Project Team
Oteng Amoako, A. & Essien, C.

Background
Bamboo is one of the oldest and most versatile building materials with many applications in the field of construction. Diminishing wood resources and restrictions imposed on felling in natural forests in the tropics have necessitated the need to identify a substitute material which is environmentally friendly, widely available and adaptable to varying climatic and edaphic conditions with properties superior to most juvenile fast growing woods. Bamboo emerged as the most suitable alternative.

Its acceptance as a suitable alternative to wood is however hindered by its liability to biological degradation of the construction components as well as the finished products. Bamboo culms do not produce any toxic substance during their lifetime hence the whole culm tissue can be destroyed by biological organisms leaving only the harder outer skin. Bamboo culms contain large amount of starch which determines mainly its susceptibility against borers and blue-stain fungi.

Objective
To evaluate variation in powder-post beetles’ susceptibility between the Bambusa vulgaris cv vitata (yellow) and Bambusa vulgaris (green)