Is pseudobulb harvest a sustainable management strategy in wild orchid populations? An experiment with Laelia autumnalis

•The collection of orchid pseudobulbs is a conservation problem.•Extraction of pseudobulbs diminishes orchid growth and flowering.•After two years, plants subject to extraction didn’t recover the lost biomass.•The collected plant sections can be used to restore orchid populations.•Pseudobulbs extraction must be avoided, and fallow periods allow plant recovery.