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When and How To Harvest Bamboo
When and How To Harvest Bamboo
BAMBOO CULTIVATION
Timing plays a crucial role when harvesting bamboo poles. As a matter of fact, knowing
when and how to harvest bamboo has been one of the most important and traditional bamboo
preservation methods in areas with smaller resources.
Some say harvesting bamboo according to the right season or moon phase is
hocus-pocus, but it is NOT! Studies show that when bamboo is not harvested
correctly (and left untreated) it will deteriorate much faster and is more
attractive to borers. Therefore, good harvesting practices will enhance the
resistance of the bamboo poles and will retain their strength.
Sugar content in almost all plants varies with seasons. Dry season is the
period of dormancy. During this period, the bamboo plant is acquiring and
conserving nutrients for shoot growth in the next rainy season. Thus, starch
content is at its highest level at the end of dry season! Therefore, harvesting
bamboo at the end of a dry season increases the chances
of borer and fungi attacks.
During rainy season, starch content is lower (since new shoots are consuming
all the nutrients) but moisture content in the bamboo culms is high, which
increases the possibility of subsequent splitting and cracking after harvest.
This is also the period when new shoots emerge and felling operations could
damage or destroy the shoots.
The sugar content in bamboo also varies with age. The starch content is
lowest during the first year and highest between year 1-3. Obviously we don't
want to harvest immature bamboo because it didn't complete the process of
lignification, and is therefore less strong and usually collapses
on drying. Guadua bamboo is considered mature between 4 and 7 years,
after which they slowly start to deteriorate.
The age of the Guadua culm should be at least 4 years old but not more
than 7 years. Once bamboo is older than 7 years, it starts to dry and
gradually loses it mechanical properties, which means it is not capable for
any use except for fuel pellets and charcoal.
Young bamboo (0-2 years) can easily be recognized by the color and the
presence of culm sheaths, while old or over-mature bamboo contain an
excessive amount of fungi and mosses on the bark and have a different color.
When the color of the bamboo stem changes from clear and shiny green to
a gray and dark green color, and the traditional white bands at each knot
have almost disappeared and are replaced by hardly perceptible gray bands,
then the bamboo shows clear evidence of its maturity and can be selected
for harvest and extraction out of the forest or plantation.
At the same time the color of the foliage becomes less green and shiny than
the younger bamboos. When bamboo stems turn completely
white or weathered it is over-aged and too old to be used.
Bamboo harvested in this manner has 3 advantages: they are less attractive to
insects, are less heavy to transport and will dry faster.
Cut bamboo just above the first or second node above ground level, with
a machete or saw. This way, there is no receptacle in which rainwater can
collect. Stagnant rainwater in the culm may cause rot and could weaken the
bamboo plant system.
Left image shows incorrect felling practices | Right image shows correct
felling
Try to avoid damage or exposure of the rhizome while harvesting. This could
cause serious damage and affect the future health of the bamboo clump.
Don't drag bamboo culms along the ground, this will cause damage to the
outer layer which results in stains and blemishes.
Post-Harvesting Transpiration
Parenchyma cells in plants continue to live for some time, even after felling.
During this period, the stored food materials are utilized and, thus, the starch
content in bamboo is lowered. This method also improves the drying
process of the bamboo culm and results in a nice uniform color of the dried
culm.