Detailed Explanation of the Key Technical Points for Scientific Cultivation and Management of Poria

Poria, Chinese medicine name. It is the dried sclerotium of the fungus Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf of the family Polyporaceae. It is mostly harvested from July to September. After digging it out, remove the sand and soil, pile it up for “sweating,” then spread it out to dry until the surface is dry, then “sweat” it again, repeating several times until wrinkles appear and most of the internal moisture has been lost, then dry it in the shade; this is called “Poria individual.” Alternatively, cut fresh Poria into pieces according to different parts and dry them in the shade, separately called “Poria blocks” and “Poria slices.”

Morphological Characteristics of Poria

Poria, commonly known as Yunling, Songling, or Fuling, is a fungal plant parasitic on pine roots, with a dark brown outer skin and a white or pink interior. It mostly parasitizes the roots of Masson pine or red pine. It is produced in Yunnan, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, Sichuan, and other places. The ancients called Poria the “divine medicine of the four seasons” because its effects are extremely broad and it is not limited by the seasons. When combined with various medicines, no matter whether the disease is cold, warm, wind, or damp in nature, it can exert its unique effects.

Scientific Cultivation and Management of Poria

1. Site Selection and Land Preparation. The Poria planting site should preferably be a slope of 10-25° facing east, south, or west with good drainage. Yellow sandy soil is best; clay soil and gravelly soil are not suitable for planting, and continuous cropping is also unsuitable. After selecting the site, remove all debris thoroughly when deep plowing. In areas with termite damage, termite-killing chemicals must be used to disinfect the soil. Ten days before inoculating Poria, plow the land once more, break up the clods, and thoroughly remove all debris. 2. Material Preparation. The growth of Poria fungi depends on pine wood to provide nutrients; therefore, pine trees should be used as the material for cultivating Poria. In production, it is mainly divided into two types: dry log cultivation and stump cultivation. 1. Dry Log Material Preparation Method. Select pine trees with a diameter of more than 12 cm that are not suitable for timber and cut them down (or use the top and tail sections left after timber extraction), cut off some of their branches, and keep the leaves on the tree top. Then use a spade to peel off the bark from 4-5 sides according to the size of the tree (peeling down to the xylem is appropriate). Between the peeled surfaces, 4-5 strips of bark about two fingers wide should be left, and from top to bottom there should be no breaks. The retained bark is called the guide line (commonly known as “keeping the sinew”). After 10-15 days, when the trunk has dried in the sun until cracks appear, saw it into small sections 70-80 cm long, and stack them in a “well” shape in a dry, sunny place. Cover the log stack with grass, dig drainage ditches around the stack, and scatter termite-killing chemicals on the ground. 2. Stump Material Preparation Method. When cutting pine trees in autumn and winter, select stumps with a diameter of more than 12 cm, clear away weeds and topsoil within a 1.5 m radius around them, cut down shrubs, and dig about 0.8 m deep so that the stump and roots are exposed above the soil. Then peel the bark off 4 sides of the stump, leaving 4 guide lines about two fingers wide. Leave at most 4-6 exposed roots above ground and cut off the rest. The roots should also have bark peeled on 3 sides, with 1 finger-thick guide line left on each of the left and right sides, and the retained roots should be 1-1.5 m long. The above work should preferably be done in the previous winter. 3. Inoculation. 1. Inoculation Season. Poria inoculation is divided into spring and autumn. Spring planting is carried out from Qingming to Lixia. In southern Guangxi, southeastern Guangxi, and western Guangxi, temperatures rise earlier, so inoculation around Qingming is more suitable; in northern Guangxi and northwestern Guangxi, it is better to wait until around Lixia. In autumn, temperatures differ little across regions, so Poria can be inoculated around Liqiu. 2. Inoculation Method. Poria cultivation uses spawn or fresh Poria individuals (sclerotia) as “seed” for propagation. Spawn is made by bottling small pine wood slices (plastic bottles), sterilizing them, adding an appropriate amount of culture substrate, inoculating them with Poria stock culture, and after culturing, vigorous white mycelium grows in the bottle. For propagation with fresh Poria individuals, select fresh Poria individuals with thin skin and a tender reddish-brown color, and cut them with a bamboo knife into pieces with skin weighing 0.1-0.15 kg as propagation material for inoculation. Before inoculation, in the prepared planting site, open pits along the slope direction, 20 cm deep and 40-50 cm wide, with length depending on the length of the logs. Slightly level the pit bottom, scatter termite-killing chemicals and mix them evenly with the soil, then place the logs into the pit along the slope direction. First put in two sections. When inoculating with spawn, first use a sharp knife to cut fresh openings measuring length × width = 150 cm × 10 cm on the upper half of the two logs. Use tweezers to take out the pine wood slices with mycelium from the bottle and lay them flat at the fresh openings between the logs. Cover with pine wood slices or pine leaves, then place another log on top (if the two logs weigh more than 20 kg, do not place a third log), and cover with soil 10-15 cm deep. When inoculating with fresh Poria blocks, saw several places at the upper end of the logs, attach the fresh Poria blocks, rub gently, press firmly by hand, and cover with soil. For stump inoculation, cut 2-3 fresh openings on the stump, then inoculate the spawn and fresh Poria blocks separately at the fresh openings of the stump, cover with pine wood slices and pine leaves, cover with soil 15-17 cm deep, and pile the pit surface into a turtle-back shape. 4. Field Management. 1. Inspect Pits and Fill Gaps. Seven to ten days after inoculation, white Poria mycelium can grow. At this time, check the fungal condition in each pit so that gaps can be filled in time. 1. Observe in the planting site in the early morning before the dew has dried. If the logs in the pit have already grown Poria mycelium, then the soil above the pit will be dry and without dew; if there is dew above the pit, it indicates that the logs have not grown Poria mycelium. 2. Dig open the soil beside the pit. If white mycelium has grown on the lower section of the log and there is a Poria odor when smelled, it can be confirmed as Poria mycelium. If a Poria pit is found to have dead spawn or no spawn growth, check again after 7-10 days. Only if Poria mycelium is still not seen on the second check should the pit be opened and one section taken from another log that has already been colonized and transferred into the pit that has not been colonized. Or dig out all the logs that have not been colonized, dry off the moisture, re-cut the peeled openings, and inoculate with new spawn. 3. Note that about 1 month after Poria spawn inoculation, mycelium cannot be seen on the wood surface. At this time, most of the mycelium has already entered the wood and is growing. If, 1 month after Poria inoculation, no mycelium is seen on the substrate surface and it is mistakenly assumed that colonization has not occurred and the logs are pried open, unnecessary losses will be caused. 2. Seven to ten days after inoculation, if termites are found, immediately spray termite-killing chemicals on the termites or along their paths for control. 3. After Poria forms sclerotia (tuber formation), if Poria is found exposed above ground, earth should be added in time, and attention should be paid to drainage during the rainy season. 5. Harvesting and Processing. Poria generally matures 8-10 months after inoculation. Pile the harvested Poria indoors in a wind-protected place, cover it tightly with rice straw for “sweating” for 5-6 days, then spread it out to air for 1-2 days. After the moisture evaporates, pile it up again, cover it tightly with rice straw again for 5-6 days, then peel it (or first peel off the outer skin of fresh Poria), place it in a steamer and steam it thoroughly over water, or boil it thoroughly in water (change the water 3-4 times while boiling; the indicator is to change the water when it turns black). Take it out and use a sharp knife to cut it into blocks measuring length × width × thickness = 4 cm × 4 cm × 0.5 cm. Then place the white blocks and red blocks separately on bamboo mats or bamboo sieves, cover with 1 sheet of white paper, and dry in the sun until completely dry, taking care to turn them often. If there is rainy weather, they can be dried with charcoal fire, but open flame must not be used for baking, to avoid smoke making the Poria slices turn yellow and affecting product quality.