Imbalance water-use in farming systems: the potential for bamboo

Currently there are few perennials that can maintian all-season water-use and provide ongoing economic benefit in dryland cropping systems. The effectiveness of lucerne in clayey soils and in high rainfall environments has been inconsistent, while the economic potential of native woody species is still uncertain. We suggest in this short discussion the need to explore the use of suitable bamboo species for their rapid growth rates and, hence, water requirement, as well as for their economic benefits. Furthermore, from their morphology we expect bamboos to have a greater capability to open-up dence subsoils to benefit other crops in rotations than the herbaceous species. Out limited undertsnading of the physiology of bamboos is recognised as a major knowledge-gap