Bamboo Irrigation and Intercropping

We are planning to plant about an acre of Guadua bamboo seedlings on our land on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua . We will need to irrigate through the dry season for the first and possibly the second year. I am currently evaluating my options for irrigation and would appreciate any feedback.

The Bund and Trench method of planting would be the cheapest way to irrigate.

A drip system is fairly easy to set up, easy to operate and is the most water efficient.

Sprinklers would give me good coverage but cost a little more. They would also be as easy to operate as drip but require more water pressure.

I'm considering planting crops between the seedlings for the first couple of years and that would certainly affect my watering needs.

With our seedlings 5 to 7 meters apart how much space could I actually use for vegetables and how long before the bamboo would require that space?

Would the proper use of sprinklers for the first two dry seasons help my bamboo spread faster?

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

In terms of rainfall affecting the growth of Guadua Bamboo please see this article about the optimal climate conditions for bamboo farms under the chapter: precipitation.

Intercropping can easily be performed during the first 2-3 years of the newly planted bamboo plantation (at 5m x 7m spacing), of course each year you'll have less and less space. 5 years after planting the Guadua plants should have formed a dense plantation.

Growing Guadua Bamboo at Sea Level

I'm an extremely green bamboo enthusiast. My dream is as follows.... Buy a nice piece of land in Latin America, close enough to the ocean so that I can see the waves and surf everyday. Grow GUADUA BAMBOO so that I can slowly build my dream house on said land.

However my preliminary research (and this website) tells me Guadua angustifolia grows best between 900m and 1600m. Does this mean its a bad idea to grow it at sea level? For construction purposes? Hope not! Any help is highly valued...

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Comments

Stéphane Schröder wrote:

Altitude is directly related to temperature, and it is the average temperature that is the most important factor in regards to growing Guadua angustifolia plants.

Growing Guadua bamboo at sea level may very well result in faster growing culms (compared to higher altitude / lower temperatures). Culms may be a little smaller in size and fibers may be a little less strong but not to the extend that they cannot be used for construction. So, in conclusion, YES you can certainly grow Guadua angustifolia at sea level in Central America.

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Terrence Lalla wrote:

I am interested in finding out whether Guadua angustifolia will grow in Trinidad and Tobago. If so how can I start a plantation of about 10 acres?

How Much Water is Needed to Grow Bamboo?

I live in Hawaii on one of the drier islands and wondered what amount of water would be needed per acre to grow Guadua bamboo and typically speaking other species such as Gigantochloa atter, Phyllostachys pubescens, Dendrocalamus asper, Dendrocalamus giganteus and Bambusa oldhamii?

We are planning to start a bamboo plantation and would appreciate any helpful advise, comments, and or information offered. Our project total space is 100 acres. For example, how much water would be needed to irrigate 1 acre of Bambusa oldhamii planted at 12'x12' spacing or 302 plants per acre per year?

Comments

Stéphane Schröder

Guadua bamboo requires an annual precipitation of about 2000-2500 mm. I do not have exact precipitation values for the other species mentioned as we do not grow them on a commercial level. As a general rule though, the most important fact about watering bamboo is not so much the volume but that it happens frequently throughout the year because unlike regular trees, bamboo doesn't like a marked dry season.