What is the outlook for Dendrobium officinale cultivation? The latest analysis is here
Dendrobium officinale is a perennial epiphytic herb of the orchid family, listed as “the first of China's nine great immortal herbs”. In recent years, Dendrobium officinale has been deeply loved by people, and many have begun to pursue its cultivation. So what exactly is the outlook for Dendrobium officinale cultivation? Below, the editor analyzes the cultivation prospects of Dendrobium officinale for you!
Cultivation prospects of Dendrobium officinale
Wild Dendrobium officinale is a nationally protected plant in China, and digging it up is prohibited, which means most Dendrobium officinale plants are artificially cultivated. However, because growers understand the growth habits of Dendrobium officinale and apply scientific management in artificial cultivation, Dendrobium officinale cultivated by mimicking the wild growing environment has the same components and effects as wild Dendrobium officinale. Wild Dendrobium officinale prefers shady, cool and moist environments, and often attaches to high-altitude cliffs or to tree trunks and rock crevices in forests. Due to its high medicinal value, special growing conditions and limited distribution, and because of long-term human harvesting, wild resources are on the verge of extinction, so the domestic market supply is in short supply. Dendrobium officinale is the finest of the Dendrobium officinale types, with the highest medicinal value, and it is named for its iron-green epidermis. But because its growing conditions are extremely demanding, natural output is extremely scarce, and because of long-term excessive harvesting by local people, wild resources are on the verge of extinction. Huoshan Dendrobium officinale produced in Huoshan County, Anhui Province, is the finest among Dendrobium officinale. On the market, only a few major brands, such as Fulinmen and Beijing Tongrentang, can sell genuine Dendrobium officinale, and Fulinmen Dendrobium officinale is relatively affordable.
It is precisely because of the extremely low reproductive and survival capacity of Dendrobium officinale, combined with reckless harvesting by those driven by greed, that Dendrobium officinale is on the verge of extinction. In view of the medicinal value and scarcity of Dendrobium officinale, it is not surprising that it has been given the beautiful name “plant gold”. Just as “a famous person attracts gossip”, Dendrobium officinale, with its uniqueness superior to other Chinese herbal medicines, has become the “darling” of market consumers.
Market price of Dendrobium officinale
Most purchase prices for fresh stems of Dendrobium officinale are around 700 yuan/kg or more. Recently, because the large-scale harvest period has passed, the price of fresh stems of Dendrobium officinale has even exceeded 1,200 yuan/kg. In the last two years, the price of Dendrobium officinale has also been showing an upward trend. In 2010, the price of Dendrobium officinale was 500 yuan per kg, and by 2013 it had risen to 1,000-1,200 yuan/kg, while this year such a price has achieved an almost complete victory among all agricultural products. The average prices according to national statistics from the survey of traditional Chinese medicine resources:
1. Fresh stems of Dendrobium officinale: 2,500-3,000 yuan per kg.
2. Premium Dendrobium officinale fengdou: 16-20 yuan per gram.
3. High-grade Dendrobium officinale fengdou: 14-18 yuan per gram.
Risks of Dendrobium officinale cultivation
As a new type of valuable traditional Chinese medicine industry, Dendrobium officinale cultivation has attracted widespread attention in various places in recent years, and more than 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country have already been cultivating and developing this industry. Overall, cultivating Dendrobium officinale has good benefits and large market demand, and many people are optimistic about this business opportunity, eager to try, and all want to seize a beachhead in this “golden” industry. Here, a reminder to those unfamiliar with Dendrobium officinale cultivation: do not develop it blindly, for the following reasons:
1. High difficulty of cultivation technology: although after more than 10 years of research and exploration, the artificial cultivation technology of Dendrobium officinale is basically mature. However, it is still very difficult for ordinary people to master skilled cultivation techniques in a short period. At present, cultivation techniques vary unevenly across places, and differences in product quality and benefits are also large, with cultivation failures occurring from time to time.
2. Large investment and high risk: calculated according to greenhouse intensive cultivation with an actual effective planting area of 400 sq m per mu, each mu requires 30,000-50,000 clusters of seedlings. Calculated at the current 2.5 yuan per cluster, the seedling investment requires more than 80,000 yuan. Adding the costs of greenhouses and other facilities, as well as 2 years of labor and management fees, the investment per mu exceeds 100,000 yuan. Once cultivation fails, the loss is heavy, and such examples have appeared many times.
4. Long cycle: from tissue culture of seedlings to acclimatization of bottle seedlings takes about 15 months. In Dehong and other places in Yunnan where temperatures are relatively high, it takes 15-18 months for preliminary harvest, while in some areas with lower temperatures the harvest period requires 18-30 months.
5. Difficulty in guaranteeing the quality of Dendrobium officinale: China currently has as many as 76 varieties of Dendrobium officinale, and Dendrobium officinale alone also has several seedlings of different quality, such as hybrids, origin-type cultivars, soft-stem cultivars and hard-stem cultivars, which even general professionals find hard to distinguish. In addition, factors such as substrate selection, planting mode, fertilization and pest and disease control all affect the quality of Dendrobium officinale. If the techniques are not mastered well, the quality of the cultivated product is poor, and pesticide residues, heavy metals and other substances exceed standards, making it generally very difficult to sell.
6. Compliance with the principle of regional authenticity of traditional Chinese medicine: even though all are Dendrobium officinale, quality differs greatly because of different growing places. At the current initial stage of the industry, consumers do not yet attach much importance to place of origin. With market expansion, the principle of regional authenticity will be taken seriously, and Dendrobium officinale artificially cultivated in greenhouses in some places unsuitable for cultivation will lose the market because of quality and other reasons.
7. Unstable market conditions: because enterprises from Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places participate, the one-time planting area is large, and because of factors such as the quality impact of greenhouse cultivation and regional authenticity, the Dendrobium officinale market is unstable, and later benefits are hard to predict.
Behind the rapid development of Dendrobium officinale, the problems faced by the industry are becoming more and more obvious: “The Dendrobium officinale industry is a new thing, and there are many problems in the development process. The speed of Dendrobium officinale cultivation and production is far greater than the speed of consumption development, and the market will experience a ‘shock’ within 3-5 years.”