Truffles – The Fruiting Body of an Underground Mushroom
Black Truffles
Tuber melanosporum or black truffle is a form of fungus that grows underground. They are spherical in shape and have a rough outer surface. This variety of truffle only survives in conditions found in Mediterranean countries. Spain is one of the main producers along with Italy and France.
Truffles grow on the roots of the Holm Oak in a symbionic relationship. In simple terms, this means that they grow in harmony with, and of benefit to, each other. The black truffle ports certain nutrients directly into the root system of the host tree and in return, the tree gives the black truffle a place to live, grow and propagate. Black truffles generally grow just under the surface of the soil to a depth of about 30 cm (about 10
inches).
Black truffles prefer a rocky, marginal type of soil with low clay content, well decomposed organic matter, well drained with a high ph between 7.0 – 8.5. The black truffle is found in the wild between the latitudes 40 N to 47 N. This basically corresponds to Valencia in Spain to Paris in France. Although it is mostly found in Spain, France and Italy,it doers grow in Hungary and the former Yugoslavia region.
Spain is the largest producer of black truffle but black truffle farms have also been established in Tasmania, New Zealand, Australia, South America and the USA. There has been a mixed degree of success on farm outside Europe as the black truffle is not native to these areas of the world.
With proper planning and management, land almost anywhere can be made suitable to grow black truffles. If you live in a part of the world where a black truffle farm is not feasible for whatever reason, there are other types of truffles that may be able to be grown successfully in your area. Even though these other varities of truffle may be of lesser commercial value, they can still be well worth the effort.
Why grow Truffles in Australia?
Growing truffles in Western Australia is a speculative venture at the present time. There have been five truffle orchards established in Western Australia in the past five years. The New Zealand success has proven that truffles can be grown in the Southern Hemisphere very successfully.
Black truffles are an expensive delicacy. The truffle season in Europe is from November to February when they can fetch prices up to $9000/kilo. In Australia, the season is May to Augus twhich makes it ideal for exporting fresh truffles to the northern hemisphere for their off season. Besides this, the climate in the South West of Western Australia is ideal
for truffle orchards, as it is similar to the natural growing environment of the Bordeaux Region in Southern France.
Author Bio: The author is an successful producer of Truffles in Australia.with his own Truffle Australia farm.
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