July 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology

JULY 2010 swinburne
have been inoculated with truffle spores (as
with truffières in Australia).
Highly sought-after for their pungent
flavour and aroma, which is easily imparted
to other ingredients, such as oil and eggs,
truffles were called “the diamond of the
kitchen” by the 18th-century French
gastronome Brillat-Savarin. Truffle
consumption is recorded as far back as
400 BC and truffle hunting remains a
mysterious occupation, with hunters seeking
out the truffles using specially trained dogs.
However, truffle harvests have declined
substantially during the past century. In
France in 1900 truffle hunters harvested
1000 tonnes from the forests. “Now, the total
harvest is down to about 20 tonnes a year.
We went to an annual truffle auction, where
hunters arrive with their truffles in little
bamboo baskets, and at that auction last year
there was only about 50 kilograms of truffles
for sale. The year before at the same event
there was 200 kilograms,” Colin says.
In Italy and France, licensed truffle hunters
are allowed access to the forests. There are few
cultivated truffières. However, in Spain – where
truffles are not traditionally part of the local
cuisine – Colin witnessed expanding plantation
truffières, providing him with
insights into horticultural techniques
and the need for advanced farming
techniques in Australia to produce
truffles good enough for premium
export markets.
Truffles grow most
successfully in free-draining
soils with a pH of 8. In Europe,
low pH soils are not considered
suitable. However, in Australia,
Colin says growers have proven
that the addition of lime to correct
the pH of acidic soils can produce Colin Carter
truffles successfully.
“Only about eight per cent of trees in
Australia at the moment are producing
truffles. In Spain, the lowest result in a
plantation truffière would be 30 per cent. But
one guy I met claimed he was getting 90 per
cent, so we have to look at what techniques
we are using – particularly pruning,
cultivation and irrigation,” Colin says. He
adds that in Europe the mycorrhiza (the
fungus from which the truffle grows) prosper
in “hungry” soils that regularly dry out at
the base of trees that “never look luxuriant.”
This is contrary to mainstream horticultural
beliefs in Australia.
Another message Colin brings back is
the need to ensure only superior varieties
of truffles are produced in Australia –
namely the French black truffle (Tuber
melanosporum), the summer truffle
(T. aestivum) and two white truffles,
Italian white (T. magnatum) and bianchetto
(T. borchii). Inferior truffles, such as
T. indicum, which originated in China, are
being grown in Europe and are often buried
in bags of French black truffles bought by
unsuspecting buyers, with their true identity
not revealed until they are cleaned.
“Australian production is off-season to the
European truffles and our target markets are
the high-end Asian consumers who already
recognise Australia’s image for clean, green,
high-quality food production, which only
helps our industry,” Colin says.
As the local industry grows, so will
demand for knowledgeable horticulturalists,
Colin anticipates. This may provide potential
training opportunities for Swinburne, with
truffière owners – who often come to the
industry after retiring from careers in other
industries – looking for weekend and remote
learning opportunities.
Colin says he has always been fascinated
by the horticulture behind truffle growing. “I
was teaching students about mycorrhiza on
eucalypts and how it is needed to ensure good
growth when, about five years ago, a colleague
introduced me to truffles. It takes a while to
get your head around growing trees
that don’t look the best and need
hungry soils to prosper.”
Wayne Haslam, president of
the 80-member Australian Truffle
Grower’s Association, says the
knowledge gathered by Colin
in his travels will benefit all of
Australia’s growers (estimated at
140) who tend the 600 hectares of
truffières across Australia.
“There is so much about
truffles we just don’t understand.
One of the biggest unanswered
questions is what triggers the
mycorrhiza to start the fruiting process. If
we knew that, and the impact of Australian
soils and climate, perhaps production could
increase significantly,” he says.
However, Wayne predicts the Australian
industry will continue to grow because of
undersupply in Europe, and the best product
should maintain a consistently high price of
$1500 to $1800 a kilogram at the farm gate.
A 2008 report by the Rural Industries
Research and Development Corporation
says Australia’s truffle production could
reach 10 tonnes by 2013 from more than
600 hectares of mature truffières. ••
CONTACT. .
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1300 275 788
magazine@swinburne.edu.au
www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine
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