Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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Bamboos are the tallest grasses of the world. They are also among world's fastest growing
species. The stems are known as culms, and the bush to which the culms are confined in a
unit, is known as 'clump'(buda or madhi in Oriya). The culms can grow @7.5 cm per day
(CSIR 1988, The Wealth of India,Vol.2, p.11). Flowering is seen usually once in a lifetime,
and after flowering, the bamboos gradually die having reached an over-matured
stage(except in few cases).
The strength of culms increases from about 6 months and reaches the maximum in 3-4
years. Tensile- and crushing strength, as well as hardness is more in the outer layer of
culms than in the inner layers. Fungal and insect attacks deteriorate the strength.
Varieties:
Out of approx. 1250 species of bamboo found in the world, about 130 are found in
India(Mohanty T.L. 2004, Sundarakani Baunsha Chasha, The Sambad, 21-8-04). In
Orissa, the number of bamboo species is however limited to 6 or 7 among which only 3 or
4 are common.
Dendrocalamus strictus (salia or salimbo) and Bambusa arundinacea/bambos (kanta, daba
or balia ) are found wild as well as cultivated in Orissa. B.nutans(sundarkani),
B.vulgaris(badi baunsha or golden bamboo) and B.tulda(delingi, balangi or
Cephalostachyun pergracile)) are less common in the state but are mostly encountered in
the village areas. The introduced species are Bambusa balcoa, B.gigantius and
B.longispathus(Mohanty D. 2003, Policy and Operational issues in Bamboo Sector in
Orissa, paper presented in a workshop at Bhubaneswar in April 2004).
Salia is otherwise known the Male Bamboo, and is hardiest of all Indian bamboos. It can
grow almost on all types of soil provided the latter is well-drained. On dry, poor quality
soil the culms are solid whereas on fertile and moist soils they are rather hollow. The
height varies from 20 ft. to 50 ft.; and diametre, from 1 to 3 inches(CSIR 2003 reprint, The
Wealth of India, Vol.III, p.33). This species is also known as the Hill Bamboo since it is
often found on hill slopes.
Daba, otherwise known as the Female Bamboo, rather prefers moist and rich soil(hence, it
is more abundant on stream banks or nalla sides); but as an exception it has been found in
abundance on hills along the Khurdha-Barbara belt. Culms may be 20 to 30 metre in
length, and 15-17 cm in diametre(CSIR 1988, The Wealth of India,Vol.2, p.33). Thorns
make the clump virtually impenetrable.
Sundarkani is much preferred by growers because it has longest and wider culms. It may be
noted that B. nutans is scarcely distinguishable from B.tulda (Saxena H. and Brahmam. M.
1996, The Flora of Orissa, Vol.IV, p.2267).
The artisans of Belabani(Nayagarh district) distinguish the following varieties of bamboo
with regard to their professional need:
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