[Terrapreta] Bamboo

[adkarve]

Yes, I agree with all the points about bamboo, but wish to add the following
information:
Bamboo is today one of the most profitable crops in India. If you have an
annual rainfall of about 700 to 800 mm, bamboo does not need any additional
irrigation. Once it has established itself, it does not need any further
attention. No irrigation, no pesticides, no fertilizers and no weeding. One
only harvests the culms that have completed 3 years of growth. Eating bamboo
shoots is not common in India. Therefore one allows all the shoots to grow
into culms. The culms are the economically important part of bamboo but
almost half of the total biomass of a bamboo stalk is in the branches. So
even if the main stalk is used for other purposes, the branches , that are
considered as waste, can be used as fuel and of course for making charcoal.
Also the top ends of the main stalk, that are too thin to have any practical
use, can also be converted into charcoal.
A.D.Karve

----- Original Message -----
From: <rukurt at westnet.com.au>
To: <terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 6:20 AM
Subject: [Terrapreta] Bamboo


> Hi folkes,
> There has been mention of bamboo as a feedstock for charcoal production,
> very much in the same breath as the use of sugarcane trash for this
> purpose. It must be understood, that while both bamboo and sugar cane
> are grasses, there are very great differences between them.
> Bamboo is a long term crop, more a forest crop than a grass type crop.
> Bamboo grown from seed will commonly take many years, often 50 to 70
> years and sometimes in the hundred years to flower again and then it
> dies. It is mainly grown from cuttings which means that many plantings
> are actually the same plant (clones) and all instances of that
> particular clone will flower at about the same time. Not long ago this
> resulted in a feed crisis for panda bears in China, when their feed
> bamboos flowered and subsequently died over large areas.
> There are two main kinds of bamboos, the clumping varieties and the
> runners. Generally speaking clumpers are tropical and runners are
> temperate climate plants.
> It takes at least 4 years for a planting to reach full size. At this
> point, the culms that grow every year will be about full size,sometimes
> many inches in diameter (depending on variety), with thinner culms
> growing before then. A bamboo culm grows from the shoot to it's full
> height in a matter of weeks, but will take some four years to reach full
> wall thickness. Until the culm is indeed fully mature it is not really
> worthwhile harvesting it. This requires careful supervision and marking
> of culms so that only mature ones are harvested. The running varieties
> can spread at an alarming rate, often as much as 12 meters per years.
> They are highly unpopular when they invade other properties.
> Properly managed bamboo can be a very productive crop, but it is a very
> longterm crop, you can't grow bamboo this year and beans next year on
> the same plot of land.
>
> Kurt
> who is experimenting with charcoal from bamboo at present
>
> >
>
>
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