To investigate the effects of different Armillaria mellea (A. mellea) sources on Gastrodia elata (GE) yield, quality, and soil microecology, five A. mellea of difference sources (M1–M5) were co-cultivated with Zhaotong GE at two sites. M5 co-cultivation produced the highest yields (fresh weight) at both Xiaocaoba, Yiliang (XCB) and Wanchang, Zhenxiong (ZXWC), reaching 3239 g/m² and 2550 g/m². For quality, M1 resulted in the highest total gastrodin and parishin content at XCB, while M3 was superior at ZXWC. Post-cultivation, soil pH increased across all treatments. Soil nutrients increased with M1 and M2 at XCB, and with M4 at ZXWC. In GE rhizosphere soil samples, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were dominant bacterial phyla, with Proteobacteria abundance decreasing. The dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mucoromycota; Basidiomycota abundance increased in all soils, while Ascomycota increased only with M1 and M2. M3-treated soils had the highest Gram-negative bacteria abundance, and M1-treated soils were enriched with saprotrophic fungi. This study has several limitations. The conclusions were drawn indirectly with the host (GE) as the focus, and the A. mellea were not identified to clarify potential genetic differences. Future research should integrate fungal omics analyses for a more in-depth investigation.

To investigate the effects of interplanting Morchella (morel mushrooms) between rows of apple trees on orchard soil properties and apple tree performance, a field experiment was conducted using a cultivation system combining small-arch tunnels with plastic film covering. The Morchella was interplanted in a five-year-old apple orchard, with plots without Morchella cultivation serving as the control. Measurements included Morchella yield and quality, apple fruit quality, and leaf photosynthetic performance. Additionally, soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities were analyzed across the 0–40 cm soil layer at different depths. The results demonstrated that: (1) Intercropping Morchella in apple interrows proved to be agronomically feasible, yielding a fresh mushroom production of 1333.74 g/m². Moreover, this cultivation system significantly enhanced the nutritional quality of the harvested morels, as evidenced by marked increases in crude fiber, total sugars, reducing sugars, and free amino acid contents. (2) In the 0–20 cm soil layer, the Morchella cultivated plots exhibited significantly higher natural water content compared to the control. The measured values for soil pH, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, organic carbon, catalase activity, and sucrase activity were 5.46, 6.73 mg/kg, 38.30 g/kg, 411.86 μ mol/h/g, and 9.89 mg/d/g, respectively, all significantly greater than those in the control (p < 0.05). In the 20–40 cm layer, however, soil available potassium and organic carbon contents were 418.37 mg/kg and 28.45 g/kg, respectively, both significantly lower than the control (p < 0.05). Across both treatments, the values of soil pH, alkali -hydrolyzable nitrogen, organic carbon, available phosphorus, available potassium, and the activities of urease, amylase, catalase, and sucrase generally decreased with increasing soil depth. Notably, in the non-cultivated control plots, the contents of alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and organic carbon increased with depth. (3) Interplanting Morchella improved apple fruit quality to a certain extent, significantly increasing individual fruit fresh weight, fruit shape index, and the contents of reducing sugars, total sugars, and soluble solids. (4) Interplanting Morchella also enhanced the photosynthetic rate of apple trees to some degree, significantly increasing transpiration rate, intercellular CO₂ concentration, and stomatal conductance. Collectively, interplanting Morchella in apple orchards can produce a reasonably high yield of high-quality mushrooms, increase individual apple fruit fresh weight, improve the physicochemical properties of the 0–20 cm soil layer, and enhance the photosynthetic performance of the apple trees. These combined benefits demonstrate clear practical potential and support the promotion and application of this intercropping system in orchard production.

To investigate the effects of harvest period on the morphology, bioactive components and nutritional composition of Gastrodia elata (GE), samples were collected from three production regions in Zhaotong, Yunnan—Yiliang, Yongshan and Zhenxiong—across six harvest time points. Agronomic traits, bioactive constituents and nutritional parameters were systematically characterized. Results showed that tuber morphology and dry matter ratio exhibited region-specific seasonal patterns. For bioactive components, gastrodin and total gastrodin derivatives peaked consistently in June across all origins, whereas parishin accumulation displayed origin-specific patterns, peaking in April for Yiliang, March for Yongshan and June for Zhenxiong. Nutritional components also showed distinct temporal dynamics among regions. Comprehensive evaluation identified the optimal harvest periods as June for Yiliang (score 0.6591), December for Yongshan (score 0.6524) and March for Zhenxiong (score 0.6168). Notably, optimal harvest periods varied by evaluation dimension—bioactive-only, nutrition-only, or integrated quality—and across production regions, underscoring the need for region-specific harvest strategies. This study provides a scientific basis for harvest optimization and quality evaluation of GE. Future work integrating metabolomic and transcriptomic approaches will further refine the multi-dimensional quality assessment framework.

Morchella sextelata a species of high nutritional and economic value, is widely cultivated. To investigate how different cultivation environments affect the soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities associated with common morel, this study established cultivation plots under three distinct settings: apple orchard canopies, dry upland fields, and paddy fields. The objective was to compare the differential impacts of common morel cultivation on soil environmental conditions across these habitats. The results indicate that cultivating common morel effectively enhances soil fertility. Across all environments, soil hydrolyzable nitrogen (HN), available potassium (AK), and organic matter content were higher than in the control. In apple orchard and dryland soils, total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available phosphorus (AP), and pH values were also elevated compared to the control, with most differences reaching significant levels. Solid Sucrase (S-SC) activity increased in all environments compared to the control, with values of 17.52 mg/d/g in PG, 17.39 mg/d/g in HD, and 21.68 mg/d/g in DT soils. Soil Amylase (S-AL) activity was higher in PG (451.28 μg/h/g) and HD (475.38 μg/h/g) soils. In contrast, Soil-acid phosphatase (S-ACP) activity was significantly elevated in DT soil (2922.08 nmol/h/g). PG soil exhibited significantly higher activities of Solid-Catalase (S-CAT), Solid polyphenol oxidase (S-PPO), and Solid Urease (S-UE), with S-CAT reaching 952.5 μmol/h/g. Following common morel cultivation, bacterial richness and diversity decreased across all conditions, while fungal richness increased but diversity declined. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria remained the dominant bacterial group, accounting for 26.78% in PG, 28.27% in HD, and 20.05% in DT soils. Ascomycota was the predominant fungal phylum, comprising 68.03% in PG, 72.16% in HD, and 68.94% in DT soils. Predicted bacterial functional pathways were primarily associated with metabolism, genetic information processing, environmental information processing, and cellular processes. Key metabolic pathways included carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins. fungal functional guilds were mainly classified as pathotrophic, pathotrophic–saprotrophic, pathotrophic–saprotrophic–symbiotrophic, and saprotrophic. Among these, saprotrophic and pathotrophic guilds showed higher abundance compared to the control. This shift is characterized by a reduction in both the diversity and abundance of beneficial microorganisms, alongside an increase in the richness of harmful microbial taxa. The combined effect of these factors disrupts the soil microbial equilibrium. The findings of this study provide a theoretical foundation for the cultivation of common morel and the management of associated soils.

Armillaria mellea (A. mellea) serves as a crucial nutritional source for Gastrodia elata (GE) growth, and its origin directly influences the GE quality and yield. This study analyzed GE symbiotic with A. mellea from different sources using metabolomics and transcriptomics. Results demonstrated that Group A exhibited significant differences in metabolites and gene expression compared to other groups. Group A showed significantly higher accumulation of active components like gastrodin and p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol than others, but its yield was lower than Group B. Metabolomic analysis identified 2418 metabolites, while transcriptomic sequencing produced 964,110,904 clean reads, with 14,637 annotated transcripts. KEGG analysis revealed that Group A’s DEGs and DEMs were co-enriched in three key pathways, including flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and plant hormone signal transduction, such as the positive regulatory roles of key genes (CHS, 4CL, MYC2) on metabolites such as hesperetin, ferulate, and jasmonic acid, respectively. The coordinated upregulation of gene–metabolite interactions in Group A GE may be closely related to the accumulation of major active components, indirectly suggesting the influence of the A. mellea source on metabolic and transcriptional response differences in GE. This study, centered on the host GE, indirectly deduces the association between A. mellea and GE, providing a theoretical basis for screening high-quality “fungus-GE” combinations. Further in-depth research and validation experiments will be conducted in conjunction with fungal omics.

To investigate the effects of intercropping Morchella (morel mushrooms) between apple tree rows on fruit quality and orchard soil properties, a field experiment was conducted using a cultivation system combining plastic film mulching with small arched tunnels. Morchella was planted in the interrows of five-year-old apple trees, and after harvest, the spent mushroom substrate was returned to the soil via rotary tillage. Plots without Morchella cultivation served as the control. The experiment assessed the yield and quality of both apples and morels, as well as the overall impact on tree performance. In addition, soil physicochemical properties and enzyme activities were analyzed across the 0-40 cm soil profile at different depth intervals. The results demonstrated that: (1) Inter-cropping Morchella in apple interrows proved to be agronomically feasible, yielding a fresh mushroom production of 1333.737 g/m². Moreover, this cultivation system significantly enhanced the nutritional quality of the harvested morels, as evidenced by marked increases in crude fiber, total sugars, reducing sugars, and free amino acid contents. (2) In the 0-20 cm soil layer, the Morchella cultivated plots exhibited significantly higher natural water content compared to the control. The measured values for soil pH, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, organic carbon, catalase activity, and sucrase activity were 5.46, 6.733 mg/kg, 38.303 g/kg, 411.859 μ mol/h/g, and 9.885 mg/d/g, respectively, all significantly greater than those in the control (p < 0.05). In the 20-40 cm layer, however, soil available potassium and organic carbon contents were 418.370 mg/kg and 28.453 g/kg, respectively, both significantly lower than the control (p < 0.05). Across both treatments, the values of soil pH, alkali -hydrolyzable nitrogen, organic carbon, available phosphorus, available potassium, and the activities of urease, amylase, catalase, and sucrase generally decreased with increasing soil depth. Notably, in the non-cultivated control plots, the contents of alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and organic carbon increased with depth. (3) Morchella intercropping significantly improved apple fruit quality, as reflected by marked increases in individual fresh weight, fruit shape index, reducing sugars, total sugars, and soluble solids content. (4) The treatment also substantially enhanced the photosynthetic performance of apple trees, with significant increases in transpiration rate, intercellular CO₂ concentration, and stomatal conductance. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that intercropping Morchella between apple tree rows confers substantial agronomic advantages. This practice not only elevates the productivity and quality of both the mushroom crop and the apples, but also ameliorates key soil physicochemical characteristics and boosts foliar photosynthesis. The cumulative positive effects highlight its considerable promise as a viable and scalable agroecological strategy.