Factors affecting macropropagation of bamboo with special reference to culm cuttings: a review update

The gap between demand and supply of bamboo is increasing daily due to the destruction of natural bamboo resources. Therefore, there is a pressing need to find suitable methods for large-scale propagation of bamboo. Currently, bamboo is propagated mainly using vegetative means since seed supplies are often variable or limited. Current literature on available methods of bamboo propagation (seed and vegetative) were reviewed to establish the key limiting factors involved in the propagation of bamboo. The vegetative propagation of bamboo via culm cuttings was found to be the simplest and most cost-effective method developed over the last few decades. Additional work is required to increase the success rate of culm cuttings, and finding improved substrates for the propagules could be one area of investigation.