Detailed Explanation of the Key Points of Scientific Gastrodia elata Cultivation Technology

Gastrodia elata is a traditional medicinal material of our country and is used very frequently in traditional Chinese medicine. With the continuous exchange and integration of medicine, the application of Chinese medicinal materials is also gradually becoming more extensive. Therefore, in the field of medicinal material cultivation, the future prospects will also be difficult to estimate. Cultivating Gastrodia elata should be a good undertaking for making a fortune.

Scientific Cultivation Technology of Gastrodia elata

1. Selecting the Seedling Raising Site

Choose moist, breathable, well-drained, loose loam or sandy loam rich in humus, dig pits 35 cm deep and 85 cm both in length and width for cultivation. When selecting the site, virgin land is especially good. Soil pH 5-6 is suitable. Avoid clay and waterlogged low-lying land, and avoid continuous cropping. In addition, places such as air-raid shelters, mountain caves, and basements can also be used to cultivate Gastrodia elata.

2. Cultivating Fungal Beds

To cultivate Gastrodia elata, it is first necessary to cultivate good Armillaria mellea fungal material or fungal beds. Generally, broadleaf trees can be used as materials for cultivating Armillaria mellea, but tree species such as Quercus dentata, Quercus, Castanea mollissima, and Quercus variabilis are better.

3. Seed Treatment

Seed selection: Select Gastrodia elata dug out in the current year, remove the commercial tubers, select all seed tubers and then screen them again, remove inferior seed tubers such as rotten and deformed ones, and finally determine Gastrodia elata with comparable size, robustness, neat appearance, large size, good color, and no wounds as the seed tubers to be used the following year.

4. Seed Propagation

Select Gastrodia elata weighing more than 100 grams, and plant immediately after harvesting. During heading, prevent exposure to sunlight, and during flowering, carry out artificial pollination. Pollination can be done at around 10 o'clock on a sunny day, when the edge of the anther cap slightly shows the flower. After pollination, cover the fruit spike with a plastic bag.

Production Areas of Gastrodia elata

The production areas of Gastrodia elata are distributed in the mountainous regions of the tropics, subtropics, temperate zone, and cold-temperate zone. From New Zealand and New Caledonia in the east, to Madagascar in the west. From Australia and New Zealand in the south, to Northeast China and the Far East region of the former Soviet Union in the north. It mainly includes China, India, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Japan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, the Ryukyu Islands and Ogasawara Islands that were once vassal territories of China, Kalimantan Island, the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia, New Caledonia Island, as well as Korea, the Philippines, Russia's Far East Amur Oblast, Primorsky Krai, the Kuril Islands, and other regions. The plant has not been found on the African continent, in Europe, or in the Americas.

Wild Gastrodia elata is widely distributed in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Gansu, Anhui, Henan, Hebei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, and other places. Among them, the products from western Guizhou, southern Sichuan, and northeastern Yunnan are famous authentic medicinal materials with especially good quality. It is mainly produced in Bijie, Dafang, Qianxi, Guiding, Hezhang, Duyun, and Zunyi in Guizhou; Yingjing, Gulin, Xuyong, Yibin, Leibo, Mabian, Tongjiang, Mao County, Leshan, Hongya, Ya'an, Maowen, and Wenchuan in Sichuan; Zhaotong, Yiliang, Zhenxiong, Yongshan, Daguan, Suijiang, Yanjin, and Ludian in Yunnan, and other places. In addition, it is also produced in Hanzhong, Ankang, and Shangluo in Shaanxi; Gannan, Wen County, and Longnan in Gansu; Xixia, Lushi, and Tongbai in Henan; Hunjiang, Fusong, Linjiang, and Tonghua in Jilin; and Yuexi and Huoshan in Anhui. Cultivated Gastrodia elata is mainly produced in Lueyang, Chenggu, Xixiang, Mian County, Ningqiang, Zhen'an, and Shangzhou in Shaanxi (among them, Lueyang Gastrodia elata has been certified as a geographical indication by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and Lueyang is also the largest Gastrodia elata production base in the country), and southern Shaanxi; Huoshan, Yuexi, and Jinzhai in Anhui; Tongjiang and Guangyuan in Sichuan; Jinping, Wuchuan, Dejiang, Duyun, and Anshun in Guizhou; Zhaotong in Yunnan; Hefeng, Enshi, Yunxi, Yun County, Zhushan, and Yichang in Hubei; Xixia, Tongbai, and Luanchuan in Henan; Fusong in Jilin; and Xinbin in Liaoning, and other places.

Growth Environment Requirements of Gastrodia elata

Gastrodia elata grows under forests with more humus and moisture, and also in sunny shrublands and grassy slopes. It must be symbiotic with the fungi Armillaria mellea of the Tricholomataceae family and Mycena osmundicola in order for seeds to germinate, form protocorms, and grow into healthy Gastrodia elata tubers. Mycena osmundicola provides nutrients for seed germination, and Armillaria mellea provides nutrients for the protocorm to grow into Gastrodia elata tubers.

Varieties of Gastrodia elata

1. Wu Gastrodia elata

Wu Gastrodia elata, also called Tiegan Gastrodia elata, has tall plants, reaching up to 150-200 cm at the highest, with gray-brown stems and white stripes. The flowers are yellow-green, and the flowering period is June-July. The fruits are prismatic or obovate-cuneate. Large tubers can reach 800 grams. The rhizome is elliptical to ovate-elliptical, with relatively dense nodes, reaching more than 15 cm at the longest, with the largest single weight reaching 800 grams, and water content often within 70%, sometimes only 60%. It is mainly produced in western Guizhou and Yunnan, China, and the Gastrodia elata cultivated in Yunnan is mostly this variant.

2. Red Gastrodia elata

Red Gastrodia elata is mainly produced in the Three Gorges area. It has wide adaptability, high yield, strong reproductive capacity, and strong disease resistance, but its dry-to-wet ratio is large and its medicinal quality is inferior to that of Wu Gastrodia elata.

3. Green Gastrodia elata

Green Gastrodia elata has relatively tall plants, generally 1-1.5 m high. The rhizome is long-elliptical or obconical, with relatively dense nodes, and many scale-like sheaths on the nodes. The largest single weight reaches 600 grams, and the water content is about 70%. The stem is light blue-green. The flowers are light blue-green to white. The flowering period is June-July, and it is produced in the provinces and regions from Northeast to Southwest China.

4. Yellow Gastrodia elata

Yellow Gastrodia elata, also called Huanggan Gastrodia elata, is a perennial herb with light yellow flower stems. It grows in moist places under mountain slopes and forests and beside ditches. In China, it is distributed in Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Henan, and other places.

5. Pine Gastrodia elata

Pine Gastrodia elata is a variant of Gastrodia elata produced in northwestern Yunnan that often grows under pine and oak forests. The plant is about 1 m high. The rhizome is often fusiform or cylindrical, and the water content is above 90%. The stem is yellow-white. The flowers are white or light yellow, and the flowering period is April-May. Because of its low dry conversion rate, it has not been introduced for cultivation.

In cultivating Gastrodia elata, on the one hand, it is necessary to master the key technical points of cultivation. In addition, the variety of Gastrodia elata is very important. Different types of Gastrodia elata also have certain differences in medicinal efficacy and other aspects, so when choosing, everyone can appropriately make judgments according to market demand.