**3. Physico-mechanical properties of bamboo for commercial utilization**

The advancement of science and technology has led to new methods to make bamboo more durable and usable in terms of building materials. Bamboo has helped to uplift the rural economy through the establishment of industries and opportunities of employment. Bamboo based industries could be a sustainable option to ease the domestic demand and bring foreign currency by exporting newly designed products to international markets. The use of bamboo can be exploited to greater extent as it is cheap and found in abundance. The properties like rapid growth rate, short rotation age, excellent flexibility and high tensile strength has transformed bamboo into a wide variety of products ranging from domestic household products to industrial applications [21]. The uses in platforms (floors for transport vehicles such as trucks, busses and rail coaches), concrete molding boards (in building industries), flooring, furniture, pulp and handicraft works has provided new dimensions to bamboo utilization [22–24]. To elevate the utilization of bamboo, its fundamental physical and mechanical properties must be fully understood [25]. Researchers have proved that physical and mechanical properties of bamboo vary with respect to position in the bamboo. Lee et al. [26] found that the physical and mechanical properties of bamboo are affected by height location. Xian and Ye [27] studied the variation in mechanical properties of bamboo and established an equation for predicting the tensile modulus of elasticity from the radial position. Li [28] investigated the variation of the specific gravity and bending properties of bamboo and found that the specific gravity and bending properties decrease from the outer to inner layers of the bamboo culms.
