SITUATION AND PROSPECTS OF BAMBOO INDUSTRIES

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plant species is extremely. Traditionally the industrial use of bamboo has been in the paper and pulp industry. Application of modern technology and industrial processing has catapulted bamboo into a new global limelight. in the international market of bamboo is captured by china.  Bamboo has many advantages over trees such as short rotation maturity, ability to provide building materials as strong as teak pole and other economically important produces. No other woody components compares with versatility of bamboo use which outmatches most tree species and environmental conservation. Thus bamboo based agroforestry system can be beneficial to increase the bamboo cover outside the forest to achieve the global demand of bamboo in the present scenario.

Bamboo plants have some useful properties and having lot of beneficiary uses; these are using as pillar, fencing, housing, house hold products, raw materials of crafts, pulp, paper, boards, fabrics industry, fuel, fodder etc.

 

Introduction-

 

Bamboos are inseparable part of the culture of rural people due to its multifarious uses like food, fodder, fuel, fencing, pulp and paper, house construction, cottage industries etc. These multiple uses meet the basic needs of the villagers/farmers/rural poor. Bamboo is an enduring and versatile natural resource. The great diversity of species makes bamboo adaptable to many environments. Bamboo grows very fast and has a short growth cycle. Bamboo not only grows much faster than wood, it also needs relatively little water. Bamboo prevents soil erosion. Its anti erosion properties create an effective watershed, stitching the soil together along fragile river banks, deforested area, and in places prone to earthquake and mud slides.

Bamboo is a critical element of the economy. Bamboo and its related industries provide income, food, and housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide. There is a 3-5 year return on investment for a new bamboo plantation. It has been used in ancient medicine. Bamboo has for centuries chinese acupuncture. It is used internally to treat  asthma, cough and can be used an aphrodisiac. It grows on marginal and degraded land, elevated ground, along field bunds and river banks. it adapts to most climatic conditions and soil types, acting as a soil stabilizer, an ancient medicine, a food source, a critical element of the economy , integrally involved in culture and arts, an excellent alternative to wood and effective carbon sink and thus helping to counter the green house effect.

Bamboo has been an important part of the human history, leaving its impact across cultures from thousands of years. The Chinese consider it a symbol of fertility. All in all, this extremely tall grass has quite a cultural significance for many cultures all over the world. However, it is interesting to note that bamboo is no longer considered a poor man’s timber. While it was traditionally used as a low-cost material for house construction, tools, vegetable and ornamentation, it has now an established commercial value as a dependable substitute for timber while also being useful as an engineered product. Bamboo is also a source of bio-energy because it is a clean and renewable energy alternative. Commercially, bamboo can be used to make furniture as well as building and roofing materials. You can easily find fencing poles, floor tiles, walls and ceiling panels, scaffolding, frames for doors and windows as well as window blinds. Bamboo also serves the paper and pulp industry. It can be turned into toilet paper and also cardboard, helping conserve the world’s finite resource of trees. The textile, chemical and eatables industries convert bamboo into fabrics, biochemicals, wine, vinegar, and pharmaceuticals. Land availability is a big problem to the farmers especially for raising 1 or 2 hectare plantations. Bamboo plantation schemes may be formulated for small area and financial benefits may be provided to such small holding farmers based on number of  clumps planted. This is one of the most important reasons why bamboo has not come up to its potential. Since seed availability of good bamboo sp. are rare today, if a farmer wants to raise