Latest Prices and Planting Methods for Golden Thread Orchid Seeds Explained
Golden thread orchid (Anoectochilus roxburghii) is a plant of the genus Anoectochilus in the orchid family (Orchidaceae), with very high medicinal value. The whole plant can be used as medicine, having effects such as clearing heat and dispelling wind, promoting diuresis and detoxifying, relieving pain and suppressing cough. It is popularly known by beautiful names such as golden silk thread, golden earrings and bird ginseng. Wild resources are very scarce, so it has extremely high cultivation value. Let us take a look together below at the prices of golden thread orchid seeds and the planting methods!
How much do golden thread orchid seeds cost?
The price of golden thread orchid seedlings is about 0.3-0.5 yuan per plant. Before cell tissue culture was available, golden thread orchid relied solely on natural seed germination, but the seeds of golden thread orchid are extremely fine, containing only one incompletely developed embryo inside, with very low germination capacity. In addition, the seed coat does not easily absorb water, so sowing by conventional methods cannot achieve germination. Therefore, orchid mycorrhizal fungi or artificial culture media are needed to supply nutrients for germination, and it takes half a year to one year from sowing to transplanting. For this reason, golden thread orchid is mostly propagated by cell tissue culture in production.
Growing Environment of Golden Thread Orchid
Golden thread orchid is distributed in subtropical and tropical regions such as Fujian, Taiwan, China, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hubei. It prefers shady, cool and humid conditions, and especially likes to grow in damp areas along ditches, on stone walls and in loose soil where evergreen broadleaf trees grow. It requires a temperature of 20-32 degrees C and light of 3000-5000 LUX. Too strong light easily causes the plant stems to become prostrate, while too weak light easily causes the plant stems to become slender, but different varieties of golden thread orchid have different light requirements.
Planting Conditions for Golden Thread Orchid
1. Site selection and shed construction: For golden thread orchid planting, choose a section with open terrain, facing south, surrounded by tall broadleaf forest and far from pollution sources, and build a shed with strong wind resistance. Cover the top and surroundings of the shed with film first and then with shade netting to facilitate control of temperature, light and humidity inside the shed.
2. Installation of iron frames: In golden thread orchid production, planting iron frames are usually used to hold planting trays, with the cultivation substrate placed in the trays. The iron frames are 1 m wide and 1.5 m high, with the length depending on the shed, and are divided into 3 planting layers with 45 cm between layers. A distance of 60-80 cm is maintained between two rows of iron frames.
3. Crop rotation arrangement: In production, golden thread orchid is usually planted two seasons per year. The first season is transplanted in early March and harvested in late June, and the second season is transplanted in early September and harvested in late December, ensuring that the plants grow in the soil for more than 4 months so as to increase yield and the medicinal components of the product.
4. Substrate selection: For golden thread orchid cultivation, the cultivation substrate is usually prepared in the ratio peat soil:rice husk:fine sand = 10:1:1. After the cultivation substrate is disinfected by sun exposure, add 5-7.5 kg of slaked lime or an appropriate amount of 50% carbendazim wettable powder per 100 kg of cultivation substrate and mix well.
Planting Methods for Golden Thread Orchid
1. Variety selection: At present, the widely cultivated varieties of golden thread orchid are the Fujian variety and the Taiwan, China variety, both of which have good adaptability and are liked by consumers. In particular, wild golden thread orchid from Liangye Mountain and Guanzhai Mountain is very popular after artificial cultivation, while the Taiwan, China variety is relatively sensitive to low temperatures.
2. Seedling raising method: For large-scale cultivation of golden thread orchid, tissue-cultured seedlings should be used. Tissue-cultured seedlings can maintain the excellent traits of the mother plant and are uniform. It is required to select tissue-cultured seedlings that have been hardened in the shed for more than 15-30 days, with a seedling height of more than 6 cm and 2-3 leaves for transplanting.
3. Reasonable close planting: Plant golden thread orchid at a plant-row spacing of 2×5 cm, with 140-150 plants transplanted per tray. Wash the seedlings clean with water, control the planting depth at about 1 cm, and avoid deep planting. After planting, spray with 45% metalaxyl-hymexazol wettable powder at 800-1000 times dilution.
4. Post-planting management: One week after transplanting golden thread orchid, spray 10% amino acid at 500 times dilution once every 7 days. Within 15 days after transplanting, use film covering, and properly control the temperature inside the shed at 20-27 degrees C, the relative air humidity at 70-80%, and the substrate humidity at 70-75%.
5. Pest and disease control: Surround the golden thread orchid planting shed with insect-proof netting, use sugar-vinegar liquid to trap and kill black cutworms, or use biological pesticides such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, plant extracts and antibiotics to kill pests and diseases. For chemical control, choose pesticides that are highly effective, low-toxicity and low-residue.
6. Harvesting and processing: Golden thread orchid can be harvested when it is more than 10-15 cm tall, has 5-6 leaves, leaf width of 2-2.5 cm, leaf length of 3-3.5 cm, the leaf underside is purplish red, the golden vein network on the leaf surface is obvious, and the stem is green. At harvest, shake off the soil, wash clean, and sun-dry or oven-dry.