With a global market valued at nearly $67 billion, bamboo may offer an alternative crop for some Florida growers reeling from a devastated citrus crop, says a University of Florida expert.
“Bamboo is a good alternative crop to diversify beyond citrus,” said Michael Rogers director of the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC), part of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). “The clumping bamboos grow well in Florida, can be grown on existing grove land and there is demand for the product.”
That’s why some Florida farmers are starting to grow the clumping bamboo, a plant with many uses. People eat bamboo shoots in Asian cuisine. They’re also used for furniture, construction material and textiles, among many things…