Bitter bamboo shoots, grown on sunny slopes or plains, are mostly cultivated. They are distributed in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places. The flesh is white, tender and thick, rich in coarse fiber and essential amino acids for the human body. It has a sweet and bitter taste, refreshing and appetizing, and is nutritionally rich. It promotes the secretion of digestive glands, clears toxic substances from the intestines and stomach, and has medicinal value in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. It has gradually become a favorite dish among residents. Bamboo shoots are also popular in the market. The cultivation of bitter bamboo shoots is a short-term and fast project that requires little investment, brings wealth quickly, has a wide adaptability, and has good economic and social benefits.
Technical Cultivation of Bitter Bamboo Shoots
1. Selection of plantation site. Choose well-drained yellow or red soil with convenient transportation, deep soil layers, and sufficient sunlight.
2. Land preparation. For sites with a slope less than 15 degrees, comprehensive land preparation is adopted; for slopes between 15 and 30 degrees, strip land preparation is adopted; for slopes above 30 degrees, block land preparation is adopted.
3. Selection of mother bamboo. The mother bamboo should have a diameter of more than 1 centimeter, be 1-2 years old, have a whip length of 10-20 centimeters, and a removed whip length of 15-25 centimeters. When there are 3-5 plants in a cluster, 4-5 branches should be left, and when there are 3-5 clusters, 2-3 branches should be left. The plants should have intact root systems, no mechanical damage, and no quarantine diseases or pests.
4. Planting mother bamboo. The planting density of bitter bamboo is 80-100 plants per mu (0.07 hectares). The spacing is about 3 meters x 2.5 meters or 2.5 meters x 2.5 meters. The pit size is 40 centimeters long, 30 centimeters wide, and 30 centimeters deep. Planting should be done during the rainy season to Qingming Festival. Place the mother bamboo in the pit, backfill with topsoil, compact in layers, ensure that the whip roots are stretched, with a tighter bottom and looser top, and the depth of soil coverage should be 3-5 centimeters deeper than the original soil level of the mother bamboo. When the weather or soil is dry, water it properly before covering the soil. Planting bamboo should be done by digging deep holes, planting shallowly, compacting the bottom, and loosening the top.
Cultivation Management of Bitter Bamboo Shoots
1. Post-planting care. After planting, pay attention to regular inspections, water the plants during droughts and drain excess water during heavy rains, timely prevent and control diseases and pests, forbid trampling by humans and livestock, and strengthen the protection of the bamboo forest.
2. Weeding and loosening the soil. Weeding and loosening the soil should be done 3 times a year, with light soil loosening in February and deep soil loosening in June.
3. Proper fertilization. 3-6 months after planting, fertilization can be carried out. In the first year, apply 1000 kilograms of organic manure per mu in June, and 10 kilograms of special bamboo shoot compound fertilizer per mu in September, combined with deep soil incorporation. In the second year, apply 10 kilograms of special bamboo shoot compound fertilizer per mu in February, 1000 kilograms of organic manure per mu in June, and 20 kilograms of special bamboo shoot compound fertilizer per mu in September. In the third year, fertilization should be carried out according to the standard for mature forests.
Bamboo Shoot Cultivation Techniques
1. Weed control and soil loosening. After the bitter bamboo forest is closed, there are generally no weeds. If there are any, they must be removed. Soil loosening can be done in conjunction with fertilization, and it should be done twice a year.
2. Proper fertilization.
(1) Pre-shoot fertilizer in February: Apply 30 kilograms of special bamboo shoot compound fertilizer per mu, and apply it by trenching.
(2) Whip fertilizer in June: Apply 2000 kilograms of well-rotted organic manure per mu, combined with soil loosening and incorporation.
(3) Pregnancy shoot fertilizer in September: Apply 20 kilograms of special bamboo shoot compound fertilizer per mu or an equivalent amount of organic manure.
3. Properly preserve mother bamboo. The harvesting time of bitter bamboo shoots can be divided into early stage, peak stage, and late stage. Bitter bamboo shoots harvested in the early and late stages should be completely dug out for consumption. For bitter bamboo shoots harvested in the peak stage, mother bamboo should be selected and 400 healthy shoots per mu should be retained each year. When harvesting bamboo shoots, start digging at a height of 5-7 centimeters from the ground using a special bamboo shoot harvesting tool, without damaging the bamboo whip and shoots.
4. Proper felling. About 1200 mother bamboo should be evenly retained per mu in the bitter bamboo forest. The mother bamboo should be kept for 3 years, and all bamboo aged 4 years and above should be cut down. Old bamboo aged 4 years and above should be cut down every year after the "Cold Dew" period.
Techniques for Transforming Bitter Bamboo Shoot Forests into Multipurpose Forests
1. Selection of bamboo forests. Select wild bitter bamboo forests or low-yield old bamboo forests with convenient transportation, gentle slopes, deep and fertile soil, excellent bamboo species, and a certain scale of distribution for transformation.
2. Mountain clearing. Clear low-yield and old bitter bamboo forests, cut off branches, grass, thorns, vines, and old, damaged, diseased, and small bitter bamboo. Leave 1-2 healthy bitter bamboo plants per square meter.
3. Deep plowing and land reclamation. For slopes below 20 degrees, comprehensive deep plowing and land reclamation can be used. The reclamation should be carried out from October to February of the following year, with a depth of 30-40 centimeters, and the soil clods should be turned over without breaking them.
4. Additional soil and fertilizer. Apply 2000 kilograms of stable manure or 100 kilograms of cake fertilizer per mu in conjunction with deep plowing and land reclamation.
5. Three-dimensional intercropping. In bitter bamboo forests above 500 meters in altitude, 3-5 broad-leaved trees should be retained per mu during transformation to facilitate water and soil conservation and maintain the ecological balance of the bitter bamboo shoot forest ecosystem.
