Pulp?

[bwdial]

Is there a species of bamboo that is better suited for producing pulp for fabrics and/or paper?
My family is looking into getting into growing bamboo, rather than pine trees, commercially on property in Alabama.

[sasa fool]

Tough to beat Phyllostachys rubromarginata in your area, even the US govt a few decades ago field tested and recorded its superiority over Loblolly pine for pulp per acre.

[ShmuBamboo]

McClure writes about a lot of commercial types of bamboos used around the world for making pulp. His book, The Bamboos lists 7 types of bamboos used for timber production and pulp making in particular. None of the types are used in ornamental horticulture (at least that am aware of).

He also did a lot of studies in the south using a lot of bamboo types. Red margin came out a winner, as Sasa Fool said above.

[GNiessen]

Is it possible to use machines to do the harvesting? Or do you have to manually pick the culms? Just wondering how cost effective that would be compared harvesting trees that can be planted in rows.