Several Key Technical Measures for Increasing Gastrodia elata Yield

Gastrodia elata is a precious Chinese medicinal herb. In order to solve the problems commonly found in current artificial cultivation of Gastrodia elata, such as unstable yield, severe degeneration, and susceptibility to pests and diseases, the Edible Fungi Research Institute of our county carried out research on high-yield, stable-yield, and high-quality cultivation models for Gastrodia elata, and achieved certain results. The several techniques for how to increase Gastrodia elata yield are summarized as follows:

1. Choose a suitable cultivation site: Gastrodia elata is suitable for growing in areas with cool summers and winters that are not very cold. It requires moist soil, but not waterlogged, and rich in humus. It can be cultivated in broad-leaved forest zones at an altitude of 600-2000 m, and in fields and gardens around houses. It requires sufficient water sources, no contamination by foreign fungi in the surrounding area, and three parts sun to seven parts shade. Plots with terrain that is too high or too low and clay soil are not suitable for selection.

2. Choose a suitable cultivation method: Generally, choose early winter cultivation, and it can grow rapidly when spring begins, with higher yield than cultivation in other seasons. Use single-layer or double-layer cultivation, and during cultivation place the seed corms close to the fungal wood with rhizomorphs. Rotate the plot to avoid continuous cropping. For old corm pits that have been continuously planted for 2 years, all filling materials inside must be completely removed and replaced with new ones to reduce pathogens.

3. Select high-quality, robust fungal wood: Gastrodia elata has no chlorophyll and cannot produce nutrients itself. It relies entirely on absorbing and utilizing Armillaria mellea that invades the corm body to maintain growth. Therefore, screening and cultivating high-quality Armillaria mellea strains and studying the amount and arrangement method of Armillaria fungal wood are important measures to prevent degeneration of Gastrodia elata and obtain high and stable yields. Select trees of the Fagaceae family suitable for the growth of Armillaria mellea. After cutting them short, expose them to the scorching sun for 3 days or sterilize and disinfect them with 0.2% carbendazim solution. After the medicinal solution dries, cut fish-scale notches, inoculate with pure culture, dig pits, and cultivate the fungus. To increase nutrients, an appropriate amount of nutrient solution may be added, and attention should be paid to watering and drainage, while also covering to reduce water evaporation. During cultivation, select seed corms with dense Armillaria rhizomorphs, robust growth, and no contamination by foreign fungi.

4. Use sexual reproduction to propagate seed corms: Using sexual reproduction is the best method to prevent degeneration and increase yield. Seed corms from sexual reproduction have strong growth vigor, and the yield can reach 3-5 times that of asexually propagated seed corms. Before the fruit capsules crack, mix the seeds with Mycena purpureofusca germination fungus and sow them on Armillaria-infected corms. After 1 year, white corms and rice corms develop. Select those with moderate size, robust growth, no pests or diseases, and no mechanical damage as seed corms.

5. Use nutrient-rich humus soil as filling soil: At present, many places use pure river sand as the filling material for Gastrodia elata cultivation. Although it facilitates drainage, it is not nutritious enough. Practice has proved that mountain forest humus soil used as filling material between fungal wood gives high yield. Decomposed leaves and sand at 5:1, or sawdust and rice husks and sand at 3:1, can also be used as filling material between fungal wood and on the surface. It is best not to use natural soil.

6. Strengthen management and pay attention to disease prevention and pest control: During cultivation, if there is a long drought without rain, water should be applied; during long periods of continuous rain, drainage should be timely; in high-temperature seasons, shade should be strengthened to prevent heat and lower temperature, and the soil temperature and moisture should be kept as constant as possible. In the later growth stage, Gastrodia elata has weak growth vigor, so the soil layer should be kept appropriately dry to prevent corm rot. Selecting fungal wood free from contamination by foreign fungi and healthy seed corms can reduce the occurrence of diseases. The main pests are mole crickets, white grubs, and termites. They can be controlled by pouring 700-1000 times diluted zinc phosfide solution into the pits at sowing time or during the growth period, or by using black light lamps nearby to trap and kill them.