Morphological Analysis of Several Bamboo Species with Potential Structural Applications.

Bamboo constitutes a family of plants that are very promising and interesting as renewable materials for both large and small structure construction. To be used as an alternative to traditional materials; the understanding of its morphology and mechanical behavior is of crucial importance. As the distribution of fibers and vascular bundles differs for each type of bamboo; several bamboo types have been characterized: Phyllostachys aurea (PA), Arundinaria amabilis (AA) and Dendrocalamus strictus (DS). Morphological analysis has been performed by optical (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Differences in density; surface morphology and wall thickness have been found. In fact; PA and AA have shown a great morphological regularity; while DS presents the greatest thickness; to the point that it can be considered full culm. The plant's own ducts constitute a very important factor for future impregnations and the optimization of mechanical properties for structure construction.

Carbon material as a sustainable alternative towards boosting properties of urban soil and foster plant growth.

Addition of carbon-based byproducts in urban soil is gaining popularity as a plant growth stimulator, soil quality enhancer and fostering green land vegetation. A 60-day trial experiment was carried out for investigating the impacts of sugarcane, neem and bamboo mixed biochar and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) mixed plastic char (1:100, 2:100 and 4:100 char: soil ratio) on physico-chemical properties of soil and growth of Dendrocalamus strictus saplings. It was found that available phosphorus increased from 412.16 to 586.88 kg h-1 which could be attributed to reduced metal ion activity due to increase in the soil pH (7.75-7.81) and CEC (98.07-131.04 mEq 100 g-1). The application of both the char enhanced the quality of soil and thereby helped in achieving higher crop yields. Both biochar and plastic char increased the soil pH, total organic carbon, available phosphorus and nitrogen in the soil. Additionally, the results showed an entirely positive influence of the chars on plant height thereby making it more suitable for the improvement of agricultural system and reducing the dependency on market-based fertilizers.

A comparative study for removal of cadmium(II) ions using unmodified and NTA-modified Dendrocalamus strictus charcoal powder.

Release of cadmium, a non-essential and highly toxic heavy metal, into aquatic ecosystem through discharge of effluents from various industries such as electroplating, photographic, steel/iron production and tanneries, is of considerable environmental conern at global level. Hence, it is essential to develop economic methods to remove cadmium from industrial effluents before their discharge into water bodies. The aim of present study was to explore the efficiency of Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) for the surface modification of Dendrocalamus strictus charcoal powder (DCP) and application of both unmodified DCP and NTA modified DCP (NTA-MDCP) as adsorbents to remove cadmium (II) ions from aqueous solution. Isotherms, thermodynamic and kinetic studies were carried out to describe the adsorption behavior of both adsorbents for the removal of Cd(II) ions. Maximum adsorption capacity calculated from Langmuir isotherm was found to be higher for NTA-MDCP (166.66 mg/g) as compared to DCP (142.85 mg/g) which may be attributed to the complex formation (1:1 & 2:1) between NTA on the surface of adsorbent and Cd(II) ions in the solution at optimum conditions: pH = 6, temperature = 25 °C, adsorbent dose = 2 g/l and contact time = 2 h. Thermodynamic studies confirmed endothermic as well as spontaneous nature of adsorption process and kinetic investigation revealed that the adsorption process followed pseudo second-order for both DCP and NTA-MDCP. Physical characterization of both adsorbents before and after adsorption was studied using Scanning Electron Microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface analyzer, Energy Dispersion X-ray Spectrometer, CHNS analyzer and X-Ray diffractometer which confirmed the adsorption of cadmium(II) ions. Further, the desorption studies for regeneration of adsorbents were successfully carried out using two eluents viz., 1 M sulfuric acid and 0.5% calcium chloride. The present study revealed that NTA-MDCP could be used as an effective adsorbent for the removal of cadmium(II) ions from aqueous solution.

Micropropagation and assessment of genetic fidelity of Dendrocalamus strictus (Roxb.) nees using RAPD and ISSR markers.

Dendrocalamus strictus popularly known as 'Male bamboo' is a multipurpose bamboo which is extensively utilized in pharmaceutical, paper, agricultural and other industrial implements. In this study, in vitro regeneration of D. strictus through nodal culture has been attempted. Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with 4 mg/l BAP was found to be most effective in shoot regeneration with 3.68 ± 0.37 shoots per explant. The effect of Kn was found to be moderate. These hormones also had considerable effect on the shoot length. The highest shoot length after 6 weeks (3.11 ± 0.41 cm) was noted with 5 mg/l BAP followed by 3.07 ± 0.28 cm with 5 mg/l Kn, while decrease in the shoot length was noted with other treatments. The effect of IBA and NAA individually or in combination at different concentrations on rooting was evaluated. The highest number of root (1.36 ± 0.04) was regenerated on full-strength MS medium supplemented with 3 mg/l NAA, while maximum length of 1.64 ± 0.03 cm of roots was recorded with combination of 1 mg/l IBA and 3 mg/l NAA. Tissue-cultured plants thus obtained were successfully transferred to the soil. The clonal fidelity among the in vitro-regenerated plantlets was assessed by RAPD and ISSR markers. The ten RAPD decamers produced 58 amplicons, while nine ISSR primers generated a total of 66 bands. All the bands generated were monomorphic. These results confirmed the clonal fidelity of the tissue culture-raised D. strictus plantlets and corroborated the fact that nodal culture is perhaps the safest mode for multiplication of true to type plants.

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculations on seedling growth and biomass productivity of two bamboo species.

A study was conducted to identify suitable arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi for inoculation of Bambusa bambos and Dendrocalamus strictus at nursery stage for increasing growth and productivity. Twelve AM species, isolated from bamboo and other common trees of Bundelkhand were used for inoculations. In B. bambos, total dry weight and phosphorus (P) uptake were significantly increased by all studied fungi and shoot length was increased by eight AM inoculants. Maximum mycorrhizal dependency (MD) was recorded for Acaulospora scrobiculata (44.2%), followed by Glomus cerebriforme (41.6%) and G. intraradix (41.0%). In D. strictus, all tested AM inoculants significantly increased shoot length, dry shoot weight and P uptake, except Glomus 1. Dry root weight was significantly increased by only two inoculants namely, G. cerebriforme and G. etunicatum. Total dry weight was significantly increased by eight AM fungi. Maximum MD was recorded for G. cerebriforme (62.9%), followed by G. diaphanum (55.0%) and G. etunicatum (51.3%). Thus, the results showed that utilization of effective AM fungi can enhance the productivity of bamboo in the region.

Optimization of processing conditions for cyanide content reduction in fresh bamboo shoot during NaCl treatment by response surface methodology.

NaCl treatment was optimized for maximum reduction of cyanide content in raw bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus) shoot using response surface methodology with 4 independent variables like concentration of NaCl, thickness of bamboo shoot, amount of NaCl solution and duration of treatment at 3 levels of each variable. Box-Behnken design was used to select the levels of variables in experimental runs. Cyanide content ranged between 12.8 and 29.6 mg/kg in bamboo shoot after NaCl treatment. The effect of concentration of NaCl was higher in reducing the cyanide content followed by thickness of bamboo shoot and treatment time in decreasing order. Amount of NaCl solution did not affect the reduction of cyanide content significantly. Optimum condition was 2.4% NaCl concentration, 1.25 cm thickness of bamboo shoot, 216 ml of NaCl solution and 23 min treatment. Corresponding cyanide content was 11.2 mg/kg. Experimental verification at optimum condition gave average cyanide content of 11.3 mg/kg on fresh weight basis, which was in good agreement with predicted and was well below permissible limit (500 mg/kg). The reduction of cyanide content was of 98.3% at optimum level.