Certification of planting material using DNA Barcodes

Certification of bamboo seedlings or planting materials for plantation purposes is a major hurdle that necessitates the need for a precise identification tool to ensure their species' identity. Vegetative characteristics currently practised for the identification of bamboo species express only at a particular stage of development and cannot generally be practised for the identification of nursery seedlings and planting materials. The development of species-specific DNA barcodes can thus serve as a promising tool for the certification of bamboo seedlings/planting materials/mature wood logs.

With financial support from National Bamboo Mission, KFRI has developed DNA barcodes for different bamboo species including priority species which can be helpful for the following

• For farmers: Certification of Planting materials.
• For Nurseries: Identification of species for unknown seed sources.
• For Handicraft/Furniture Industry-Agencies
  • Identification of species from culms/ dried culms.
  • Species Identification of unknown bamboos.