Dendrocalamus strictus (male bamboo)
The most widespread bamboo in India, found across the dry states. KFRI's species database gives thick-walled culms of 6 to 15 m and 2.5 to 7.5 cm across, with uses from building and furniture to pulp, farm tools, musical instruments and river-bank reclamation.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Bamboo
- Type
- Vegetatively propagated species
- Season
- All seasons
- Rotation age
- First cut year 5–6 (slower on dry land)
- Expected yield
- About 3.5 t culms/ha a year from 400 clumps/ha (PROSEA); varies widely
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- No disease data published
- Release
- A native Indian species and the leading National Bamboo Mission species for dry-zone cultivation; no bred cultivar
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Dendrocalamus strictus, the male or solid bamboo, is widely distributed in India. KFRI lists it across 19 states and territories, including Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The culms are thick-walled, 6 to 15 m tall and 2.5 to 7.5 cm across, with internodes of 30 to 45 cm. KFRI lists building, furniture, pulp and paper, farm tools, musical instruments, edible shoots, medicinal use and reclamation of river banks as uses, and gives a flowering cycle of 25 to 45 years. Spacing is 5 x 5 m in the species database, 4 x 4 m for small-diameter bamboos and 3 x 4 m in the leaflet.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Dendrocalamus strictus for dry land, poor soil and slopes that need holding. KFRI's species database lists thick-walled culms of 6 to 15 m and 2.5 to 7.5 cm across, and building, furniture, pulp, farm tools, musical instruments, edible shoots and reclamation of river banks among the uses. It is widely distributed in India. Do not choose it when you have water and want the heaviest bulk, since the culms are thinner than balcooa's. We found no yield figure for it on dry land.
Sowing & cultivation
- SpacingKFRI: 5 × 5 m (species database, 400 clumps/ha), 4 × 4 m (small bamboos, 625) or 3 × 4 m (leaflet, 833). On dry rainfed land the wider 5 × 5 m works better
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Thick-walled culms with many uses, from building to pulp and farm tools (KFRI).
- Listed for reclamation of river banks, and for erosion control at 2 x 2 to 3 x 3 m spacing.
Things to consider
- The culms are thinner than Bambusa balcooa's, so there is less bulk where water is assured.
- We found no yield figure for dry land, so judge it on a nearby planting.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Madhya Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Maharashtra
- Odisha
- Jharkhand
- Rajasthan
A dry-land planting day, step by step
Dry land gives you one good chance a year, the early rains, so prepare before they come. Two weeks ahead, mark the rows north to south and dig the pits, 30 x 30 x 30 to 45 x 45 x 45 cm for seedlings and culm cuttings (60 x 60 x 60 to 100 x 100 x 100 cm if you plant rhizomes). KFRI says digging two weeks early lets the soil weather.
On planting day, mix about 5 kg of compost or manure with the topsoil. Remove the polybag, set the plant, and fill the pit with the topsoil mixture first and the bottom soil on top. Make a small trench around each pit so rain collects at the plant. Plant at 5 x 5 m on dry land, or at the spacing you chose from KFRI's range of 3 x 4, 4 x 4 or 5 x 5 m.
After planting, water through the first dry season, because KFRI says summer planting must be irrigated regularly. Replace casualties in the first year, weed around each plant, mulch, and loosen the soil within 1 m of the plant to a depth of 15 cm. Add compost or farmyard manure each year. Once the clump is established, thin it to reduce congestion, and begin cutting only mature culms of 3 years or more.
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) | 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)this page | 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
What spacing should I use for Dendrocalamus strictus?
KFRI gives several figures. The species database says 5 x 5 m, 400 clumps a hectare. The leaflet says 3 x 4 m, 833 clumps. The spacing page says 4 x 4 m for small-diameter bamboos, 625 clumps, and proposes 700 clumps a hectare for timber stands. PROSEA recommends 3 to 5 m each way, 400 to 1000 clumps, and estimates 3.5 t of culms a hectare a year from a 400-clump plantation, though it says Indian yields vary greatly. On dry rainfed land, 5 x 5 m is the safer choice, because each clump then has more soil to draw water from. Close spacing suits irrigated land, wide spacing suits dry land.
Can I grow it without any irrigation?
It is drought-hardy, and KFRI lists it across dry states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. KFRI also says that in summer a young planting must be irrigated regularly, and gives no minimum rainfall. So plant in the early rains, water the first dry season, and then let it rely on rain. Mulch the clump base and loosen the soil within 1 m, 15 cm deep.
How many culms must I leave standing after a cut?
KFRI says to retain at least 6 culms over one year old, spaced evenly through the clump. The number of culms you cut must not be more than the new poles that came up last year. Cut only mature culms of 3 years or more, never clear-fell, and cut between January and May. For structural uses KFRI gives 3 to 4 years as the best age.
How closely do I plant it to hold a slope or river bank?
KFRI lists reclamation of river banks among its uses, and its spacing page says 2 x 2 to 3 x 3 m is enough for soil erosion control, or 3 x 3 to 2.5 x 2.5 m for river banks and landslide protection. That is 2,500 clumps a hectare at 2 x 2 m and 1,111 at 3 x 3 m. For such sites it suggests mixing bamboo with fast-growing timber species, and these are not harvest plantings.
When will the clump flower and die?
KFRI gives a flowering cycle of 25 to 45 years. It records flowering in Uttar Pradesh in 1950 to 1956, Madhya Pradesh in 1961 to 1963, Odisha in 1967 and several years in Maharashtra, from 1940 to 1980. A clump planted in 2026 would flower between about 2051 and 2071. After flowering the clump dies, so plan to replant, and do not put all your land in one planting.
Sourced from: Dendrocalamus strictus — 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, Bamboo cultivation leaflet — KFRI BTSG, National Bamboo Mission, PROSEA Bamboos: Dendrocalamus strictus. editorial policy.