Bamboo – the most Chinese of Plants
Agricultural crop
Due to its rapid growth and its wide range of applications, bamboo is an incredibly important crop in China.
Mao bamboo (毛竹), one of the widest spread varieties, grows up to 20 meters high in just a few months and delivers an enormously high yield. After already 4-6 years the harvest can begin. Classical forests, on the other hand, take decades, if not longer, to achieve a significant yield.
One hectare produces about 30 tons a year.
Bamboo thus offers the farmer twice the yield, while it only needs half the time to grow.
Over the years, the government has tried to grow bamboo in the more northern regions. Through many attempts, bamboo was finally cultivated up to 40-degree latitude, which is certainly not a small feat for a subtropical plant. Beijing, known for its cold winters, still has about 20 different bamboo species in its parks and the surrounding area.
Several institutes specifically for the cultivation and breeding of new, more robust and therefore versatile varieties are working on creating more modern types of bamboo with even higher yields.