Integial Reseaich Pioject Pioposal:

Bamboo - Nelia Bubia

March-2011
Cb[ecLlve:
SLudy and measure Lhe developmenL of 8eema 8amboo and Mella uubla ln Aurovllle under
dlfferenL growlng condlLlons. 1hls pro[ecL ls dlvlded lnLo whaL follows:
ro[ecL uescrlpLlon: 4 acre Lrlal ploL wlLh 1 acre of Mella uubla and 3 ploLs of 1 acre wlLh
dlfferenL growlng condlLlons of 8eema bamboo.
SLakeholders:
PRU)ECT PARTICIPANTS
LUCATIUN Auio-0ichaiu
PRU)ECT MANACER Auioseivice, Auioville
SITE MANACER Cerard, Auro-Crchard
ADVISURS
ur. 8A8A1Pl - Crowmore 8loLech, Posur, 1amll nadu
ur. CAnAA1P? A8uMuCAM - L81l - 8m28p, ColmbaLore
FIELD CUNSULTANT Mr. MAPAuLvAn 8eLd. - ulrecLor of AgrlculLure, ondlcherry
PRU)ECT CUURDINATURS
Cerard, Auro-Crchard
ashl kapur, Auroservlce
Chandresh aLel, SaraCon
1
1A8LL CI CCN1LN1S:
lnLroducLlon on 8eema 8amboo and Mella uubla ................................................................................ 3
LxperlmenLal roLocol ........................................................................................................................... 3
racLlcal lmplemenLaLlon and lnvesLmenLs ........................................................................................... 7
2
Introduction on Beema Bamboo and Melia Dubia
Beema Bamboo
8eema 8amboo ls hlgh yleldlng bamboo specle whlch has been speclflcally chosen and speclflcally
bred Lo achleve maxlmum yleld by ur 8araLhl. ur 8araLhl ls dlrecLor of Crowmore bloLech, a
successful company speclallsed ln Llssue culLure based ln Posur, Moreover, Lhls bamboo ls a naLlve
lndlan specle whlch has been proven Lo grow well under our local condlLlons and whlch possesses
many asseLs:
1 lL has very good yleld (abouL 4-3 Llmes more producLlon per
acre Lhan any oLher naLurally avallable blomass).
1 lL has a hlgh blomass conLenL, (Lhe hole ln Lhe mlddle ls
smaller Lhan wlLh oLher specles of bamboo) as well as a good
pulp and a hlgh calorlflc value (4000 kcal/kg).
1 lL Lherefore acLs as a carbon slnk as lL can absorb CC
2
3 Lo 4
Llmes more Lhan Lrees
1 lL has no Lhorns, maklng lL easy Lo culLlvaLe and harvesL.
1 lL has Lhe ablllLy Lo grow ln calclne soll and any poor soll by
proper use of fleld managemenL pracLlces or preclslon farmlng.
Such usage of fallow land as opposed Lo agrlculLural land
ensures LhaL food chaln ls noL dlsLurbed.
1 lL does noL flower, and Lhus does noL need replanLlng for abouL 100 years.
1 And as any bamboo, lL has always Lhe same slze, whlch ls convenlenL Lo LransporL and posL-
process, whlchever end use ls consldered.
As a resulL, lL has a very good cosL Lo beneflL raLlo compared Lo any oLher known specles of bamboo.
1he posslble end uses are manlfold and can range from a sLralghL economlc supporL for Lhe farms by
selllng Lo Lhe local markeL (blomass as an energy source, crafLs, pulp producLlon) Lo a clean way of
produclng elecLrlclLy for Aurovllle Lhrough Lhe gaslflcaLlon process, noL Lo forgeL all Lhe crafLs LhaL
can be derlved from bamboo wlLh hlgh added value. ln Lhls pro[ecL, we wlll only conslder selllng Lhls
8amboo Lo surroundlng lndusLrles needlng pulp and/or blomass lnpuLs.
3
Melia Dubia
1he advanLages of Lhls Lree are:
Crows ln boLh Lroplcal and subLroplcal zones
uroughL LoleranL
SulLable for even marglnal lands
fasL growlng
Plgh headed Lree, hence allows lnLercropplng
amenable for hlgh denslLy planLlng
easy Lo propagaLe boLh vegeLaLlvely as well as Lhrough seed
proLocol for Llssue culLure already developed
8esponslve Lo bloferLlllzers
1echnology avallable for boosLlng growLh and lncreaslng yleld
can be harvesLed afLer Lwo years
amenable Lo copplclng Lhereby obvlaLlng Lhe need for replanLlng afLer every harvesL
free from serlous pesLs and dlseases
1hln bark
hlgh calorlflc value of Llmber (> 3000 kcal/kg)
1hls Lree has sllghLly dlfferenL characLerlsLlcs compared wlLh 8eema 8amboo as lL can be harvesLed
from Lhe 2
nd
year only, wlLh a very good yleld, whlch helps achlevlng a fasLer reLurn on lnvesLmenL
compared wlLh 8eema 8amboo. Powever, Lhe yleld from year 3 onwards ls lower Lhan Lhe one wlLh
8eema 8amboo and Mella uubla needs replanLlng every 10 years.
All ln all, Mella uubla represenLs anoLher good energy crop and allows more blodlverslLy Lhan 8eema
bamboo alone.
4
Experimental Protocol
So as Lo achleve a sclenLlflc sLudy of Lhe growLh of 8eema 8amboo and Mella uubla under Lhe
lnLegral scheme lnvesLlgaLed, Lhe followlng proLocol has been seL up:
Cn Lhe 4 acres avallable for Lhe pro[ecL, we are plannlng Lo dlvlde lL lnLo 4 ploLs of 1 acre each as
follows:
A - 1 Acre
8eema 8amboo - 1000 planLs
Plgh denslLy: 8lo- lerLlllzers
SLandard lrrlgaLlon
8 - 1 Acre
8eema 8amboo - 400 planLs
Low denslLy 8lo-lerLlllzer wlLh
conLrolled lrrlgaLlon
C - 1 Acre
8eema 8amboo - 400 planLs
Low uenslLy
8lo-ferLlllzer (malnly 8aln-fed)
D - 1 Acre
Mella uubla - 1800 planLs
8lo-ferLlllzer wlLh SLandard drlp
lrrlgaLlon
lor each ploL lL ls planned Lo make use of drlp lrrlgaLlon so as Lo achleve maxlmum waLer efflclency
excepL ploL C. Moreover, so as Lo monlLor exacLly Lhe waLer lnpuLs, Lhree parallel drlp lrrlgaLlon
sysLems wlll be seL up, each one wlLh a dedlcaLed meLer. 1he waLer lnpuLs wlll be done accordlng Lo
pracLlcal humldlLy measuremenLs and advlsed by our appolnLed consulLanLs, ur 8araLhl, ur
Arumugam and Mr Mahadevan. 1he alm of such way of lrrlgaLlon ls Lo achleve Lhe mlnlmlzaLlon of
waLer use under our speclflc condlLlons.
1he Advlsors, boLh for 8amboo & Mella uubla, have offered followlng free of charge servlces:
1. Soll sampllng and soll analysls
2. SelecLlon and screenlng of sulLable mlcro organlsms soll and crop based for Lhe mass
producLlon of 8loferLlllzers and 8loconLrol agenLs
3. lleld deslgn and oLher acLlvlLles
4. LxecuLlon of planLaLlon
3. lannlng for Lralnlng and prunlng
6. MonlLorlng pesL and dlseases
7. CollecLlon of 8lomeLrlc observaLlon on experlmenLal farm
3
8. Analysls of growLh parameLers
9. SelecLlon of a sulLable varleLy from Lhe mass planLaLlon selecLed from dlfferenL provenance
for fuLure mass producLlon
10. Analysls of calorlflc value aL dlfferenL sLages
11. Wood analysls and analysls of Cll from Lhe samples
12. Copplclng ablllLy and no of copplces
13. Copplclng roLaLlon
14. ?leld and 8lomass analysls
llnally, all Lhe lnpuLs of ferLlllzers and Lhe growLh raLe of Lhe bamboo wlll be regularly recorded
lnslde a logbook.
AfLer Lhls plloL phase, and ln Lhe case of Lhe expanslon of Lhe pro[ecL, any needful emplrlcal flgures
wlll Lherefore be avallable.
6
Practical implementation and investments
Beema Bamboo plantation and cultivation
8eema 8amboo can grow on any Lype of land by maklng good use of preclslon farmlng. Lven Lhe
mosL calclne land can be Lurned lnLo a good supporL Lo grow Lhls bamboo. 1he meLhodology ls Lhe
followlng (All Lhe plcLures come from a farm called vAMSl CA8uLnS whlch ls locaLed abouL 30km
souLh of ondlcherry and whlch has been successfully growlng 8eema 8amboo slnce 2008):
lor each planL, a plL of 2*2*2 feeL ls dug and subsequenLly fllled wlLh approprlaLe
manure/composL/ferLlllzers. 1hls wlll Lhen serve as a cradle Lo ensure Lhe growLh of Lhe bamboo
seedllng. LaLer Lhe naLural mulchlng provlded by Lhe bamboo leaves wlll greaLly help Lo enhance Lhe
soll and prevenL evaporaLlon.
1hen Lhe acLual planLaLlon sLep happens ln parallel wlLh Lhe lnsLallaLlon of Lhe drlp lrrlgaLlon sysLem
wlLh one drlpper aL each planL rooL.
7
Cnce Lhe planLlng has been done and Lhrough Lhe use of ferLlgaLlon, Lhe amounL of work ls mlnlmal
and malnly conslsLs ln monlLorlng Lhe waLer and ferLlllzer lnpuLs. Some planL replacemenL due Lo
seedllng morLallLy ln Lhe flrsL year has Lo be done durlng Lhe second year only (abouL 10 of Lhe
LoLal number of planLs). 1hen some weedlng has also Lo be done yearly. 1o sum up, Lhe malnLenance
afLer Lhe second year does noL represenL much work or aLLenLlon.
8
Lpllogue for vAMSl CA8uLnS:
9
Pro|ect A - 4 acres plot
Key Assumptions
1he assumpLlons for our sLudy are largely sourced from ur 8araLhl. We have Lhen verlfled Lhem
for Lhelr relevance ln Aurovllle. lL appears LhaL all Lhe flgures were approprlaLe wlLh Lhe
excepLlon of labour cosL whlch has been ralsed from 8s.70/man-day Lo 8s.230/man-day. A more
deLalled seL of esLlmaLes ls avallable ln spreadsheeLs. Some of Lhe key esLlmaLes and concluslons
are as follows:
roduct|on Lst|mates |ot A |ot 8 |ot C
CulLlvaLlon Area (acre) 1 1 1
no. of lanLs (per acre) 1000 400 400
loughlng CosL per acre (Cnly ?ear 1) 3,000 3,000 3,000
Weed 8emoval per acre (?ear 2 onwards 1,300 1,300 1,300
Manure requlred (cfL/planL/year) 2 2 2
CosL of Manure (8s/cfL) 3 3 3
lerLlllzer requlred (kg/planL/year) 1.3 2.3 2
CosL of lerLlllzer (8s / kg) 3 3 3
lanL roLecLlon (8s/ac) 1000 1000 1000
1C lanLleL prlce (8s/seedllng) 23 23 23
1ransporLaLlon cosL (8s/seedllng) 2 2 2
lrrlgaLlon SysLem 18,000 13,000 -
lrrlgaLlon malnLenance cosL per year 300 300 -
larm ManagemenL cosL per ?ear 2300 2300 2300
Labour wages (8s/manday) 230 230 230
ConsulLancy CosL per year 3000 3000 3000
ConLlngency Lxpenses 3 3 3
lor ploL u, we are uslng Lhe flgures glven by our advlsor, ur. CanapaLhy Arumugam (LbLl -
8m28p) who have been successfully grown Mella uubla near ColmbaLore durlng Lhe lasL Lwo
years. lor a relaLlvely hlgh-denslLy planLaLlon and blo-ferLlllzers, we can expecL Lhe followlng
expenses

|antat|on
hase
ear 3 ear 4 ear S - 10
CosL LsLlmaLes for loL u 8s.169,373 8s.38,186 8s.40,022 8s.43,363
lrrlgaLlon LqulpmenL 8s.23,000
Selllng rlce /1on 8s.1,800 8s.1,800 8s.1,800 8s.1,800