Gastrodia elata cultivation prospects look promising, worth growers' attention

According to Associate Professor Wang Kangcai of the Chinese Medicinal Materials Research Laboratory, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Gastrodia elata is a precious Chinese medicinal material. Due to a large gap between market supply and demand, Gastrodia elata cultivation is particularly booming. Based on current market conditions, the price of dried Gastrodia elata is 150-200 yuan per kg, with a profit of about 200 yuan per sq m, and the cultivation prospects for Gastrodia elata look promising.

Gastrodia elata growth does not require light, only suitable temperature and humidity and other environmental conditions. In most regions nationwide, wherever there are broadleaf tree resources and slightly acidic or neutral sandy soil, it can be grown using barren slopes, courtyards, indoors, greenhouses, as well as vineyards, chestnut orchards, and open fields. The planting season for Gastrodia elata depends on the cultivation method. Gastrodia elata cultivation is divided into sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction includes the "pre-cultured bacterial bed method" and the "two fungi and one seed mixed planting method." In the former, from March to April each year, Armillaria mellea spawn is used to cultivate new bacterial wood, from May to June germination-promoting fungal spawn is mixed with Gastrodia elata fruits for sowing, the sexual seeds are harvested in November, and commercial Gastrodia elata is harvested in November of the following year; in the latter, from May to June each year, Armillaria mellea spawn, bacterial wood or branches, Gastrodia elata fruits, and germination-promoting fungal spawn are sown all at once, the sexual seeds are harvested in November, and commercial Gastrodia elata is harvested in November of the following year. Asexual reproduction includes the "fixed bacterial bed method" and the "three-in-one nest method." In the former, trees are felled from May to September each year, high-quality Armillaria mellea spawn is used to cultivate bacterial wood, Gastrodia elata seeds are added for sowing from October to March of the following year, and harvesting takes place in October of the following year; in the latter, from October of the first year to February of the following year, Armillaria mellea spawn, freshly felled bacterial wood, and Gastrodia elata seeds are planted together in nests, and commercial Gastrodia elata can be harvested in October of the following year. Although the cultivation time for Gastrodia elata is not fixed and can be long or short, it takes about 3 years for Gastrodia elata to truly complete one growth cycle. The basic growth process is: arrow tubers are planted from November to February of the following year, Gastrodia elata seeds mature in late June and are sown within one week, and by November of that year they can grow into seed tubers; after 8-12 months of expansion and growth, the seed tubers become arrow tubers in October-November of the following year; in the spring and summer of the third year, the arrow tubers bolt, flower, and after pollination form seeds again, thus completing one growth cycle.