Management and Research Perspectives for Staggered Flowering in Bamboo

Abstract

Out of the three types of bamboo flowering, gregarious flowering results in ecological disaster and enormous loss to bamboo resource. Based on observation and experience, certain indications to predict the occurrence of flowering has been put forward, however the timing mechanism and behavioural trigger for the flowering remains an unexplained biological mystery despite various genetic and ecological hypotheses. For indigenous people who depend on bamboo for their livelihood, bamboo flowering foretells days of hardship. It is, therefore, essential to explore the way-out and formulate appropriate strategies to stagger the gregarious flowering so as to prevent the enormous loss of bamboo resource all at once. Staggerness in bamboo flowering of a particular species can be achieved by indentifying cohorts having either similar flowering cycle but different temporal periods or having a different flowering cycle and raising plantations from seeds taken from different flowering cohorts. This would require precise assessment of bamboo resource, identification of flowering cohorts and proper management. Staggered bamboo flowering may offer several advantages from management point of view so as to combat its ailing effects.