The bamboo seeds (below) trigger an exponential growth in the rat population

Flowering trees don’t always signal prosperity. At least not in Mizoram. For the blossoming bamboo — the most prominent plant there — is a source of untold misery for the people, leading to famine, starvation, destruction and death.

Bamboo forests cover nearly 30 per cent of the state’s geographical area. Around 23 species of the plant grow in the Mizo hills but it is Melocanna baccifera — locally called Mautak — that bears the blooms of destruction. The ecological phenomenon, called Mautam, occurs once in every 48-50 years and is nothing short of a mystery.

Mautak constitutes nearly 95 per cent of the total bamboo growth, some of the other varieties being Bambusa tulda (Rawthing), Bambusa khasiana (Rawte), Dendrocalamus longispathus (Rawnal) and Dinochloa compactiflora (Sairil). Gregarious or synchronous flowering occurs when large clumps bloom simultaneously. Rodents eat the bamboo seeds and this triggers an exponential growth in their numbers. Subsequently, they feed on agricultural crops and almost everything else — from rugs to plastic ware, leading to an acute shortage of food. Mautak is recorded to have flowered in 1815, 1863, 1911 and 1959. Another cycle is currently on.

The sheer abundance of the bamboo seeds literally drives the rats crazy. “A single clump may produce around 100kg of seeds over a few months and there are usually 100 clumps per hectare in the wild,” says Dr Malay Das, research associate, National Research Council, Corvallis, the US. Although the exact nature of the protein/growth hormone is not known, the nutrient quality of the seeds is higher than that of rice or wheat, he adds.

Plans were drawn up by the state government and other agencies to fight the adversity. But Nature always seems to have the last laugh. Humans and rats are fighting over what little there is. The international anti-poverty agency ActionAid reports that remote communities that survive on slash and burn agriculture have seen entire fields of rice, maize and vegetables vanish overnight. “Mizoram is on the brink of famine,” says Mrinal Gohain, regional manager, northeast, ActionAid.

In fact, the situation was so bad in 1959 — when Mizoram was still a district of Assam — and government efforts to provide relief so insufficient that it led to events that toppled the powers that be. Pu Laldenga was then leader of a welfare organisation called the Mizo National Famine Front. A fiery orator, Laldenga cashed in on the prevailing discontent, leading to an insurgency that finally ended in securing statehood for Mizoram.

But in the current scenario, the worst is yet to come. “The onslaught has left farmers without seeds to plant the next season’s crop. This will compound and prolong the food shortage,” says Gohain. “Close to 200 families in three villages we visited are now down to one meal a day. This is supplemented by roots dug from nearby forest supplies but these, too, are getting scarce,” he adds.

Sources in the government would, of course, like to differ. “The Bamboo Flowering and Famine Combat Scheme was established in 2004 to fight the famine as well as take up developmental works,” says Mr C. Ramhluna, principal chief conservator of forests, Mizoram. “Bamboo extraction roads and ropeways have been constructed. People are being offered alternative trades other than jhum (shifting cultivation). Moreover, foodgrain is being distributed at affordable price even in the remotest of corners.”

Despite the havoc this plant unleashes every five decades or so, it is often hailed as green gold. It is the fastest-growing plant on earth, with some species shooting up by one and a half meters a day. A single bamboo clump can produce up to 15km of usable pole of up to 30cm in diameter. The wood is of high tensile strength and flexibility and is also easy to process. Moreover, the young shoot is delicious and nutritious.

Bamboo is also environmentally invaluable. “Some bamboo species have very high carbon sequestration (the ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) rates, much more than that of other tree species,” says Dr Amita Pal, a professor of plant molecular and cellular genetics at Bose Institute, Calcutta. “Moreover, it is an extraordinary oxygen factory — a bamboo stand releases 35 per cent more oxygen than equivalent stands of other trees.”

A bamboo shoot flowers only once during its lifetime, after which the plant dies. Piles of dry bamboo poles get accumulated everywhere and this leads to an increase in the incidence of fire, adding to the haplessness of the people.

The aftermath of such huge loss of biomass has serious ecological implications too. “There is a significant increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere followed by several other ecological imbalances which may have a long-term impact on the ecosphere,” explains Pal.

The only way to mitigate the disaster then would be to cut the bamboo before it starts flowering. This has been done in some areas to control the rat population. “However, such measures contribute negatively to the rural economy,” points out Das. Moreover, the existence of a number of wild fauna is closely linked to these plants. For instance, the leaves of Sasa senanesis, S. kurilensis and S. nipponica constitute a major part of the winter diet of Hokkaido voles when most other plants die, Das told Knowhow. Also, the hollow culm offers refuge to many invertebrates.

“There is no family in the state that is solely dependent on bamboo for its livelihood,” claims Ramhluna. “Moreover, there are several pockets where Nature skips flowering. And in the flowerings areas, too, some seeds fall to the ground, immediately germinate and rapidly grow to harvestable size.”

Although Mautam is a unique feature of Mizoram, such flowering takes place — albeit to a lesser degree — in the neighbouring states too. “Flowering is also on in two villages — Arjunpur and Purandpur — in Bankura district. And the villagers are scared by the consequences predicted,” says Pal.

In addition to the Mizo government’s measures such as encouraging crops suited for early harvest and selection of crops like turmeric that rodents will not attack, there is an obvious need for more awareness of the issue. “It is important that we record the incidences of flowering so that it would help us generate a region-wise forecast,” Pal told Knowhow.

“Such a regional flowering incidence catalogue would help us utilise our rich bamboo resources in a more scientific manner,” adds Das.

Bamboo definitely deserves all the attention it can garner. After all, the wonder plant is useful in reportedly more than 5,000 ways!