Beema Bamboo
A tissue-culture clone of Bambusa balcooa sold by Growmore Biotech, Tamil Nadu, for dense biomass and energy plantations of about 2 x 2 m. Sterility, thornless growth and disease-free plantlets are the company's own statements.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Bamboo
- Type
- Tissue-culture clone of Bambusa balcooa
- Season
- All seasons
- Rotation age
- First cut year 4; heavy yield year 7–9
- Expected yield
- No independent yield figure; the company claims a heavy yield in years 7 to 9
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- The company says plantlets leave the lab disease-free; no independent check
- Release
- A proprietary tissue-culture clone of Growmore Biotech Ltd, Tamil Nadu — not an ICAR release
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Beema Bamboo (also spelled Bheema) is a clone of Bambusa balcooa that Growmore Biotech Ltd, Tamil Nadu, says it selected over more than fifteen years and multiplies by tissue culture. Every plant is a copy of one mother plant. The company says the clone is sterile and does not go through the flowering that kills a normal clump. We could not verify this, and KFRI gives a 35 to 45 year flowering cycle for the species. It is promoted for dense energy and biomass plantations of about 1,000 plants an acre (2,500 a hectare) under assured irrigation.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Beema only if you have drip or other assured irrigation and a written contract you have read. It is a proprietary tissue-culture clone of Bambusa balcooa from Growmore Biotech, sold for dense plantations of about 2 x 2 m, 2,500 plants a hectare, for biomass and energy. Sterility, disease-free plantlets and 15 years of selection are the company's statements. We found no independent trial. Choose plain Bambusa balcooa if you want a species KFRI describes openly and cheaper planting stock.
Sowing & cultivation
- SpacingAbout 2 × 2 m (roughly 1,000 plants/acre, 2,500/ha) in the high-density model it is sold for
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Uniform planting stock from a tissue-culture lab.
- The same species as Bambusa balcooa, whose culms KFRI describes as thick-walled and 12 to 22 m tall.
- Some contracts include a buy-back and biomass-market link, so read the terms.
Things to consider
- Plantlets cost more than offsets, and the dense model needs about 2,500 plants a hectare with assured irrigation.
- It is a proprietary clone of one company, not a public release, and its claims are the company's own.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Tamil Nadu
- Andhra Pradesh
- Karnataka
- Maharashtra
- Gujarat
2,500 plants against 400: the high-density sum
The Beema model is built on density. At about 2 x 2 m you plant roughly 2,500 plants a hectare (1,000 an acre). A normal balcooa planting at 5 x 5 m uses 400, so the dense model needs 6.25 times as many plants. KFRI notes that 2,500 plants a hectare is the density used for energy and biomass plantations, not for pole timber.
The sum is simple. Plant cost per hectare equals the price of one plantlet times 2,500. Add pits, compost, drip lines and labour on top. Then ask what the crop is worth. A biomass buyer pays by weight and a pole buyer pays by diameter, and a 2 x 2 m stand is designed for the first, not the second. If your buyer wants poles of a certain diameter, ask whether the dense stand produces them.
Dense clumps also run into KFRI's warning about congestion. Clumps need thinning so that light and water reach the culms. At 2 x 2 m the clumps meet early, so ask the company in writing how thinning and cutting are done, who does the work, and what it costs. Then put the full cost of 2,500 plantlets and the thinning labour next to the 400-clump alternative before you choose.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Bamboo variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Rotation age | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bambusa balcooa (Bhaluka) | Farmers with good soil and assured water who plant bamboo for strong poles, construction and industry | First cut year 4–5; full production year 7–8 | No yield figure published; thick-walled culms of 12 to 22 m (KFRI) | Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra |
| Bambusa bambos (Kanta bans) | Farmers on dry or poor land in the south and centre who want a very strong, tall pole and can handle a thorny clump | First cut year 4–5 | No yield figure published; strong culms of 20 to 30 m (KFRI) | Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha |
| Bambusa tulda (Jati bans) | Farmers in the humid North-East and East who sell to agarbatti, mat, basket and paper buyers | First cut year 4–5 | No yield figure published | Assam, Tripura, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland |
| Beema Bamboothis page | Farmers with assured irrigation who want uniform planting stock and will read a buy-back contract line by line | First cut year 4; heavy yield year 7–9 | No independent yield figure; the company claims a heavy yield in years 7 to 9 | Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat |
| Dendrocalamus asper (sweet bamboo) | Farmers near a shoot market who can give deep soil and water, and who plan the clump for shoots | Shoot harvest from year 3–4 | No yield figure published | Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram |
| Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (Kako bans) | Farmers in the hill states of the North-East and sub-Himalaya who want poles and edible shoots from one bamboo | First cut year 4–5 | No yield figure published | Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal, Nagaland |
| Dendrocalamus strictus (male bamboo) | Farmers on dry, poor, rainfed land in central and eastern India, and anyone stabilising degraded or sloping land | First cut year 5–6 (slower on dry land) | About 3.5 t culms/ha a year from 400 clumps/ha (PROSEA); varies widely | Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Bamboo is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Bamboo plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Bamboo variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Bamboo into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Bamboo rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Frequently asked questions
Is Beema bamboo really sterile, so it never flowers and dies?
That is the company's statement, and we could not verify it. Growmore Biotech says the clone is sterile because it has 70 chromosomes instead of the 72 of the regular species. We found no independent trial, seed-set record or flowering observation for it, and a Down to Earth article repeats the claim without data. KFRI lists a flowering cycle of 35 to 45 years for Bambusa balcooa. Ask Growmore Biotech for a written trial record, not a brochure, that shows plants of the clone in the field past a normal flowering age. Until you see one, treat sterility as a claim.
What does 2,500 plants a hectare cost against a normal planting?
At 2 x 2 m you plant 2,500 a hectare. A normal 5 x 5 m planting needs 400, so the dense model uses 6.25 times as many plants. KFRI notes that 2,500 plants a hectare is the density used for energy biomass. Ask for a written price a plant, multiply by 2,500, add pits, drip and labour, and compare that with the 400 clumps of plain balcooa before you sign.
When will I get the first income from Beema?
The company's own figures are a first cut in year 4 and a heavy yield in years 7 to 9. KFRI says commercial harvest is usually possible 4 to 6 years after planting, so the company's year 4 sits at the early end of that range. Do not plan your loan around year 4. Plan for year 6 and treat anything earlier as a bonus.
What should a Beema buy-back contract spell out?
Get the price basis (per tonne, per culm or per plant), the grade or diameter that is accepted, the years the buy-back runs, who pays for transport and cutting, and what happens if the buyer does not collect. Also ask what the company does if growth is below its figures. Some contracts include a biomass-market link and some do not, so read yours and keep a signed copy.
Sourced from: Bambusa balcooa — KFRI Bamboo Technical Support Group species database, Spacing between bamboo plants — KFRI Bamboo Technical Support Group, Harvesting and yield of bamboo — KFRI Bamboo Technical Support Group. editorial policy.