The Mysteries of the White Truffle: Its Biology, Ecology and Cultivation

Abstract

Tuber magnatum Picco is the most expensive of the truffles and a great deal of research has been carried out in an attempt to solve the mysteries of its ecology and biology. However, considerable work remains to be done particularly on those secrets of its life cycle that remain a mystery. It is known that T. magnatum is heterothallic, but it has yet to be determined how fertilization occurs between the two strains of different mating types. It is also known that the white truffle is an ectomycorrhizal fungus, and its mycorrhizas can be produced in greenhouses, but then they seem to disappear in the field. The role of other soil microorganisms, fungi and bacteria, on its soil mycelial development and fructification is intriguing but is far from being completely understood. All these uncertainties have made the cultivation of T. magnatum extremely difficult and only recently have we had the scientific proofs that it is possible. Even so, many questions remain unanswered and the management practices of T. magnatum plantations are still to be better defined to also enable the taming of this truffle.