Effects of Nutrients and Growth Regulators on Seed Germination and Development of Juvenile Rhizome Proliferation of Gastrodia elata In Vitro

Two prevalent issues with Gastrodia elata growing in a natural wild environment are the necessary symbiotic seed germination with Mycena spp. and the long growing cycle of protocorms into mature rhizomes with Armillaria mellea . This study explored the most suitable nutrients to germinate seeds and the developmental stages and propagated protocorm/juvenile rhizomes (jrhs) through a tissue culture approach. Adding humic acid, mashed potato, peptone, and (indole-3-acetic acid) IAA to the 2 g/L Hyponex 7-6-19 basal medium accelerated seed germination into protocorms with an average length of 2 mm. The nutrients best for the in vitro propagation of jrhs consisted of 1 g/L Hyponex 7-6-19 and MS salts with 1/2 NH 4 NO 3 and KNO 3 , 2 mg/L BA, 2 mg/L NAA, 2 g/L tryptone, 2 g/L glutamic acid, 1 g/L chitosan, 10 g/L apple puree, 20 g/L mashed potato, 100 mL/L coconut water, and 1.5 g/L A. mellea powder, at a pH level of 6. The maximum length and number of jrhs were 17.2 ± 0.8 mm and 76.6, respectively, in two subcultures. The in vitro propagation system started from seeds of G. elata can be employed as a potential method to propagate protocorm/jrhs for the cultivation of mature rhizomes from indoor or outdoor cultures.