毛竹 Moso

L’ultima settimana di Luglio 2014 abbiamo avuto

la visita del Prof. Tan, nostro consulente dalla Cina,

che ci ha lasciato questo breve estratto sulla

coltivazione del bambù gigante Moso.

Prof. Tan

About Moso

• Latin Name: Phyllostachys pubescens

• large-sized runner, family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, genus Phyllostachys

• fast growth, high productivity, good timber, multiple application, remarkable economic, ecological and social benefit

Rhizome monaxial, spreading horizontally; culm monopodial, straight,

drooping at top, 10 -18 m high, 28 m highest, diameter 8-15 cm, 20-22 cm

thickest; internode cylindrical,10-25 cm long, 45 cm longest; branching

high, usually starting above 2 m; two branches per node; leaf lanceolated,

5-10 cm long by 0.5 - 1.2 cm wide (leaves are bigger at seedling stage)

Shooting in March - May, winter shoot white-yellow or pale yellow,

spring shoot purple-brown or brown-green, with brown spots on

sheath.

Shoot productivity: 7.500 – 15.000 Kg/Ha

Flowering in April - May,

seeds mature in August - September,

caryopsis

Yunnan China

Zhejiang China

Sichuan China

Geographical distribution • Native to Zhaotong city, Yunnan China, 1333.3 ha primeval bamboo forest;

• Mainly distributed along middle and lower Yangtze river, taking up 80% of total moso plantation in the world;

• over 200 years of cultivation in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan

• now introduced to 22 provinces and cities in China

Brazil

Japan

Italy

•Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand,

Laos, Indonesia, Philippines,Israel

•America, Cananda, Mexico, Brazil,

Argentina

•Italy, Portugal, Germany, France,

Belgium

•Kenya, Ethiopia, Congo, South Africa

•Australia, New Zealand

Optimal climate and soil

Moso grows best in sub-tropical climate with four distinctive seasons,

annual average temperature 15-17 ℃, annual precipitation 1000 mm

above, with rainfall or/and snow in winter and spring

grows good at climate with annual average temperature 12-20 ℃, annual

precipitation 700 mm above (rainfall in shooting season shall be more

than 30mm), minimum temperature above -16 ℃, maximum temperature

below 45 ℃.

Moso prefers fertile and weakly acid soil, soil depth no less than

50 cm, soil organic matter content no less than 5%, PH value

5.0 - 7.0.

It grows OK when soil depth is no less than 30 cm, PH 4.0 - 7.5.

growth of moso

Life span of moso forest

•200 years above - intensive management

•60 years - extensive management, or no management

•40 ~ 50 years - over cutting, or flower caused by high temperature, cold,

drought etc.

•30 ~ 40 years - overdosage of phytohormone

growth of seedlings 1-year old seedlings usually 40 - 60 cm high, clumping, 5-10 culms per clump

2-year old seedlings in form of both clumping and running

3-year old seedlings in form of running

4-year old seedlings lose tillering ability at stump

growth of rhizome •rhizome runs to any direction where soil is loose and fertile, turns or jumps

out of ground when meeting hard soil or rock.

•rhizome grows annually 1~ 2 m long in nursery , 4 ~ 5 m long in loose soil

•rhizome bud starts to grow in April ~ May, reaches peak growth in July ~ Sept,

and ends in November.

•life span of a rhizome is around 10 years, 1~2 year old rhizome is strongest

at reproduction.

growth of shoot

lateral buds on rhizome expand in Sept ~ Nov, grow to underground winter

shoot in Dec ~ next Feb and shoot out of ground in Mar ~ May.

winter shoot sells good price, but low productivity

spring shoot is of high productivity, but low price

growth of young culm shoot grows slowly at the beginning but speed up gradually, reaching 100 -

150 cm growth per day, then slows down. Branches and leaves will start to

grow at later period. It takes around 30 days for young culm to reach full

height.

growth of mature culm When height growth of young culm finishes, height, diameter and volume of culm

will almost remain the same. branches and leaves continue to grow, dry matter in

culm wall increases and stay stable in year 4~6. Since the 8th year, culm

senesce and show negative growth.

life of a single culm

is 10 ~ 12 years.

High-Yield Cultivation technique

choose the right climate and soil

condition for moso

Italy has a territory of 301,000 square kilometer, of which 23% plain, 42%

mountainous, over 21% covered by forest.

highest elevation 4810 m, most area less than 100 m.

most area is in subtropical Mediterranean climate, 2-10 ℃ in January,

minimum temperature 0~15 ℃,average temperature in July 23~26

℃,maximum temperature 32~43 ℃.average precipitation 600~1100

mm.

based on data above, around 85% of area in Italy is applicable for

moso plantation.

To realize fast growth, high and stable productivity, shall choose land with soil

depth over 50 cm, ph value 5~7, lee sunny (at high elevation) or lee shady

side (in dry region) to grow bamboo.

soil preparation • Soil preparation starts 30 - 90 days ahead, so that soil can be exposed to sun

for months, which will enhance survival rate of plantation and enusre fast growth.

• land with slope < 15 degree, soil shall be cultivated fully by machine at 30 ~50 cm deep. Remove big stones and roots. Apply 30 ~ 45 MT animal manure per ha or 45 ~ 60 MT compost per ha.

land with slope 16 ~ 25 degree, soil shall be cultivated in strip (1~1.5 m wide) at

30 cm deep. Apply 15 ~ 20 MT animal manure per ha or 30 ~ 45 MT compost

per ha.

land with slope >26 degree, soil shall be cultivated in spot (60 cm x 60 cm x 40

cm) at 30~50 cm deep. Apply 10 kg animal manure per hole or 15 ~ 20 kg

compost per hole.

Planting density • 625 planting holes per hectare (4 m by 4 m) in area with high temperature

and humidity, deep and fertile soil

• 1111 planting holes per hectare ( 3 m by 3 m) in area with low temperature and humidity, thin and not so fertile soil.

planting technique

• topping off at 30~40 cm high for bare rooted seedlings, remove 90% branches and leaves

• topping of at 40~50 cm high for potted seedlings

acclimatation • seedlings in green house or shade house shall be acclimated for 15~30

days before moving to plantation site.

planting season • Planting shall not happen in March ~ May when shoots come out. The best

time for bare-rooted seedlings is rainy days before shooting starts. For potted seedlings, any time in rainy season is OK. better 2 more rainy months after plantation.

Planting method

bare-rooted seelings: plant obliquely,

15~30 degree to ground, 80% covered

by soil, roots 10~15 cm to surface.

Base fertilizer apply 100 grams granular NPK compound per

hole when planting as base fertilizer， mix

fertilizer with soil and cover around roots.

Potted seedlings: plant vertically,

remove pot, place seedling in the

middle of the planting hole, cover roots

with fertile soil, press tight; fill up hole

with soil and press tight again; put

another 3~5 cm loose soil at top,

roots 20 ~ 25 cm from surface.

Watering

no need of watering if planting in rainy day, otherwise water once after

planting.

Management of juvenile plantation

This refers to management in the first 4 ~ 6 years after plantation, when

culm reaches around 8 cm.

protecting plantation from damage

close up plantation away from human and livestock damage. Protect plantation from forest fire, disease etc.

Interplanting in the first two years after plantation,

dwarf crops like beans, penuts can be

planted inside bamboo groove. crops

stand around 1 m away from bamboo.

Crop stocks can be paved on ground to

keep moisture and humidity, and prevent

weeds, or buried inside soil as organic

fertilizer.

weeding weeding once in May ~ June when weeds grow to 10~20 cm high,

once in Sept ~ Oct before weeds set seeds.

Fertilization • 225 ~ 375 kg N fertilizer per

hectare before shooting;

• 225 ~ 375 kg NPK compound per hectare in June - July for rhizome growth

• 150 ~ 300 kg P.K fertilizer per hectare in Sept ~ Oct

• 150 ~ 300 kg farmyard manure per hectare in winter every two years.

Thinning • at the end of the third and fifth year after plantation, cut weak and small

culms. Keep culms evenly distributed.

topping off

• if heavy snow happens in winter,

remove top of moso at 70%

height so that culms will not be

damaged by snow.

management of mature plantation shooting period can be devided to early period, peak period and late period.

Shoots at early and peak period have rich nutrients and grow fast, except few

small and dense shoots shall be removed. shoots at late period are usually

weak due to decrease of nutrients, shall be mostly removed except those in

empty land.

Keep 800 ~ 1000 health and strong shoots per hectare each year.

cleaning forest land

Collect branches, leaves and leftovers after

cutting, chip them for fertilizer or industrial

processing.

weeding & fertilization

• weeding once a year in May ~ Sept when

weeds reach 20 - 30 cm high. fertilizing

once soon after weeding, once before

shooting.

• 3 ways of fertilization: broadcast or furrow

application or stump fertilization. Standing

density of 3 different fertilization is 26%,

40.4% and 47.9% respectively.

Stump fertilization • drill through old stumps from previous harvest, put 100 ~ 200 g N.P.K

compound (5:2:1) per stump, cover stump with soil.

• Stump fertilization has 3 advantages:

• 1- fertlizer is fully absorbed through

underground rhizome system without loss;

• 2- cause no influence on soil

• 3- speed up decay of old stump

loosening soil & removing old stumps

loosen soil once in winter every 2-3 years, 20 ~ 30 cm deep, remove old rhizomes and stumpes, add 30~45 MT oganic fertilizer per hectare.

Topping off

In area with heavy frost/snow in winter, top of culms shall be removed before

frost / snow comes.

Proper cutting

Harvest rule:

cut the old, keep the young; cut the small, keep the big; cut the weak, keep

the strong; cut the dense, keep the sparse; cut the inside, keep the outside

Cutting intensity

keep all 1 ~ 3 year old culms, cut 10 ~ 20 % of 4 ~ 5 year old culms, cut all 6

year old above culms. Cutting intensity 20~25%

Forest structure ideal structure: 3750 ~ 4500 1 ~ 5 years old standing culms per hectare.

Keep 750 ~ 1.000 culms per hectare per year. Diameter kept 10 ~ 15 cm.

Cutting Season best cutting season: winter (November ~ Feburary).

No cutting from March ~ July.

Cutting method selective cutting: cut all 6 years and above culms, some 4~5 years old culms;

strip cutting: cut all culms every 3~6 m wide stripe.

cutting height less than 5 cm above ground.

Application of moso totally 9 million ha bamboo forest in China, 6 million ha with artificial management. moso

forest takes up 70% of total, around 4.2 million ha.

Total output value of Chinese bamboo industry reached 180 billion RMB and moso

contributes 80%, around 140 billion.

Moso is widely used in construction, furniture, fuel, paper-making, packing, transportation,

medicine, food, textile, tourism, farming etc.

around 6000 moso products include but not limited to daily necessities, handicrafts,

plywood, paper, textile, charcoal, vinegar, shoot, drink, flavone etc.

Social benefit take moso sea in Sichuan as example, 3000 ha, 112 RMB per ticket, total income from

tourists per year is 1 billion RMB.

Moso sea in Yunnan province, 200 ha, planted in 2006, open to public in 2010. each

ticket sells 20 RMB. income from tourists reaches 10 million RMB. income from shoot,

timber and seedlings reach 6 million RMB.

Ecologic benefit studies show that bamboo forest releases O2 by 35% more than tree. One hectare of bamboo forest can absorb 12 MT CO2.

well-developed rhizome system can hold water and soil better than tree.

Bamboo construction

Bamboo furniture

Bamboo Plywood

Bamboo chips

Bamboo pulp and paper

竹纤维 bamboo textile

竹炭 Bamboo Charcoal

Handicrafts

Daily supplies

Electronics

Food

Drink