ction. Yields for the first cutting were about twice as large as from the second cutting, Table 4. The bamboo was 14 to 19 years old at the first cutting, but the canes were only 5 years old when the second cutting was made. Yield per acre of growth is much in favor of the strip cutting.
Picture - Top, Bamboo cut in 10-foot strip; bottom, regrowth of strip year after cutting.
1All plantings were made in 1946.
Table 4. YIELDS OF DRY WOOD PER ACRE OF PHYLLOSTACHYS RUBROMARGINATA WHEN STRIPS 10 FEET WIDE WERE CUT AND RECUT AGAIN 5 YEARS LATER, AUBURN, ALABAMA Year When Cut Yield Per Acre Dry Wood (lb.) First cut Second cut First cut Second cut Total 1960 1965 120,382 41,536 161,918 1961 1966 116,311 37,278 153,589 1962 1967 119,271 89,848 209,119 1963 1968 82,950 58,721 141,671 Average . 109,729 56,846 166,575
It is not known what the maximum width of the cutting strip should be. Ten feet was used because it was known from past cutting that the bamboo would recover in at least a 10-foot strip. Young plants coming up in the cut strip appear to draw on the mother plants on each side for food, thus growing faster than when no mother plants are present.
It is not known whether there is any growth difference because of direction in which a strip is cut. Cutting east and west should allow more sunlight to reach young plants.
Experiments at Camden
PLANTING STOCK TEST. The 1960 planting at Camden included 100 acres of five species and two kinds of planting stock (plants and rhizomes). The area was river terrace soil and varied from clay to sandy loam in texture. Planting stock was supplied by the Plant Introduction Station at Savannah, Georgia. Grown, dug, and processed at the station, it was shipped by truck at various times to Camden. It was stored in moist sawdust and planted as soon as possible after arriving. It appeared to be good, live planting stock.
The planting was done in well prepared soil from January 21 to April 26. Planting was by hand at a depth of 4-5 inches spaced 16 feet in each direction. The plants were watered during the summer of 1960 as frequently as possible, but it was not possible to water as often as needed. Weeds were kept down by hand hoeing a few feet around each plant and middles were kept mowed.
Counts of surviving plants made in fall 1960, Table 5, show much better survival of plants than rhizomes for the three species where a comparison could be made.
1 Planted January 21 to April 26, 1960.
Table 5. PER CENT LIVE PLANTS OBTAINED WHEN PLANTS OR RHIZOMES WERE USED FOR PLANTING OF VARIOUS BAMBOO SPECIES AT CAMDEN, ALABAMA 1960. . Number planted Survival Species Plants Rhizomes Plants Rhizomes . Pct. Pct. P. bambusoides 2,184 312 38.6 3.0 P. nigra var. henon ----- 156 ----- 31.0 P. rubromarginata ----- 156 ----- 86.0 P. viridis 4,680 936 24.3 0.7 P. vivax 3,120 2,496 19.0 1.0
Phyllostachys rubromarginata and P. nigra var. Henon had much better survival from rhizomes than the other three varieties. It is not known if this is a species characteristic. In plantings made in subsequent years, P. rubromarginata has had a remarkable high percentage of survival.
Picture - Phyllostachys rubromarginata at Camden, Alabama 5 years after planting rhizomes.
YIELDS OF WOOD. Yields of wood of three species determined in 1966 and 1967 by cutting strips 10 feet wide across plantings made in 1959 and 1960 show a decided advantage for P. rubromarginata, Table 6. The weights are for stems and branches and are assumed to be the yields that would have been obtained if the bamboo had been cut for pulp.
1 Oven-dry basis of weight of stems and branches, leaves were removed. 2 One year--1966.
Table 6. BAMBOO YIELDS AT LOWER COASTAL PLAIN SUBSTATION, CAMDEN, ALABAMA. . 2-year average yield, 1966-67 Species and Planting Site Year Planted Poles 15 ft. or longer Dry Weight Dry Wood1 Per Acre, . No. Pct. Lb. Upland, Norfolk f.s.l. P. bambusoides 1959 6,516 52 31,645 River terrace, Wickham s.1. P. bambusoides 1959 7,938 52 47,305 P. rubromarginata 1960 24,410 57 73,788 P. viridis 1960 4,5502 632 21,6892
BAMBOO AND PINE COMPARISON. In