Harvest bamboo on full moon - Fact or fiction?

[jungle trash]

The superstition down here is that, Bamboo has to be cut on a " full moon" then it will not get bugs, have you heard of that???

[Mark Meckes]

From envio.org.ni ... Nicaragua - The Thousand and One Uses of Bamboo (http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/1803) ...

... "A mix of custom, superstition or mystery which science has been unable to debunk due to lack of information counsels that the bamboo stalks to be used in construction or furniture should be cut three or four days after a full moon. It is also recommended that they be cut in late afternoon, a few hours after the sun has crossed the zenith, when the sap has begun its return to the roots..."

[asnor69]

Yes bambooseros, it is logical to harvest bamboo from 3 to 4 days after full moon. The explanation is that bamboo is a plant. They feed on chlorophyll which is generated based on the level of light the plant received. During full moon, the plant receives enough light during day and night and generates enough chlorophyll for the bamboo to feed on and grow. After 3 to 4 days, the bamboo culms will shoot new rhizomes as well as branches which in turn feed on the newly generated chlorophyll. At the same time the starch levels are reduced as the distribution to the main culm as well as new branches. If we cut the bamboo during the period, since the main starch recipient are the branches which we will cut during harvest causing the starch level in the main culm to be at the minimal level. This in turn, causes insufficient starch level in the bamboo for the bugs to feed on. Hence, the bugs will find it elsewhere.

Unfortunately, I do not have any workers who are willing to harvest bamboo at night since we here in Malaysia also have similar taboos. Apart from that they believe that bamboo groves are places where ghosts reside.

[Mark Meckes]

It will be interesting to see if there are variations in this myth on different continents.

Post #2 from Nicaragua web site says "... three or four days after a full moon ... cut in late afternoon, a few hours after the sun has crossed the zenith, when the sap has begun its return to the roots..."

We can discount the moons gravitational pull as the moon is always there, ie, we get ocean tides, whether full moon or not.

Now, does the full moon light have any affect on producing chlorophyl or drawing starches away from the culms into the branches?

The biggest factor affecting moisture in the plant is season and weather.
Nutrient availability and localized concentration is also seasonal and is affected by the weather.

During different seasons of the year, the bamboo plant directs it's energies to produce roots, rhizomes, shoot buds, new culms, branches and leaves.
There are periods when a particular stage of growth is predominant, and energy and nutrient transfer is at it's greatest, but stages of active growth of each plant component also overlaps.
For example underground growth provides sustenance for leaf formation which in turn directs energy back to the plant.

Different bamboo species, for example runners vs clumpers also have different growth cycles, and climate, ie temperate / subtropical / tropical location plus weather - temperature and rainfall, all affect periods of active growth and periods of dormancy.
In tropical climates, weather patterns create seasonal changes, whereas in temperate climates, insect and plant cycles are induced into dormancy by the seasonal, cooling period of the year.
Subtropical and warm temperate climates have their own variation of warm / cool seasons plus weather changes

These are some reasons why starch content in bamboo at harvest time and insect susceptibility is caused by much more then time of full moon.

The underlying question ...
Is bamboo harvested after full moon less suceptible to insect infestation?

Maybe we also need to look more closely at the life cycle of the insect.

Perhaps someone may have noticed that a specific insect life cycle is to emerge and take flight during a period of time up to the full moon ??

The relation between culm starch content - harvest time - and susceptibility to insects needs much more research, requiring many different variables to be taken into consideration.

~ Mark

[tharlow]

Sounds like a good candidate for randomized blind trials, Mark. Personally, I'd be a lot more convinced by randomized experimental findings than plausible explanations of why a certain time is better than the other. Let the results show if one time is better than another, but the judge needs to be kept blind as to when particular culms were cut.

--Tom

[Mark Meckes]

The the best judge in this case could be the bug - put the bug and some bamboo pieces from different harvest times into a jar and see what happens.

Of course pieces would need to be of the same species, age, location in grove, growing conditions, stage of drying etc.

Some questions that come to mind ...

- What bug? Is the claim for bug resistance specifically in reference to the Powder Post Beetle, Dinoderus minutus, or all wood destroying bugs?

- How bug resistant?

Note that the article in post #2 never brings up the subject of bugs.

It only states ...

" ... the bamboo stalks to be used in construction or furniture should be cut three or four days after a full moon. ... "

and ...

"... It is also recommended that they be cut in late afternoon, a few hours after the sun has crossed the zenith, when the sap has begun its return to the roots. ..."

I've never intentionally harvested 3-4 days after the full moon, though I can remember a time harvesting in late afternoon, and because the moon at dusk was high in the sky, it was quite late in the evening when I finally strapped the poles onto our truck and headed off down the road in the moonlit night.

Yes, when bamboos are swaying in a breeze, the culms caress each other, and they culmunicate. They are most audible in the night when daytime sounds have been put to rest.

I remember once visiting a wild grove at night, only to be startled by a cacophony of squawking chickens and other fowl roosting in the grove.

I was not welcome, and retreated in haste. :eek:

~ Mark

[CRTreeDude]

We have a combination plantations / reforestation project here in Costa Rica and I can tell you that the moon sign is an important thing. We only prune around the full moon (3 days each side), if not, it will cause a lot of unwanted vegetative growth. This is not superstition and all Forestry Engineer here concur.

Why I am not sure. Also, loggers will tell you if you cut on the full moon, you will have less problems with bugs. I have seen it this way. Again, I am not sure why.

Planting is done on the moon sign as well.

What I think you have going on down here is since the climate is pretty much the same year round, you have the option of when to plant, when to prune, when to harvest. Up north, you have to do it when you get the opportunity because a month is a long time in the growing season.

not sure it is helpful

[Mark Meckes]

This is an interesting observation of harvesting around the full moon phase, as opposed to harvesting at night during full moon phase ...
... I would consider it dangerous to harvest at night as even the full moon is not that bright while under the canopy of the towering bamboo.
Night harvesting would be a practice done more for surreptitious reasons. :eek:

[ShmuBamboo]

Amusing read. I was taught when I was kid how to plant and harvest by the moon from an old Italian emigrant. He said to plant only during a new moon, and harvest on a full moon. I can only guess that this goes back to the time of Babylonia and perhaps before that, to the time that agriculture was invented. I cannot say if it is really a significant aspect of planting or harvesting by the moon's phases, or not. I do plant my garlic here on the new moon of October though. Call me superstitious.

I serioulsy doubt that there is enough light from the moon to make any difference in photosynthsis. Any more than I can tan at night in a full moon. Last night we had a full lunar eclipse here. Looked cool. As for planting, I have read recently that there is research under way to see if there is any evidence that the practice of turning and rototilling soil at night will lessen the occurance of seed germination. Supposedly weed seeds that are exposed to sunlight, even momentarilly will be more likely to sprout than those that are not.

As for harvesting bamboo? I only pune out the dead culms and I use them for poles and supports. No bugs that I have noticed.

[CRTreeDude]

You couldn't pay me to harvest at night. We have 23 types of poisonous snakes, and some of the worst (like fer-de-lance) like around creeks and rivers. Coral snakes like in cane fields - I suspect they would like bamboo too.

Most poisonous snakes are more active at night.