State U’s best practices in propagation sets higher rooting success for bamboo

MAGALANG— Bamboo propagation on a massive and commercial scale is now possible with the discovery of best management practices in the propagation of bamboo shoots in the research done by the Pampanga Agricultural State University (PSAU).

PSAU president Honorio Soriano hails the management practices as the best ever happened in the bid to make bamboo a commercially viable industrial material and an alternative to commercial lumber.

Soriano points to the bamboo nursery that it had established through the help and support of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) as the facility that helped benchmark the best practices through series of experiments which approaches best suited to the propagation of bamboo shoots.

PCCARD funded the nursery with an aid of P5 million. The nursery housed the various varieties and samples of bamboo. Also part of the outputs of the project are the establishment of bamboo plantation and the Smarter Bamboo Nursery. The nursery, which was established in 2018, aims to increase bamboo production in Region 3.

Timing

Soriano said that timing is an essential aspect of the success of the propagation process. He said that the age of the bamboo cuttings, as well as the season from which the cuttings have been taken and would be planted, are all key areas to be considered in ensuring the success of the propagation.

Timing and the quality of bamboo shoots contribute to 85 percent survival rate which is a great improvement from the 50 percent in the previous propagation efforts.