India's Mizoram State Prepares for Bamboo Bloom

Every 48 years in India's Mizoram state wild bamboo blooms in unison and after fruiting the plants die. In 1959, as in previous blooms, rats gorged on the abundant fruits and their population soared. After the supply of bamboo fruit was exhausted, the rats turned to the farmer�s crops. Famine followed. Authorities hope to be better prepared when the bloom comes again in 2007.

Mizoram's Chief Minister Zoramthanga hopes not only to prevent a catastrophe when the bloom comes, but also to harvest as much of the bamboo as possible before it dies and turn it into marketable products. He admits that at best they will take five percent of the bamboo before it blooms. Equipment has already been ordered to process the bamboo and there are plans to replace the wild bamboo with more economically viable cultivars.

But with the main bamboo bloom less than two years away, many in the area are still worried. Some think the government should focus more of its attention on programs to poison the rats if it wants to avoid another disaster.

Link: In India’s Mizoram, bamboo mean dreams, nightmares from Reuters Foundation via Planet Ark

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 4:43 PM on June 8, 2005