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Male bamboo,/Kal-mungil

Dendrocalamus strictus


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Description

General Information :

  • It is densely tufted, unarmed, deciduous bamboo.
  • Gregarious in habit.
  • It is hardest of all the Indian bamboo.

Distribution :

  • Widely distributed and cultivated of all parts of India

Habitat : Deciduous forests .

Soil : Wide range of soil

Altitude :Up to 300 m (MSL)

Rainfall :1000-3000 mm

Temperature : 20°C - 30°C

Terrain : Plain / hilly slopes

Tree Characteristics :
  • It is drought resistant, frost hardy and light demander.

Habit : Deciduous Tree

Planting Guidelines

Natural Regeneration :

  • Regenerates naturally by seeds and rhizomes.

Artificial Regeneration :

  • Propagated  by seed , nursery raised seedlings and offset planting (using culm cutting)

Seed collection and Storage :

  • Flowers are produced from November to March.
  • Seeds ripen April-May.
  • Seeds from sporadically flowered clumps are collected in April –May by cutting the branches.
  • Separated seeds can be stored for one year in sealed tins.
  • Germination capacity progressively reduces day by day.
  • Average seed weight varies 25000 – 35000/ kg
  • Germination capacity of fresh seeds is 70 -75%

Seed Treatment :

  • No Seed treatment is required

Nursery Technique :

  • Seed is broadcast in raised mother beds of size 10 m x 1 m, in September to October.
  • Approximately 1.5 kg of seeds required for standard mother bed.
  • Germination takes 10-20 days.
  • 3 months old seedlings are pricked out and transplanted in poly bags and watered regularly.
  • Seedling may attain 60 cm tall in one year are suitable for planting.

Plantation technique :

Nursery raised Seedlings :

  • One year old nursery raised seedlings are used for planting during   the onset of monsoon.
  • Pit size of 30 cm3 or 45 cm3 spaced 5 m x 5 m or 6 m x 6 m in moist areas and 4 m x 4 m in dry areas.
Vegetative Propagation :
  • Rhizomes Cuttings of about 15-39 cm long and each containing at least on bud, are planted in small pits of size 30 cm3 .
  • This is quite a successful method of raising bamboo.

Care & Disease Control :

  • Bamboo has to be kept well weeded, both in nursery and young plantation.
  • It must be protected against cattle grazing, browsing and fire.

Irrigation :

  • In bamboo planting, irrigation should be carried out frequently while they are grown on nursery beds.
  • Immediate irrigation should be given at the time of transplanting seedlings from nursery to main field.
  • As bamboo trees are sensitive to water logging, make sure to drain out the soil in case of heavy rains or flooding.
  • Subsequent irrigations depend on the soil moisture holding and climatic conditions.
  • It’s preferred to let a plant go a little dry and water it.
  • A drip irrigation system can be adopted for better utilization of water. Over watering will make the tips of leaves to turn into brown.

Recommended Harvest :

  • Felling starts 5th year onwards. 

Yield :

  • Annually about 275-300 productive clumps per hectare
  • 3-4 tones at first cut,
  • 5-6 tones at second cut and
  • 8 tones at third cut.
  • Expected yield per hectare is about 70-75 tones over the entire life cycle.
  • Industrial plantation of Bamboo yields 3 tones /ha/year

Agro Forestory :

  • Various agricultural crops have been found successful like tomato, watermelon, sweet potato, ginger and turmeric. 

Major uses :

Stem :

  • Stem used to make baskets and ladders
  • Young stems - cooked as a vegetable.
Seeds :
  • Seeds cooked like rice when they are abundant.               
Medicinal :
  • A decoction of the leaves and nodes and siliceous matter is used in the traditional medicine
Agro forestry Uses:
  • The plant is suitable for the reclamation of ravine land.

Market details :

  • Approximately Rs.4000 to Rs.4500 / ton*
*Subject to change according to market demands