Study on the cultivation of the white truffle in abandoned fields

Letizia Conti ¹, Irene Mazza ², Claudia Perini ³, Elena Salerni ¹

Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy ¹, NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Piazza Marina 61, 90133, Palermo, Italy; Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, Via Archirafi 22 , 90123 Palermo, Italy; Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy ², Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via P.A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy; NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Piazza Marina 61, 90133, Palermo, Italy ³

“True tuffles” are hypogeous ectomycorrhizal ascomycetes belonging to the order Pezizales and the Tuberaceae family, naturally principally restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. Among them, the white truffle (Tuber magnatum Picco) produces fleshy fruiting bodies that are one of the most appreciated food, so much so that they are offered on the menus of the most famous restaurants in the world. The attempts to cultivate this high prized fungal species, as practiced for other few edible truffles, have often failed because many aspects of its ecology and biology remain largely unexplored and there are still various uncertainties that have to be understood and solved. Only thanks to a recent research conducted in France, positive results have been reached: i) it is possible to observe the survival in the field of T. magnatum mycorrhizas in inoculated plants, ii) it is possible to collect fruiting bodies just after 4/5 years from the planting. The interest for the cultivation of T. magnatum therefore appears remarkable, especially in the presence of abandoned fields, where characteristics of soil and environmental could be suitable for the production of the prized white truffle. In Tuscany, some areas of arable land in the plain of valleys results to be no longer adapt for agricultural activities due to new characteristics of the companies that manage the land or because not easily integrated into its cultivation systems. Truffle cultivation could therefore represent an interesting diversification of the crop system, in the face of an increase of the biodiversity of the area, for the sequestration of carbon dioxide operated by tree cultivation and for the ecological sustainability of this kind of cultivation. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of some agronomic planting techniques, sometimes used for the cultivation of other valuable truffle species, on the cultivation of T. magnatum in the arable land of some Tuscan farms. Experimental areas, located in environments suited to the production of white truffles, were created and usual truffle cultivation techniques were implemented in various ways. Some planting techniques that use experimental substrates, specifically prepared to encourage the rooting of the plant, the maintenance of mycorrhizae over time and to stimulate the mycorrhization process, were also evaluated. These were carried out both on seedlings previously inoculated with T. magnatum and on non-mycorrhized seedlings. Here we report the data relating to the biotic and abiotic characterization of the study areas before and one year after the planting. Moreover a real-time PCR assay for the detection and quantification of white truffle mycelium in the soil, after one year, was done.

Main author career stage: PhD student

Contribution type: Talk

First choice session: 6. Plants, Fungi and Society

Second choice session: 6. Plants, Fungi and Society