Bamboo Planting

Planting of bamboo for soil

conservation and watershed
management.
 Function: Limitation:
 Bamboo reinforces soil  Nothing else can grow
against erosion. close to tall bamboo,
 It provides excellent mainly be due to
support to the slope if moisture and nutrients
planted at the base / toe competition.
slope.  Bamboo seeds are rarely
 It reduces the velocity set seeds may not be
of run-off water. available during need
 It traps soil eroded for seedling production.
from up slope.
 It works as a fence.
 Advantage : Disadvantage :
 Fodder available for animals  Bamboo casts shade to near
(Kalo, Mal and Ghopi bans). by plants
 Materials for baskets, Doko,  Habitat for pests including
Mats etc. (Ghopi, Kalo) birds
 Poles and bamboo straps  Whole plant dies after
useful for house seeding
construction. (Kalo Nigalo,
Taru and Mal Bans)
 Edible shoots (Tama Bans)
 Provide opportunities for
IGA
 Large clumping nature
 Bamboo Propagation
 Vegetative propagation by
Clump cutting
 Off-cut stems with a portion
of rhizome with bud from 1-
1.5m of 1 year old culm is
separated and can be
transplanted directly to a field
site or to a nursery for the use
as mother stool.
 This method is simple and
used for those species that
form clump.
 Vegetative Propagation from Nodal
cutting
 Select the 6-10 month old culm,
 Fell the bamboo below the first node with a bud,
 Trim back all the main side branches to their first node
with a bud.
 Trim off all other smaller branches (preferably with a saw
or secature).
 Cut the culm into pieces (preferably with saw) with two-
nodes. Species with large branches like Taru Bans single
node cutting is recommended.
 Keep all prepared segments in the shade and under moist
jute sack or wet paper right until they are planted.
 Vegetative Propagation from Nodal
cutting
 Transport them to the nursery as soon as possible
after preparation.
 Fill the hollow space of the cuttings with wet mud
and place cuttings horizontally in trenches in the
nursery beds and buried 2.5-15 cm below the
surface of the soil immediately. In two-node
cuttings, a hole can be made in the central
internodes and filled with water. If there is termite
problem, treat soil with appropriate pesticide.
 Prepare the soil of the nursery bed in advance (best
mix is 3:1:1, soil, sand, compost).
 Vegetative Propagation from Nodal
cutting
 Construct the shade cover stand at 80 cm high.
 The bud or branch should face upwards in single-
node cuttings and sideways in double node
cuttings.
 The nursery bed should be watered immediately
and kept moist. Flood irrigation prevents termite
attack.
 Lift nodal cuttings when new shoots grow to about
1 m tall. Thus prepared nodal plants can be planted
in just before or during monsoon.
 Vegetative Propagation from Nodal
cutting
 This method is suitable for the larger, clump forming
species that grow adventitious roots from nodal buds fairly
easily. However this technique needs considerable care in
the nursery.
 Packing for transportation: Cut double-node cuttings into
separate plants. Old parent inter-node materials should be
trimmed off close to the node. If transportation distance is
long, wrap with wet newspaper or jute sack. The seedlings
should be planted immediately after their arrival and
irrigate them just after planting.
 The rate of survival in the field will be more than 85% if
they receive water regularly and well looked after .
 Propagation by seed:
 Seeds are collected in late spring. Sound seeds can be
separated by floating off dead seeds and unwanted
materials in a bucket of water. (25000-35000 seeds per
kg). Seeds should be sown as soon as possible after
collection. They cannot be stored for a long time (2-3
months after harvesting).
 Sow seeds directly into prepared seedbed (using a soil mix
of 3:1:1 soil, sand & compost). Germination will begin
one week after sowing. Keep well watered. Transplant to
4” * 7” polypots when the seedlings are 5 to 10 cm tall.
The seedling should be transplanted when they are one
year old or about 75-90 cm tall.
 Materials Species
 Bamboo culm  Dendrocalamus hamltonii (Tama ): 300-2000
 Seed m, grows best in moist and shady sites, not
 Culm with rhizome good in south face below 1200 m Large
leaves, thin culm, heavy branching, culm split
 Thatching materials easily
 D. hookeri (Kalo): 1200-2500 m, Heavy
branching and brown hair
 Bambusa balcooa (Dhanu): Terai to 1600m,
large clumping, thin and heavy branching
 B. nutans / cupalata (Mal): Terai to 1500 m,
Strong and straight culm
 Ampelocalamuspate llaris ( Ghopi): 1200-
2000 m, Smaller bluish culm
 B. nutans (Taru): Terai to 1500 m, strong
straight culm)
 Tools : Specing
 Digging tools  5 m. * 5 m. Spacing
 Saw
 Sharp tool for cutting
 Water can
 Doko
 Sack
 Construction
Period
 During spring season.
 Just before monsoon
(Jestha) if the site is dry
Maintenance
 Protect from animal and do
not disturb the plant after
planting.
 Carry out weeding, and
allow new shoots to grow for
5 years.
 Make provision for drainage.
 Culm harvest should start
from the oldest one (Culm
matures in around 2.5-3
years of age).
 Casualty replacement.
 Precautions Scope (Site for
Application)
 Care must be taken to  Steep banks, gullies,
protect the buds at the foot of the slope, live
nodes and rhizome
check dam, brushwood
during digging and
transportation. check dam, wattling
 Bamboo should not be  Around farm house as
harvested during the fencing (Both live and
sprouting season. dead).
 Protect planting stock
from direct sunlight
during transportation.