Detailed Explanation of the Trench-Style Cultivation Method and Technical Key Points for Gastrodia elata
1. Flower-Picking Time: The flower-picking time is from 9 to 12 a.m. It is not suitable to pick when there is dew or on rainy days, but if there is drying equipment, picking is also possible. Flowers picked in the morning are blue-white, heavy, easy to dry, strongly fragrant, and have a high commodity yield and good quality. Flowers picked after noon and on cloudy days are poorer in quality and have a low processing rate. From the flower development process...
How is Gastrodia elata cultivated in trenches?The production benefit of Gastrodia elata is relatively high. Since the fourth quarter of 2006, the purchase price of fresh Gastrodia has generally been 20 yuan per kilogram. The investment in the first year of planting is slightly higher, and the production benefit is about 200 yuan per sq m; after the second year, the self-produced seed tubers can be used to expand cultivation, and it is only natural that the benefit will be higher than the previous year; moreover, with the current high-yield new technology for cultivation, the yield can be increased considerably. This is one point; secondly, it is expected that the market price will rise considerably by the end of this year. At present, the average protective purchase price has already reached about 30 yuan per kilogram, from which the state of market demand for Gastrodia elata can be seen from one angle. Where there is demand, there is a market; where there is a market, there must necessarily be production; thirdly, because the reputation and status of traditional Chinese medicine internationally are increasing and improving day by day, foreign consumers are also very fond of products such as Gastrodia elata, and Gastrodia health products are gradually rising in overseas markets. Therefore, on the basis of continuously increasing domestic demand for Gastrodia elata, export volume has also risen substantially at the same time, so the market potential of Gastrodia elata is huge and the prospects are promising.
Calculated at current prices, generally for the first cultivation, planting one sq m of Gastrodia elata requires "Luji No. 2" Gastrodia hybrid seed and Armillaria mellea spawn at about 85 yuan, plus sand, log sections, etc., with a total investment of about 120 yuan. The general yield is about 30 jin. At current market prices, the profit per sq m is about 200 yuan (not including the remaining seed tubers, which can still expand more than 3 sq m per sq m).
Trench-style cultivation of Gastrodia elata is a new technology researched and promoted over many years. According to analysis, the fundamental reasons why this technology can greatly increase the yield of Gastrodia elata are: first, the underground temperature is suitable and remains basically constant throughout the year, so there is basically no problem of a dormant period in the growth process of Gastrodia elata. Second, the underground moisture and humidity are stable; as long as the plot does not accumulate water and the soil texture has good permeability, there will be no problems such as uneven and unbalanced moisture from alternating dry and wet conditions. Finally, it is basically unaffected by the surface environment. The specific cultivation techniques mainly include the following points:
(1) Choose good spawn or spawn wood: when using spawn plus log sections for cultivation, first-generation isolated spawn must be used, free of pests and diseases. (2) Choose good seed tubers: sexual hybrid seed tubers are required, with the tuber body free of any collision damage, disease spots, or pest damage. (3) Choose a good site: choose a site with slightly higher terrain but not dry, with soft soil that does not accumulate water and has no possibility of water accumulation, and with good permeability. (4) Dig trenches: dig trenches running north-south about 60-80 cm wide and 80-100 cm deep; spread a layer of coarse sand about 10-20 cm at the bottom of the trench, irrigate once, and along with it spray or irrigate with the water an 800-fold phoxim solution and an 800-fold carbendazim solution. (5) Preparation before sowing: when using spawn for cultivation, it is necessary to cut wood 2-3 days in advance, or soak dry log sections in clean water, and transport them to the cultivation plot before sowing. (6) Sowing: same as conventional sowing. A rain-shelter arched shed should be set up over the top of the trench to prevent rainwater from directly entering the trench. (7) Management: water thoroughly once on the 10th day after sowing; along the trench, set up low shade materials such as weeds and corn stalks. After that, water about once every 20 days; in low-temperature seasons, consider covering the cultivation trench with plastic film and then a layer of straw-like material for insulation.
From many years of production practice and investigation, the asexual propagation cultivation method long used in Gastrodia elata production has the problems of decreasing yield year by year and declining quality. Therefore, from a long-term perspective, it is necessary to "change the seed" of Gastrodia elata. Thus, sexual hybrid seed should be promoted and used so as to obtain ideal production results. It should be noted that Gastrodia hybrid seed is not like corn seed, which is planted for only one generation; rather, one hybridization breeding can be self-propagated and self-used for many years. In this way, the hybrid vigor of Gastrodia hybrid seed can be maintained, and production costs can also be reduced. It is deeply welcomed by the vast number of growers and is conducive to technology promotion.
Click to get more Gastrodia elata cultivation techniques
Click to get more medicinal herb cultivation techniques