New Rapid Propagation Technology for Hybrid Gastrodia: Detailed Explanation of Two Methods

I. Potted Breeding Method for Gastrodia Arrow Bud Mother Corms (Using Yidu Red Gastrodia as an Example)

1. Potted Seedling Cultivation: Around Qingming Festival, when room temperature stabilizes above 15°C, select fresh, robust, plump-budded, undamaged high-mountain wild red gastrodia arrow bud mother corms weighing 100-150 g (labeled Wild Red) and plains-cultivated red gastrodia arrow bud mother corms (labeled Domestic Red). Plant them separately in river sand in plastic washbasins or enamel basins, evenly placing 4 arrow bud mother corms (plants) per basin, with arrow buds (parrot-beak tips) facing upward and 3-5 cm from the basin edge, covering with 5-10 cm of moist river sand. At temperatures above 19°C, after 15-20 days of cultivation, the gastrodia bolts and flowers.

2. Pollination and Breeding: After gastrodia bolts and flowers, forming floral spikes, carry out artificial cross-pollination between different plants and different flowers one by one according to inflorescence height. Specific procedure: Hold a small plastic dish in the left hand, secure the flower receptacle of the Wild Red gastrodia, use a large needle in the right hand to peel off the outer floral tube of the flower, exposing the column. Use the needle tip to lift the anther cap; the pale yellow pollinia on the viscidium will adhere to the needle tip. Gently place it in the plastic dish. Then, following the same method, pick up the pollinia of the Domestic Red gastrodia and directly transfer them onto the viscidium of the Wild Red gastrodia flower, pressing gently; then use the needle tip to pick up the Wild Red gastrodia pollinia from the plastic dish and transfer them onto the viscidium of the Domestic Red gastrodia flower, pressing gently to complete. After 15-25 days of growth, the pollinated flowers gradually swell into capsule fruits (pollen seeds). When the capsules change from hard to soft and are about to split, harvest promptly. Collect 1 capsule together with several adjacent capsules as a connected unit, store in a refrigerator at 5-10°C, or sow immediately after harvest. After sexual cross-pollination, 1 gastrodia arrow bud mother corm can produce 40-50 gastrodia hybrid capsules, with a full growth period of 45-50 days.

II. Sand Bed Rapid Propagation Method for Gastrodia Hybrid Capsules (Using 1 sq m as an Example)

1. Material Preparation: ① Fruit-powder spawn: 3 bottles of leaf germination fungus spawn, broken into date-pit-sized pieces; take 20 gastrodia hybrid capsules, shake out the pollen seeds from the capsules, mix with a small amount of dry sawdust, then mix with the leaf germination fungus, and let stand overnight. ② 3 bottles of branch-segment Armillaria spawn, each broken into single branch segments of date-pit size. ③ About 100 kg of clean medium-fine river sand. ④ 25-30 kg of fresh miscellaneous tree wood segments. Among these, 14 thick wood segments with a diameter of 4-8 cm and length of 30 cm, and 24 thin wood segments with a diameter of 2-3 cm and length of 20 cm, each soaked in 0.2% carbendazim aqueous solution for 24 hours. After briefly draining, cut 2 fish-scale notches on opposite sides of each wood segment, and insert 1 branch-segment Armillaria spawn into each fish-scale notch (about 1 bottle of spawn used); 3 kg of branch segments with a diameter of 1 cm and length of 4-5 cm. ⑤ 4 kg of fallen dry leaves, soaked and moistened with 0.2% carbendazim aqueous solution. ⑥ Half a bottle of insecticide, half a packet of double-effect powder.

2. Sand Bed Cultivation: Use red bricks or cement hollow blocks to form a rectangular frame on the indoor floor, 80 cm wide, 125 cm long, and 15-20 cm high. Inside the frame, spread 5 cm of moist river sand as the 1st layer of the sand bed; lay 1 layer of wet leaves flat as the 2nd layer; the 3rd layer is evenly broadcasting half a bottle of branch-segment Armillaria spawn. The 4th layer is evenly broadcasting fruit-powder spawn; the 5th layer is evenly broadcasting half a bottle of branch-segment Armillaria spawn. The 6th layer is laying 1 layer of wet leaves flat; the 7th layer is evenly placing thick wood segments and thin wood segments; the 8th layer is evenly inserting 1 bottle of branch-segment Armillaria spawn into the spaces between thick and thin wood segments; the 9th layer is filling with 1 cm of moist river sand; the 10th layer is filling gaps with fine branch segments; the 11th layer is evenly broadcasting crushed Armillaria spawn; the 12th layer is covering with 5 cm of moist river sand; the 13th layer is covering with 5-6 cm of loose wet leaves. Regulate temperature to 20-25°C, adjust spatial humidity to 75%-85%, and keep the leaf surface of the bed moist. After 4-5 months of cultivation, the hybrid gastrodia seeds mature. Pull aside the sand layer and Armillaria wood materials to harvest, and you can obtain 5-8 kg of original (0) generation hybrid gastrodia seeds that are yellow-white, full of sap, round and plump. Then, referring to the above method or following the "Gastrodia-Armillaria Synchronous Cultivation Method" for scientific planting, continuous cultivation for 5 years is possible, with high yields year after year.