Dendrocalamus asper (sweet bamboo)
A bamboo from South-East Asia grown in India mainly for thick, mild young shoots. KFRI lists culms of 15 to 20 m, about 12 cm across, and shoots, furniture and handicrafts as uses.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Bamboo
- Type
- Vegetatively propagated species (exotic)
- Season
- All seasons
- Rotation age
- Shoot harvest from year 3–4
- Expected yield
- No yield figure published
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No disease data published
- Release
- An exotic species recommended under the National Bamboo Mission; no bred cultivar
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Dendrocalamus asper is a large clumping bamboo from South-East Asia that is grown in India, mainly for its edible shoots. KFRI's species database lists culms of 15 to 20 m and about 12 cm across, with 7 x 7 m spacing and an altitude of 1000 to 1500 m, and gives edible shoots, furniture and handicrafts as uses. The thick, mild shoots are the type in demand for fresh, canned and pickle markets and can be cut from about the third or fourth year. KFRI says shoots are cut at 15 to 50 cm tall.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Dendrocalamus asper if you want to sell tender shoots, with the heavy culms as a second product. KFRI lists culms of 15 to 20 m, about 12 cm across, shoots, furniture and handicrafts as uses, and 7 x 7 m spacing. Its shoots are the premium type for the fresh, canned and pickle trade. Decide at the start whether the clump is for shoots or for poles, because every shoot you cut is a culm you lose. Do not choose it without a shoot buyer within reach.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Thick, mild shoots for the fresh, canned and pickle trade.
- Heavy culms also serve for furniture and handicrafts (KFRI).
Things to consider
- Cutting shoots takes away future culms, so a clump has to be managed for one main purpose.
- Shoots spoil fast. KFRI puts the edible stage at 0 to 30 days with over 90% water, so you need a buyer within reach.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
- Karnataka
- Maharashtra
- Assam
- Nagaland
- Mizoram
A shoot-cutting day: what to cut, what to leave, how fast to sell
Shoots are soft and perishable. KFRI's harvest table puts the edible stage at 0 to 30 days, with more than 90% water. That decides your day. Cut early in the morning, keep the shoots in shade, and sell the same day or the next. Plan the sale before you cut, not after.
Walk the clump first and mark what you will leave. KFRI says to keep the few strongest shoots to grow into new mother bamboos, and to take shoots from different parts of the clump rather than one side, so the clump does not become congested. Skip any shoot with signs of disease or deformity. Keep at least 6 culms over one year old standing.
Then cut. Clear the soil around the shoot, use a sharp, clean knife, and cut at 15 to 50 cm tall without hurting the mother rhizome. Trim, grade by size and tie. Dendrocalamus asper shoots are thick and mild, and they are the type in demand for fresh, canned and pickle markets. Write down the weight cut from each clump each week, so that in the second season you know which clumps can bear heavier cutting.
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 Bamboo | 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)this page | 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
How tall should the shoots be when I cut them?
KFRI says edible shoots are cut at 15 to 50 cm tall, and the best height varies with the species. Its harvest table lists the edible stage as 0 to 30 days, soft tissue with over 90% water. Clear the soil around the shoot, cut with a sharp, clean knife and take care not to damage the mother rhizome. Skip any shoot that looks diseased or deformed.
When can I start cutting shoots?
Sources differ. A Kerala Forest Research Institute finding, reported second-hand, puts the first shoots at about 2.5 years from seedlings and about 2 years from rooted node cuttings. PROSEA says full-size culms appear only 5 or 6 years after planting, and a culm matures in 3 to 4 years. A five-year-old clump near Bangalore gave an average of 16 shoots (Sowmya et al.). So keep the first cut small, and let the clump build culms before you cut hard.
What spacing and how many clumps a hectare?
KFRI's species database gives 7 x 7 m, which is 204 clumps a hectare. Its spacing page lists Dendrocalamus asper among the medium bamboos of 8 to 15 cm that suit 5 x 5 to 7 x 7 m, 400 to 204 clumps. An ICAR trial at Basar, Arunachal Pradesh (2002 to 2006) also found 7 x 7 m best for D. asper by culm productivity after 5 years, against 5 x 5 and 6 x 6 m. For a shoot crop that you will visit daily, the wider end gives room to walk and cut. Pits of 60 x 60 x 60 cm or more suit rhizomes, with about 5 kg of compost.
Can I sell both shoots and poles from the same clump?
Only if you protect the clump's structure. KFRI says to keep at least 6 culms over one year old, spread evenly, and never to cut more culms than the poles that came up last year. Cut shoots from different parts of the clump, not all from one side, and leave the best few to become new mother bamboos. Once those rules cost you shoots, pick one purpose for the clump.
Is Dendrocalamus asper native to India?
It is an exotic species from South-East Asia that India recommends for planting. KFRI lists its distribution as India, Bangladesh, China and Malaysia, and its remark is that it is cultivated in India. It gives an altitude of 1000 to 1500 m. Ask your nursery or the Bamboo Technical Support Group at KFRI whether it has done well near you before you plant a block.
Sourced from: Dendrocalamus asper — KFRI Bamboo Technical Support Group species database, Harvesting and yield of bamboo — KFRI Bamboo Technical Support Group, Spacing between bamboo plants — KFRI Bamboo Technical Support Group, Singh, Sarangi and Shukla, Effect of spacing on the early performance of selected bamboo species at a mid hill of Arunachal Pradesh, Indian Journal of Agroforestry 11(1), 2009, PROSEA Bamboos: Dendrocalamus asper. editorial policy.