaked in
The paper on Anatomy and Properties of water is it caused by bacteria1 action
Bamboo by Dr Janssen dealt with the struc- rather than by leaching?
ture, properties and advantages of bamboo as
the building material. The information given I believe it is due to bacteria because
starch is not soluble in water.
centered on mechanical properties that are
useful for designing bamboo structures. Mr J N Lipangile presented the paper on
In the next paper, Mr Li showed that Use of Bamboo as Water Pipes.
strong bamboo structures, much bigger in area This paper discussed the engineering
and taller than ordinary houses, can be suc- characteristics, preservation, construction
cessfully built as has been done in Switzerland. methodology, maintenance, and economics
of bamboo used as water pipes. The paper
The discussion followed the presentation. reported, that bamboo pipes are four times
cheaper than IocaIIy purchased plastic pipes
How do you put the base of the culm on of the same diameter.
the ground?
Mr Slob presented his paper on CCA
It is erected on a concrete foundation Impregnation of Bamboo.
with a steel plate bolted.
The paper presented the results of the
What material was used to tie the culms study in which CCA was impregnated into
together for the columns of the building? bamboo pipes of the species Arundinaria
Bamboo skin strips and steel strips. alpina using the Boucherie process. High
leaching rates of the toxic compounds were
I am of the opinion that construction with
observed; hence, it was concluded that CCA-
bamboos require a lot of skill, which is
treated bamboo is not appropriate for use as
absent in Malaysia. Are there any schools
water pipes.
or courses dealing with construction of
bamboo structures in China? Dr Liese and Dr Higuchi advised the
Tanzanian delegates (Lipangile and Slob) to
Yes, some schools have. (Note: Some be very careful in using preservatives
participants offered the information that
on water pipes as they can endanger
some publications dealing with the sub-
human Iives and polIute the environment,
ject are available).
Role of Bamboo in Rural Development
Did you have to secure permits and
and Socio-economics: A Case Study for
insurance for the bamboo building you
Thailand was presented by Mr Songkram
put up in Switzerland?
Thammincha. The use of bamboo in the
These were arranged by the Swiss national economy and on the improvement
government. of the quality of life of the rural poor was out-
Mr Achmad Sulthoni presented the paper lined. A cost-benefit analysis of bamboo
on Traditional Preservation of Bamboo in farming was presented. Destruction of bam-
Java. The results of a study involving the use boo in some parts of Thailand is rampant.
of certain traditional methods of improving Efforts should be made to stop this. It was also
the service life of bamboo were outlined. It suggested that shoot management be studied
was concluded that the existing practices to ensure sustained yield.
regarding the time of cutting and water Socio-economic Role of Bamboo in India
immersion has scientific basis and therefore and Their Genetic Diversity was presented by

382
T A Thomas. The paper indicated the species 1. in conducting a benefit-cost analysis, how
present in the country, their distribution and do you measure the intangibles?
socio-economic role. It pointed out the high This is a very important issue. There are
genetic diversity of bamboo in the country no rules available. My suggestion is that
where 22 genera and more than 136 species the scientist should work with an eco-
are present. It also indicated that bamboo nomist in the estimation of values.
research on collection and conservation is
being carried out at FRI, Dehra Dun. 2. Which is more economical, shoot pro-
\ duction or culm production?
Economics for Forestry Research: Some
Suggested Approaches was presented by C Research on this is needed.
W MacCormac. This paper suggested specific Concluding Remarks from the Chairman
techniques of economic analysis VIS-A-VIS
specific bamboo research and development The Chairman commended the speakers,
objectives. The discussion included the fol- the discussion leaders and the rapporteurs, as
lowing. well as the interpreters for doing their jobs well.

383
 Research Needs and Priorities

Introduction identification of bamboos still continues to vbe

a major problem in South and S. E. Asia. On
The information, ideas and concepts going research work has to be enhanced to
enumerated in the following paragraphs are a expedite studies in other areas like breeding
summary of the final session of the workshop. especially for increasing yield, disease and
There was recognition among participants pest resistence etc. The need for an Asian
that the present workshop was taking place bamboo taxonomic monograph still exists and
after a period of five years, since the first one some initiative should be taken immediately
held in Singapore in May 1980. Though con- to produce this.
siderable effort had gone into activating the
research agenda that was identified in 1980
much needed to be done if the bamboo Silviculture
culture, cultivation and utilization is to contri-
bute meaningfully to the economies and Much is known about the ecology and
peoples of the region. silviculture of bamboos in some countries
while in others little information is available.
Information Especially in the case of the latter, where
sympodial bamboos are concerned, research
The major difference between what was needs were expressed for the following
documented in Singapore and the present studies:
one was the expression for a bamboo infor-
mation centre or service. The bamboo com- The phenological characteristics of all com-
munity, be it research, commercial or con- mercially important species. Information
was especially needed on factors inducing
sumer has been growing at a rapid rate. The
present flow of information was inadequate to or inhibiting flowering behaviour; the
the needs of the community and therefore an ageing of bamboo, physiological mecha-
urgent need existed for the establishment of nisms of shooting, etc.
an information collecting and disseminating The root characteristics of the principal
facility to serve Asia in the first instance and sympodial species.
the rest of the world subsequently. Appropriate propagation and nursery tech-
nologies to assure large and continuous
Conservation supply of seedlings.
Suitable plantation technologies for estab-
Fears were expressed at the erosion of the lishing industrial scale plantations and the
genetic pool not only because of excessive risks associated with monocultural situa-
exploitation especially in the S. Asian region tions.
but also because of the extensive habitat
destruction in the S. E. Asia region. It is there- Options for establishing multicropping
systems with bamboo as one of the com-
fore highly desirable that urgent steps be
taken to collect all of the germplasm available ponents.
in each region for conservation purposes in Options for using bamboo to rehabilitate
situ (through bamboo gardens) or ex situ in devastated lands, control of canal and river
special ecological reserves. banks,
The types, level and methods of appli-
Taxonomy cation of fertilizers, associated economics
as well as growth studies in man made
The classification, nomenclature and plantations.

384
!" Pest and disease situation among bamboo cells (eg. parenchyma, phloem, nodes)
stands. and their impact on preservation, season-
ing etc.

Management and Harvesting The quality of the culm with reference t o

their maturation and/or senescence.
!
The science of managing bamboos is new The chemistry of bamboo and its subse-
to a number of countries and specific prescrip- quent application in chemical utilization
tions will have to be worked out for each (manufacture of plastics, membranes, con-
environment. The following studies were con- version to fodder, pulping etc) .
sidered important on the basis of traditional
presumption that bamboos have to be worked
through culm selection: Socio-economic studies
! cultural operations to bamboo stands from The forum expressed a need to undertake
the time of formation cost-benefit studies on bamboo cultivation
! clump and culm spacing given the fact that land is a scarce resource in
. moisture retention techniques the region and the promotion of bamboo
forestry should be seen in the context of other
! felling intensities and methods of felling crops.
!" fabrication of improved tools for cutting, Further, data has also to be gathered on
splitting and binding bamboos. the social value of bamboo especially as a fea-
ture of water and soil conservation.
Utilization
Education and Extension
The forum reiterated the need to continue
research on the topics identified by the 1980 Unanimously it was pointed out that bam-
workshop, as progress has not been as rapid boo serves multiple uses and therefore in
as expected. Further some of the following parts of the Asia Pacific region where bamboo
studies were suggested for inclusion in the has not been recognized for its potential in
agenda: improving rural incomes a concerted effort
!" A detailed study on the variability being should be made through the use of demon-
encountered in terms of durability within stration, plantations, training rural social
species. workers with multi-media materials and orga-
nizing formal courses within a forestry curri-
! A closer study on the correlations between
culum.
species properties and traditional utili-
zation.
!" The functions of the various tissues and G. Dhanarajan
 International, Bamboo Workshop (China)
October 6-14, 1985
List of Participants

Country Name and Address Mr Zheng Rui

Deputy Director of Second
Bangladesh Dr Eric Boa Division of Foreign Affair
Forest Research Institute
Department
P.O. Box 273
Chittagong Chinese Ministry of Forestry
Beijing.
Canada Mr Jim Mullin
Vice President Mr Huang Weiguan
Collaborative Programs Deputy Director of Foreign
Division Affair Division
IDRC The Chinese Academy of
P.O. Box 8500 Forestry
Ottawa, Ontario, KlG 3H9 Beijing.
China Mr Dong Zhiyong Mr Qiu Fugeng
Vice-minister Zhejiang Forestry Research
Ministry of Forestry Institute
Hangzhou, Zhejiang .
Mr Wu Bo Mr Ma Naixun
Head of Scientific and Subtropical Forestry Research
Technical Department Institute
Chinese Ministry of Forestry The Chinese Academy of
Beijing. Forestry
Fuyang, Zhejiang.
Prof Wu Zhonglun
The Chinese Academy of Mr Fu Maoyi
Forestry Subtropical Forestry Research
Beijing, Institute
The Chinese Academy of
Prof Hsiung Wenyue
Forestry
Nanjing Institute of Forestry
Fuyang, Zhejiang.
Nanjing, Jiangsu.
Mr Xiao Jianghua
Prof. Hou Zhipu
Subtropical Forestry Research
Vice-president of
Institute
the Chinese Academy of
The Chinese Academy of
Forestry Forestry
Beijing.
Fuyang, Zhejiang.
Mr Yang Yuchou
Mr Xu Tiansen
Vice-head of Foreign Affair Subtropical Forestry Research
Department
Institute
Chinese Ministry of Forestry
The Chinese Academy of
Beijing. Forestry
Mr Xu Hansen Fuyang, Zhejiang.
Deputy Director of Agricultural
Mr Shi Quantai
Division
Subtropical Forestry Research
Zhejiang Provincial Science
Institute
and Technology Commission
The Chinese Academy of
Hangzhou, Zhejiang.
Forestry
Fuyang. Zhejiang.
386
Prof Zhou Fangchun Mr Wu Qixin
Nanjing Institute of Forestry Forestry Institute of Guizhou
Nanjing, Jiangsu. Province
Prof Zhou Huimin Gupyang, Guizhou.
Nanjing Institute of Forestry Mr Liao Guanglu
Nanjing , Jiangsu. Jiangxi Forestry Institute
Nanchang, Jiangxi.
Prof Chen Guisheng
Nanjing Forestry University Mr Wu Meng
Nanjing. Jiangsu. The Forestry Research
Prof Chen Zhi Institute
of Sichuan Province
Nanjing Institute of Forestry
Chengdu, Sichuan.
Nanjing. Jiangsu.
Mr Yi Tongpei
Mr Zhu Jifan
Forest School of Guanxian
Nanjing Institute of Forestry
County of Sichuan Province
Nanjing. Jiangsu.
Guanxian County, Sichuan.
Prof Geng Bojie
Department of Biology Mr Sun Tianren
Nanjing University Anhui AgriculturaI College
Nanjing. Jiangsu, Hefei, Anhui.
Prof Wang Zhenping Mr Dai Qihui
Department of Biology Guangxi institute of Forestry
Nanning, Guangxi.
Nanjing University
Nanjing. Jiangsu. Mrs Zhang Guangchu
Mr Wen Taihui Forest Research Institute of
Zhejiang Forestry Research Guangdong Province
Institute Guangzhou, Guangdong.
Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Mr Liang Tairan
Mr Huang Paihui Chinese Ministry of Forestry
Zhejiang Forestry Research. Beijing.
Institute Mr Chen Youdi
Hangzhou. Zhejiang. Research Institute of Chemical
Mr Hu Chaozong Processing and Utilization of
Zhejiang Forest College Forest Products,
Linan, Zhejiang, The Chinese Academy of
Forestry
Prof Xue Giru Nanjing, Jiangsu.
Forest Institute of South-West
China Mr Zhang Shouhuai
Kunmin, Yunnan, China The Institute of Wood Industry,
The Chinese Academy of
Mr Jia Liangzhi Forestry
Plant Research Institute Beijing.
of South China
Guangzhou, Guangdong. Mr Li Qihuang
Senior Engineer
Mr Li Guoqing Kunmin Designing Institute of
Bamboo Research Section Construction
Henan Agricultural University Kunmin, Yunnan.
Zhengzhou, Henan.
Mr Wu Binsen Mr Luo Jian
Department of Forestry Zhejiang Local Product
Guizhou Agricultural College Company
Guyiyang, Guizhou. Hangzhou, Zhejinng

387
 Mrs Liu Yurong Prof E Uchimura
The Second Ocean Research Forestry and forest Products
Institute, The National Ocean Research Institute (National)
Bureau of China. Kukizaki, Ibaraki, 305
Hangzhou. Prof H Usui Agriculture
Mr Sun Chengzhi Faculty of Agriculture
Research Institute of Chemical Utsunomiya University
Processing and Utilization of Utsunomiya 321 University
Forest Products, The Chinese Malaysia Dr Mohd Salleh Nor
Academy of Forestry Director
Nanjing. Jiangsu. Forest Research Institute
Germany Prof Walter Liese Kepong , Seiangor
Institute fur Holzbiologie Nepal Mr C. M. A. Stapleton
LeuschnerstraBe 9 1 Forestry Research Project
D 2050 c/o British Embassy
Hambug 80 P.O. Box 106
Kathmandu
Holland Dr T. K. Lee
Johan Braakensieklaan 1 9 Philippines Prof Celso B Lantican
2283 GV Ryswyk (Z.H.) College of Forestry
University of the Philippines at
Dr J. J. A. Janssen Los Banos College, Laguna
Technical University Eindhoven
Postbus 513 Singapore Prof A. N. Rao
56OOMB Eindhoven Department of Botany
National University of
India Prof Y. M. L. Sharma Singapore
International Forestry Lower Kent Ridge Road
Consultant Singapore 05 11
171, VI Gross Gandhinagar
Bangalore- 009 Sri Lanka DrK.Vivekanandan
Forest Deparrment
Mr T. A. Thomas P.O. Box SO9
Head, Division of Plantation Colombo 2
and Project Coordination
Bureau of Plant Genetic Tanzania Dr T. N. Lipangile
Resources Wood/Bamboo Project
Indian Council of Agricultural Ministry of Water
Research P.O. Box 570
Krishi Bhavan, Dr Rajendra Iringa
Prasad Road Mr J. W. Slob
New Delhi 110001 Wood/Bamboo Project
Indonesia Mr Achmad Sulthoni Ministry of Water
Faculty of Forestry P.O. Box 570
Gadjah Mada University Iringa
Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta Thailand Mr Sakomsak Ramyarangsi
Mr Haryanto Yudodibroto Royal Forest Department
Faculty of Forestry Phaholyothin Road
Gadjah Mada University Bangkhen,Bangkok 10900
Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta Mr Songkram Thammincha
Japan Dr T Higuchi Faculty of Forestry
IUFRO 5.3A Project Leader Kasetsart University
Wood Research Institute Bangkok 10903
Kyoto University
Uji, Kyoto

388
 Dr Anan Anantachote Program
Department of Forest IDRC
Management Tanglin P.O. Box 101
Faculty of Forestry Singapore 9 124
Kasetsart University M S Maria Ng
Bangkok 10903 Regional Program Officer
Mr Vallobh Maimongkol Information Sciences Division
Banpong Regional Forestry IDRC
Office Tanglin P.O. Box 101
Kailuang Rd. Banpong Singapore 9124
Ratchaburi 70110 Dr Cherla B Sastry
Mr Pongsura Tunmanee Program Officer (Forestry)
Banpong Regional Forestry Agriculture, Food & Nutrition
Office Sciences
Kailuang Rd. Banpong IDRC
Ratchaburi 70110 Tanglin P.O. Box 101
IDRC, Dr G Dhanarajan Singapore 9124.
Singapore Deputy Director (Sciences) USA Dr Julian J. N. Campbell
Off-Campus Academic School of BioIogicaI Sciences
Programme University of Kentucky
University Sains Malaysia Lexington, Kentucky 40506
Minden, Penang Mr Stanley Gibson Cooper
Malaysia Panda Products Nursery
Dr Jingjai Hanchanlash P.O. Box 70 Calpella CA
Regional Director 95418
Regional Office for Southeast Mr Yat Ying Cheung
and East Asia 18 Waverly PIace
IDRC San Francisco
Tanglin P.O. Box 101 CA 94108,
Singapore 9 124
Mr Timothy James Hansken
Mr Christopher MacCormac 18 Waverly Place
Program Officer San Francisco
Agricultural Economics CA 94108,

Post Script

We have spent considerable time and effort in editing the proceedings solving many of the problems and difficulties
connected therewith. These were mostly concerned in editing the manuscripts. reducing their length. wherever neces-
sary or even rewriting some of them which were Gi very poor quality to begin with either in terms of language, expressron
or accuracy of facts or all of them. We were completely familiar and anticipated the various problems before we started
the work. Some of them could be solved by ourselves, whereas in case of others the manuscripts had to be returned to
the authors to implement the necessary correcttons or changes and to provide proper explanations and/or illustrations
Obviously all these exchanges delayed the publication We appreciate the patience and endurance of other authors who
would have liked to see or receive the publication much earlier.

The papers included in this proceedings contribute a wealth of information on bamboos that would help the re-
searchers and the students who are studying the various aspects of these interesting plants. We hope that t h i s volume
like its predecessor will also serve as an useful source of reference for many years to come.

We are indebted to Mr Kevin Tan for his enormous patience and cooperation in rescheduling the printing pro-
gramme of this volume many times. Equally grateful we are to many of our colleagues who helped us in many matters.
in one way or the other.

- Editors

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co
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The Workshop Participants