How to grow a truffle: technology, recommendations

Food production is an activity whose results are always in demand. And this is not surprising, because people are willing to pay constantly for the opportunity to eat tasty and natural food.

Those who are willing to devote themselves to the productionfarm products are probably worth paying attention to such a rare idea of ​​agricultural business in our country, such as the cultivation of truffles. How to grow truffle in the Russian environment and how profitable can be the production of this delicacy?

"Golden Mushroom". Is truffle expensive?

Not one of the existing mushrooms in the world is willing to pay as much as for a truffle: the price for 1 kg varies from 500 to 5000 dollars.

Moreover, abroad is not uncommon.auctions in which truffles are offered for sale as if they were works of art. Depending on the variety, quality, weight and other parameters, the price for one “golden mushroom” can reach an indecently high level of several thousand euros.

Of course, homemade truffles have little chancebecome participants in such trades. And the price for them is significantly lower than for a mushroom grown in its natural environment. Restaurants, which menu includes dishes from the "golden mushroom", willingly buy up truffle grown on plantations. The price for 1 kg of a product does not frighten them.

What truffle is in demand

In fact, many species of fungus. But not everyone is good for food. In cooking, use only two types. White, he is Piedmontese, is the rarest and most valuable. It grows mainly in Italy, and specifically in the Piedmont region, which gave the name to the species. The mushroom has the most delicate, delicate aroma and delicious taste. Unfortunately, it is impossible to grow these truffles at home.

Another type is black, or, as it is called,Perigord truffle. Homeland mushroom - the eponymous French region. Due to the fact that black truffle is not so capricious as white, and can be cultivated in plantation conditions, the Perigord truffle grows in many European countries, as well as in Russia and Ukraine.

In addition to these two, there are other edible species. For example, Chinese or summer. But black is the most suitable for plantations. Therefore, when they talk about how to grow a truffle, it is usually the Perigord species that is meant.

We grow truffles in Russia. Conditions for harvest

Several centuries of observing and collecting trufflesallowed us to derive a formula for the necessary conditions for the successful growth of truffles on the plantations. The technology of growing truffles is a rather complicated, costly and, most importantly, a long process. To get the first harvest, it will take at least 5 years of caring care for the farm. What you need to know about how to grow truffles? First of all, in order for a capricious delicacy to take root and start growing, it is required:

• suitable climate and landing area;
• favorable soil (soil);
• mycorrhiza.

Climatic and relief features

A mild warm climate and stable low rainfall are the main climatic requirements of the truffle. Gentle mushroom does not tolerate either intense heat or prolonged cold.

Where and how to grow truffle in ourcountry? Medium Russia is well suited for production - sunny and not too hot summer, spring rains and warm autumn contribute to the excellent growth of the mushroom gourmet.

If the land lease is not planned,truffle is quite possible to grow in the basement. At the same time the room should be sufficiently spacious, with moderate humidity and a stable temperature of about +22 degrees.

Soil for truffle farm

To the soil in which truffles will grow,requirements are not less high. Laboratory analysis is required for soil saturation with nutrients, nitrogen, carbon, lime, calcium. Also, the soil surface should not be subject to water erosion and be at an angle of no more than 15 degrees. The height of the fertile soil layer is required at least 30 cm.

Before landing, be sure to checkacid-base balance, which has a base for truffles. You can do this with two simple tests. Some soil taken at the site of the proposed plantation should be added to a container with white vinegar. If the reaction is a low hiss of solution, it means too high a level of acidity. Another test is carried out using litmus paper, which just needs to be immersed in the ground. The paper should turn blue. The absence of such a reaction also means insufficient alkali. And in this and in another case, the alkaline level of the site is required to increase, gradually adding lime.

Mycorrhiza and planting seedlings

The symbiosis of the roots of the partner tree and the truffle wearsthe name "mycorrhiza". The fungus grows underground, on tree roots, in small families of 5-7 truffles. The tree feeds its “neighbors” with everything necessary for growth: carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins and other substances that affect the taste properties of the fungus. But also truffle does not parasitize - the symbiosis helps the tree to be saturated with minerals and phosphorus.

Planting of the mycelium, the seed material of the fungus, occurs in several stages.

It is important to know that they land in open ground.seedlings with mycorrhiza mushroom. Ready seedlings infected with truffle mycelium, you can simply buy. And to create mycorrhiza on its own, sprouts of partner trees and land from the natural habitat of the truffle infected with mycelium will be required. Infecting the rhizome with truffle mycelium, a seedling for at least two weeks should be kept in absolutely sterile conditions. And only after quarantine, a sapling can be planted in open soil. This is done like this:

• A small amount of water is poured into prepared holes with a depth of about 70 cm, then a tree with mycorrhiza is planted and covered with earth.
• It is required to create a protective layer around the hole within a radius of 40 cm. This may be a layer of garden film, forest foliage and branches, straw.
• Important: it is unacceptable to plant trees too close to each other. The optimal planting is 5 to 4 m, so no more than 500 mycorrhizal seedlings will be produced per hectare.
• Before planting it is not necessary to use additional fertilizers in order not to harm the mycelium.

After planting the seedlings mycorrhiza, it takes a whole year to consolidate. After that, the truffle will reliably and finally take root at the root.

Further care is as follows: you need to remove weeds around the planting, do not forget to loosen in the spring and regularly water the trees in a drip way. Cracks that can form in the ground, be sure to fall asleep sand.

The entire growth period of the seedlings must be protected fromrodents, rabbits and pests. In addition, on the site, along with allied trees, there may be plants, next to which a capricious delicacy cannot grow. Such trees need to be cleaned.

What trees are required for truffle growing

The ideal partner for mycorrhiza is oak. But such trees as olive, hazel, sequoia, beech, hornbeam, or any types of citrus fruits may come up.

Important: truffle categorically does not tolerate willow, poplar, spruce, chestnut, fir! These trees on the plantation should not be.

How to find a crop?

Cultivated truffles at homeripen from early to late autumn, and the number of mushrooms that can be harvested in one such period - according to approximate estimates - 10 or 15 kg per hectare.

Truffle differs from other fruits of the earth in thatthat it is not enough to plant and grow. This fungus will still have to be found - the crop can hide at a depth of about 30 cm under the ground. It is better, of course, to buy a specially trained animal (dog or pig) that can smell a delicacy while waiting for the first truffles. But if there is no such assistant in the farm, there are several signs by which you can find the truffle family:

• The smell of ripe truffle family invariably attracts insects. For this reason, a large number of midges always hover over the place where the mushrooms “hid”.
• Grass growing above the truffle dies and dries up by the time the mushroom ripens.
• The ground above the truffle is slightly raised.

How to store collected mushrooms

Undoubtedly, the best product is fresh cut, thenthere is one that is assembled no more than a day ago. However, if the implementation of truffle or cooking dishes from these delicacies is possible a little later, to preserve all the taste and nutritional properties of the fungus, you must follow these storage rules:

• truffles should always be stored, not clearing from the ground, because it, like a natural container, will save the cut mushroom from the destructive action of microorganisms and the loss of natural delicate taste;
• cool storage temperature (fridge);
• professional culinary experts recommend this method of preserving the natural moisture of the truffles: wrap the unpeeled mushroom in parchment paper and place it in a container with dry rice.

So, having understood in more detail how mushrooms growtruffles and what conditions for this must be created, we can conclude that the process of their production is incredibly long and costly. Nevertheless, plantations for growing this delicacy are not only common in European countries, but are also gradually gaining momentum in Russia. The reason is simple: this business is profitable, no matter what. A truffle, once planted, bears fruit for a very long time, up to 30 years. And given the prices and high demand, we can expect that all investments will pay off in the first harvest years.