Ma bamboo shoots: market price, benefits and cultivation of the number one green health food

Ma bamboo shoots, also called sweet bamboo or big green bamboo. The ma bamboo shoots produced in Xiniu Town, Yingde City, Guangdong Province, are a rare edible bamboo shoot variety in China, long known as the “treasure of the Nanling Mountains” and praised at home and abroad as the “number one green health food”. So, what is the market price of ma bamboo shoots per jin? What benefits and effects do they have? How are they cultivated?

1. What is the market price of ma bamboo shoots per jin?

It is understood that the price of ma bamboo shoots on the market is about 1.6-5 yuan per jin. They can be served in cold salads, boiled or stewed, are high in fiber and have extremely wide uses.

2. What benefits and effects do they have?

Ma bamboo shoots are also rich in nutrients such as protein, eighteen amino acids, fat, sugars, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, and vitamins B1, B2 and C. They are sweet in taste and non-toxic, mainly relieving thirst, and have effects such as clearing heat and resolving phlegm, tonifying qi and harmonizing the stomach, promoting the flow of qi and urination, and soothing the diaphragm and refreshing the stomach; eating more helps digestion, relieves food stagnation and promotes longevity.

Besides the shoots, Xiniu ma bamboo leaves are also a product certified with a national geographical indication, and they are a traditional detoxifying medicine in Chinese medicine. Dietary Materia Medica records: it mainly treats cough and counterflow qi, thirst, phlegm-fluid retention and throat obstruction, and removes vexing heat. Modern medicine has found that it can prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, and also has anti-fatigue and immune-regulating effects comparable to pine pollen; blood lipid- and cholesterol-lowering effects similar to those of ginkgo; and antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects close to those of tea polyphenols.

3. How are they cultivated?

1. Soil conditions.

Red loam and yellow-red loam, with a soil layer deeper than 19cm, fertile soil, organic matter content greater than 2.77%, an acidic reaction, and a pH value of 5 to 6.5.

2. Cultivation techniques.

Seedling raising method: use vegetative propagation to raise seedlings.

Planting time: from February to April each year, on cloudy days or after rain before the buds on the culm base sprout.

Planting density: no more than 80 plants per 667 m2 (mu).

Cultivation management:

Fertilization: mainly apply organic fertilizer, 0.2 kg to 0.4 kg per plant.

Earthing up: pay attention to earthing up before the bamboo shoots emerge from the soil.

Retaining culms: in the first year, retain 2 strong shoots (early shoots) to grow into culms, and cut away the other weak shoots, so that 2 branch systems form; in the second year, retain 2 strong shoots from each of the 2 branch systems and remove the other weak shoots; follow this method until after the fourth year, when the first aged mother culms are cut down.