Substrates with organic residues in Fritillaria cirrhosa seedlings for bulbus production

Abstract

China is abundant in organic residues from agricultural and forestry efforts. Bulbus Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don (BFC) is a precious wild herb of Liliaceae that grows in the Tibetan area of China and the bulbs are used as a source of medicine. The shortage of germplasm resources restricts the development of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, so improved cultivation methods are urgently needed. The objective of this study was to study the effects of different substrates on the growth of F. cirrhosa seedlings. Sawdust and vermi-compost are common organic residues and were selected as nursery materials to supplement efforts to cultivate Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don from ripe seeds and bulbs. The experiments were conducted in a plastic greenhouse in Ya’an of Sichuan Province from January to May 2013. Vegetative parameters of leaf length, leaf width, seedling fresh weight, seedling dry weight, and bulb size and fresh weight were measured. Additionally, the emergence ratio and preservation rate were calculated. The following results were obtained: (1) Sowing seeds of F. cirrhosa with 70% vermi-compost and 30% sawdust gave the best emergence rate, leaf length (60 days after seedling emergence, 60 DAS), and bulb dry weight (at harvest, 93 DAS). (2) The leaf nitrogen content (60 DAS) was positively correlated with the nitrogen content of bulbs (at harvest, 93 DAS). From the data, we concluded that forestry residues such as sawdust and vermi-compost can serve as excellent growing substrates of BFC seedlings.