How to Grow Moso Bamboo Shoots for High Yield? A Detailed Guide to High-Yield Cultivation Techniques
Moso bamboo shoots are a new type of health food. Cellulose, the most abundant component in bamboo shoots, plays an important role in modern nutrition and health care. Regularly eating foods rich in cellulose can help prevent and treat diseases such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes, intestinal cancer and hemorrhoids. This is because cellulose in the intestines can reduce the body's absorption of fat, increase intestinal movement, and promote bowel movements.
Moso bamboo shoots are recognized as the best green natural food and are one of the traditional forest vegetables. They are listed as one of the "mountain delicacies" and the "first among vegetarian foods"; in Japan, Canada and South Korea, they are regarded as a vegetable that is "a must at every meal, a must every day." According to measurements, every 100 grams of bamboo shoots contains 3 grams of protein, 0.2 grams of fat, 0.4 grams of carbohydrates, and also contains vitamin B1, vitamin B2, phosphorus, iron, calcium and 18 amino acids, carotene and other components, making it an all-natural nutritious food.
In recent years, bamboo shoots have also been found to have various health functions such as weight loss, blood lipid reduction and anti-aging, making them a new type of health food. Cellulose, the most abundant component in bamboo shoots, plays an important role in modern nutrition and health care. Regularly eating foods rich in cellulose can help prevent and treat diseases such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes, intestinal cancer and hemorrhoids. This is because cellulose in the intestines can reduce the body's absorption of fat, increase intestinal movement, and promote bowel movements. Therefore, cellulose is also called the "seventh nutrient" by modern nutritionists.
High-Yield Cultivation Techniques for Moso Bamboo Shoots
Garden Plot Management
1. Clearing the plot: Remove bamboo stumps, old rhizomes, tree roots and stones from the bamboo forest. This can improve the absorption function of the rhizome roots, promote the growth of new rhizomes, increase the length and thickness of young and mature bamboo rhizomes, and enhance the shoot-producing capacity.
2. Soil improvement: When digging winter shoots, deep-turn the soil 40-50 cm, turn over and break up the soil clods, and at the same time apply barnyard manure, pond mud, garbage, etc. In summer, bury green grass and bamboo leaves while weeding to keep the soil loose and fertile.
Soil and Fertilizer Management
During their growth and development, bamboo plants need to continuously absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other mineral nutrients from the soil. Under normal circumstances, for every 1000 kg of bamboo shoots produced, 27 kg of nitrogen fertilizer, 12 kg of phosphorus fertilizer, 17 kg of potassium fertilizer and 21 kg of silicate are required. If yields are to be increased, the amount of fertilizer applied must be increased accordingly. In addition, fertilization should also be comprehensively considered according to the growth status of the bamboo, the characteristics of its fertilizer requirements, and the fertility of the forest land, in order to achieve the best results.
Nitrogen fertilizer mainly increases yield by promoting the individual development of bamboo shoots; phosphorus fertilizer can increase the shoot-producing rate or directly promote the formation of shoot buds to increase the number of shoots; potassium fertilizer helps nitrogen and phosphorus to fully exert their functions. Increasing nitrogen fertilizer can make bamboo shoots emerge earlier and extend the shoot period accordingly; increasing phosphorus fertilizer delays shoot emergence, and the shoot output is concentrated in the middle and late stages.
1. Calculation of fertilizer amount: Of the annual growth of moso bamboo, the above-ground part accounts for about 75% and the underground part about 25%. By referring to this ratio, the growth of the above-ground part can be used to estimate the output of the underground part, and then the annual fertilizer amount can be calculated. The ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can adopt a 5:4:3 model.
2. Fertilization timing: (1) Spring shoot-growth fertilizer: Apply mainly quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer in early spring during February. (2) Summer rhizome-development fertilizer: Apply in May after digging shoots, using both quick-acting and slow-release fertilizers to supplement the nutrients needed for the growth of summer and autumn rhizome shoots. (3) Autumn bud-development fertilizer: When shoot buds begin to differentiate in September-October, mainly apply phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers, spread the fertilizer on the forest land, and turn it into the soil when burying rhizomes, laying the foundation for more shoots. (4) Winter shoot-development fertilizer: Can be applied in November-December in conjunction with digging winter shoots, mainly using organic fertilizer supplemented by chemical fertilizer.
3. Fertilization methods: Chemical fertilizers are generally applied in furrows; organic fertilizers can be broadcast and then buried underground by turning the soil, or buried in opened furrows when the main purpose is producing summer and autumn rhizome shoots. Fertilization should generally be deep to avoid floating rhizomes.
4. Earthing up: Earthing up the bamboo forest is the key to promoting shoot production in all four seasons. Through earthing up, the soil becomes loose and deep, keeping the bamboo shoots fresh and tender, extending the time that moso shoots grow underground, and promoting the thick growth and tall growth of bamboo shoots. Earthing up can be carried out together with fertilization; especially when applying organic fertilizer, earthing up and covering can promote fertilizer decomposition and prevent fertilizer loss. The thickness of the earthing up should depend on the conditions of the forest land and the growth of the bamboo. Poor soil should be earthed thicker, while deep soil can be earthed thinner; bamboo forest land with strong growth vigor can be earthed thicker, while bamboo forest land with weak growth vigor should be gradually earthed thicker.
Rhizome Management
Bamboo rhizomes have an extremely strong apical dominance and generally can extend 2-3 m each year, with the longest reaching more than 7 m. If not properly handled, two situations will occur: first, the rhizomes grow vigorously, forming a large number of long rhizome segments, while the proportion of effective shoot-producing rhizomes is small; second, due to their tendency to seek fertilizer, the rhizomes are distributed in the surface soil and cannot penetrate deep into the soil. Therefore, appropriate rhizome cutting and burying should be carried out.
1. Rhizome cutting: The timing and intensity of rhizome cutting should be properly controlled.
(1) Timing of rhizome cutting: It should be determined according to the growth pattern of bamboo rhizomes. It is generally carried out from July to September, because after cutting at this time the rhizomes can still send out new growth.
(2) Length of rhizome cutting: The principle should be “cut strong rhizomes lightly, cut weak rhizomes heavily.” For bamboo forests with a high proportion of young and mature rhizome segments, cutting should be light (short), which can rapidly increase shoot-producing rhizome segments; for bamboo forests with a high proportion of old rhizome segments, new rhizomes should be cut heavily (long) to promote growth and regulate rhizome growth vigor; when the proportion of new and old rhizomes is moderate, thick and strong rhizomes should be cut lightly (short), while thin and weak rhizomes should be cut heavily (long). This is because thick and strong rhizomes have stronger growth vigor; if weak rhizomes are cut lightly, the new rhizomes will be too weak to form strong shoot-producing rhizomes.
2. Rhizome burying: Bamboo rhizomes floating on the surface are mainly caused by the fertilizer-seeking tendency of the rhizomes or poor management. This is especially true of jumping rhizomes (which often emerge above the ground for a stretch and then re-enter the soil). If these rhizomes are dug out, both ends of the rhizome will be affected: the upper end dies, and the lower end often exudes bleeding sap, affecting shoot production and the growth of mother bamboo. Therefore, rhizome burying must be carried out.
(1) Timing of rhizome burying: It is best carried out in several sessions from June to September. In this process, rhizome-nourishing measures should first be taken, and then rhizome cutting and shoot digging should follow. Plum-rain-season rhizomes are mainly nourished with digging as secondary, while dog-days rhizomes are mainly dug with burying as secondary. Rhizomes produced in June should be retained and nourished to become backbone rhizomes; rhizomes from July to September should be selectively buried and nourished; rhizomes after late October have stopped growing and no longer need burying.
For rhizome burying, select plump young rhizomes with light yellow tips, and 5-6 per mother bamboo is appropriate; burying too many will cause them to restrict each other, which is instead unfavorable.
(2) Rhizome burying method: First dig a trench 40 cm deep and 30-40 cm wide, place the rhizome in it with the tip pointing downward; if a one-year-old rhizome is found when digging the trench, the new rhizome should be placed below the old one so that it penetrates deep into the soil. After placing the rhizome, first cover with about 10 cm of soil and press firmly, apply an appropriate amount of fertilizer, then add more soil to fill level. Afterward, if any extending rhizome appears on the surface again, bury it promptly; usually a single rhizome needs to be buried more than 3 times.
Retaining Mother Bamboo
For moso bamboo forests producing shoots in all four seasons, the number of mother bamboo retained should gradually reach 180-200 plants per mu, that is, the annual number of new bamboo retained should be about 60 plants. The age structure should be adjusted so that 1-, 2- and 3-du bamboo are in a 1:1:1 ratio.
It is best to retain mother bamboo in the period after the peak shoot-emergence period. This is because at this time the impact on bamboo shoot yield is small and the quality of the mother bamboo is not affected. If too early, nutrients are consumed heavily, and the growth of new bamboo will inevitably suppress late-stage bamboo shoot growth; if too late, the quality of the mother bamboo is affected. Newly retained mother bamboo should have their tops hooked in the autumn of the same year, because intensively managed bamboo forest land is relatively loose and susceptible to wind and snow damage; hooking the tops can reduce and prevent lodging caused by wind and snow.
Scientific Shoot Digging
1. Techniques for digging winter shoots: There are three methods for digging winter shoots.
(1) Digging shoots by turning the entire soil: This method can be combined with winter loosening of the soil, with careful deep turning, and can be done in one digging.
(2) Digging shoots by turning soil along the rhizome: Select 3-4-year-old strong mother bamboo, choose shoot-bearing bamboo whose branches and leaves are dense and whose leaf color is dark green with several yellow leaves, dig shallowly nearby, and after finding a yellow or brown strong rhizome, follow the rhizome. Winter shoots can mostly be found where the rhizome extends downward; cut off the “screw” connecting the shoot and the rhizome, and the shoot can be taken out.
(3) Digging shoots by opening holes: Winter shoots are the predecessors of spring shoots. Digging out winter shoots can promote the growth of other shoot buds on the rhizome, but in bamboo mountains where winter shoots have been dug, the emergence period of spring shoots is delayed by more than 10 days. Most winter shoot digging is done in one go during the dormant period, but it is best to dig in 2 sessions: first in early winter, and again after entering the dormant period. In bamboo mountains used for shoots, winter shoots are usually all dug out to prompt other shoot buds to grow into spring shoots, hence the saying “dig out all winter shoots to promote spring shoots.” In off-year bamboo mountains, winter shoots are generally not dug or only few are dug.
2. Techniques for digging spring shoots: Spring shoots are divided into two types, tan shoots and mao shoots. Those whose tips have not yet emerged above the ground are called tan shoots, and those whose tips have already emerged above the ground are called mao shoots. Spring shoots should be dug in stages and batches according to how early or late they emerge. When digging spring shoots, special care must be taken to prevent cutting the bamboo rhizomes. After digging shoots, cover the soil promptly to avoid exposing the rhizomes.
3. Cultivation techniques and digging methods for summer and autumn shoots (rhizome shoots)
(1) Cultivation techniques for rhizome shoots: In May, open a horizontal fertilization trench every 4-5 m in the bamboo forest land, with a depth of 30-40 cm and a width of 60-80 cm. Remove old rhizomes and bamboo stumps from the trench, retain young and strong bamboo rhizomes in the trench, apply 1000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and 24 kg of chemical fertilizer per mu (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium ratio of 5:4:3), then cover with soil to fill the trench surface. This amount of fertilizer can significantly increase the yield of rhizome shoots.
(2) Timing and method of digging rhizome shoots: The length of the rhizome shoot digging period is closely related to the fertilization of the bamboo forest. Where the fertilization level is high, the shoot period starts earlier and ends later; where the fertilization level is low, the opposite is true.
Under normal circumstances, digging can begin when the rhizome tip extends obliquely upward, the surface soil cracks, and a few appear above the ground. In the two periods of June-July and October-November, dig shoots once every 7-10 days in the fertilization trenches. When digging, scrape away the surface soil and cut off the top rhizome tip; after digging, cover with soil and spread rice straw to keep the surface soil moist, promote rhizome branching and growth, and facilitate digging again.
In order not to affect rhizome growth, do not dig rhizome shoots from August to September. When digging rhizome shoots, follow the principle of “dig strong rhizomes lightly, dig weak rhizomes heavily.” This is because digging strong rhizomes lightly can retain more shoot-producing rhizome segments, while digging weak rhizomes heavily can promote vigorous rhizome growth.