Induction and Growth of Vegetative Stems through In Vitro Culture of Gastrodia elata

Gastrodia data has been cultivated as an important medicinal resources to treat various human diseases. One of the major problems associated with its field production is the degeneration of seed tubers, which is mainly caused by soil-borne pathogens. This study was conducted to produce disease-free seed tubers by the development of in vitro micro- propagation method. First, tubers of G elata were treated with HgCl2 prior to culturing in vitro. Among various culture medium tested, water agar (WA) and WPNI medium were the most effective on the induction and growth of vegetative stems. NAA (0.1mg/ℓ) or TDZ (1.0mg/ℓ) in WA medium showed better growth of vegetative stems compared to other plant hormones. Finally the induction and growth of vegetative stems were better in the dark compared to the light condition. In this study, we established an in vitro micropropagation system of G elata, which might be an efficient way to increase the yield and quality of G elata tubers in the field production.