The Hindu Business Line : Growmore develops high-yield bamboo

“Due to lack of availability of such superior clones of bamboo and assured buy-back arrangement coupled with lack of awareness of the yield potential and economics, bamboo cultivation is not popular among farmers,” the founder Director of Growmore, Dr N. Barathi, said.

Bamboo is cultivable and responds well to agriculture management practice, he said, but it is available mostly in the wild or grown without care.

National yield

The annual national average yield is as low as two tonnes for an acre, whereas the annual individual farm yield is little over eight tonnes.

under Precision farming

Under precision farming techniques, high-yielding clones of bamboo can yield over 40 tonnes of biomass annually either from the third or fifth year, depending on the planting density.

Under intensive cultivation (1,000 plants to an acre), the biomass yield starts from the third year at 30 tonnes for an acre and increases to 40 tonnes in the next year before stabilising at 50 from the fifth year.

under Regular density

Under regular density (200 plants/acre), the biomass harvest starts from the fifth year with a yield of 30 tonnes/acre, increases gradually to stabilise at 50 from the eighth year.

“A well-grown bamboo plantation would be able to seize around 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually in every acre (which is 60 CER for carbon trading),” Dr Barathi told Business Line.

Growmore’s biotechnology laboratory is capable of producing one lakh micro propagated saplings a week from its inventory of Beema Bamboo mother stock, he said, and shared details about the memorandum of agreement with Clenergen India Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clenergen Corporation.

MOU

“We have agreed to supply micro propagated (tissue culture) and nursery hardened planting materials of Beema Bamboo to meet the plantation requirements of Clenergen India to generate feedstock for its two upcoming biomass gasification power projects in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,” he said.

The agreement is also said to cover the proposed supplies of Beema Bamboo for the plantation requirements of Clenergen Corporation in Ghana.

Feedstock

Clenergen, according to Dr Barathi, is proposing to set up plantations to deliver feedstock for its proposed power stations in that region. (It is planning to install a 56-MW power plant under a public-private partnership agreement with the Ghana Government and a 16-MW-an-hour power plant for direct consumption by a major mining company).

newer varieties on cards

Growmore would develop newer varieties of Beema Bamboo under a comprehensive research and development agreement with Clenergen and such varieties would remain exclusive to Clenergen worldwide, the Growmore founder said.