To develop a commercially feasible process of bamboo propagation and genetic
improvement three major components are important: (1) fundamental research on bamboo
physiology and genetics, including the development of tissue culture techniques for
hybridisation of bamboo; (2) the development of axillary branching into a universal
technique with a high clonal fidelity and very high efficiency; (3) forward integration to
optimise the added value of micropropagation. This article focuses specifically on the
development of micropropagation systems, on the use of molecular markers as part of
quality control and on research on flowering in tissue culture of bamboo.