Biochemical Studies in Growing in Bamboo Dendrocalamus Strictus

Abstract

Bamboos, grasses characterized by their arboreal habit and high growth rates, are widely recognized as a versatile forest produce of domestic and commercial significance. Taken singularly, a given bamboo species is generally found to be suitable for a limited number of applications only and very few bamboos can indeed in themselves be qualified to be called multipurpose in usage. However, an excellent example of a multipurpose bamboo is Dendrocalamus strictus, and appropriately has been selected as one of the nineteen priority species of bamboo by the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan. D. strictus holds particular importance in India, where it is widespread in distribution. Although its commercial utility as the principal raw material for pulp in the Indian paper and rayon industry is substantial, its value cannot be dismissed for the various cottage industries it sustains. These cottage industries, in turn, newlineoften support the entire socioeconomic structure of many rural and tribal communities. newlineThis valuable forest resource has declined steeply over the years due to a combination of poor silvicultural and management practices, unregulated utilization, forest fires and poor regeneration after gregarious flowering. The constantly increasing demands on D. strictus for domestic and commercial usage calls for conservation efforts to be supplemented with measures for rapid regeneration of newlineviii newline newline degraded and less dense forests, as well as for management of existing resources and establishing new plantations from select or elite plants, so as to reduce the gap between demand and supply. newlineThe present study addresses some of the pressing problems being faced by bamboo forestry by focusing on these three aspects: newline.1 Methodologies for the rapid generation of healthy, uniform and robust saplings for the establishment of large-scale plantations by evaluation of in vitro multiplication methods. newline11. Understanding the growth and development patterns newline