Mark Meckes
6th November 2001, 07:14 AM
Anyone who has annually maintained and harvested from a grove will have noticed a continuing cycle taking taking place, as the older culms are being replaced by new shoots.
Through these observations, it becomes possible to visualize, and anticipate what the harvest will be, years ahead.
But what is the age that a bamboo culm should be, at harvest time?
Recommendations can vary from 3 -7 years old, which also depends on it's intended use
I personally feel that culms that are 5+ years of age are stronger for structural uses and durability, though 3-4 year old culms are quite suitable for most applications.
I've also found many uses for 2 year old culms, though if a whole grove was harvested at this cycle (50% a year), the grove and culms would never grow to their optimum size. Each following year the culm diameters and height would become less. Anyone who has grown bamboo in subzero temperatures, where the culms are consistently killed back or defoliated, will have noticed that the bamboo certainly doesn't get as tall and large as it could in warmer climates. Excessive heat, annual drought combined with poor soil can also have the same affect on the size and lifespan of a culm.
At what age can the highest yield of the highest quality of culms be harvested without causing a reduction in the size of each culm and loss of health and vigour of the grove?
If one were to consider how much would be harvested over a persons lifetime of, let's just say, 70 years(**),the difference of the amount harvested would be substantial, when comparing a 3 year harvest cycle to a 7 year harvest cycle.
For example
- with a 3 year harvest cycle, the grove would have completely replenished it's culms 23+ times
- with a 7 year harvest cycle, the grove would have completely replenished it's culms 10 times.
** This is not accounting for a rest period if the bamboo was to go through a flowering phase.
Mark
Through these observations, it becomes possible to visualize, and anticipate what the harvest will be, years ahead.
But what is the age that a bamboo culm should be, at harvest time?
Recommendations can vary from 3 -7 years old, which also depends on it's intended use
I personally feel that culms that are 5+ years of age are stronger for structural uses and durability, though 3-4 year old culms are quite suitable for most applications.
I've also found many uses for 2 year old culms, though if a whole grove was harvested at this cycle (50% a year), the grove and culms would never grow to their optimum size. Each following year the culm diameters and height would become less. Anyone who has grown bamboo in subzero temperatures, where the culms are consistently killed back or defoliated, will have noticed that the bamboo certainly doesn't get as tall and large as it could in warmer climates. Excessive heat, annual drought combined with poor soil can also have the same affect on the size and lifespan of a culm.
At what age can the highest yield of the highest quality of culms be harvested without causing a reduction in the size of each culm and loss of health and vigour of the grove?
If one were to consider how much would be harvested over a persons lifetime of, let's just say, 70 years(**),the difference of the amount harvested would be substantial, when comparing a 3 year harvest cycle to a 7 year harvest cycle.
For example
- with a 3 year harvest cycle, the grove would have completely replenished it's culms 23+ times
- with a 7 year harvest cycle, the grove would have completely replenished it's culms 10 times.
** This is not accounting for a rest period if the bamboo was to go through a flowering phase.
Mark