Reply To: FE520 Interesting Talk in BC

[Alana McGee]

That is our lovely colleague Dr. Shannon Berch! Nice find Shannon. I forgot this was on youtube! For anyone who is interested she will be giving another talk on truffles and state of the industry on Vancouver Island in Feb. It should be an interesting series. She is also speaking at OTF about the Canadian Orchards and what has been going on this year. Let me know and I can dig up the info on when and where etc.

Since she gave this talk we actually found cultivated perigord and Burgundy truffles in Canada. In March and July 2013 respectively for each species. It was the first perigord in Canada and the first cultivated Burgundy Truffles in all of North America! Very exciting stuff. Proof of concept!

I have attached the picture of that first Perigord and the farms where they were produced so you can begin to see an idea of the differences in orchards (or for those of you in Europe- what some lightly managed wild sites may look like). We have permission from these farmers to share these photos with you for this purpose.

In this photo Lo is taking a break. Notice the br?l?e area around the base of the hazel and the oak in the background. Eventhough the tree is teeny that is not necessarily an indication of mycorrhizal growth. Br?l?es are a good indication of mycorrhizal activity, but are not evidence of truffles themselves. However, for those of you in the UK looking on wild birch, beech and oak, and you Rachel when you are looking on non fir/pine sites, this kind of br?l?e is a good indication of areas to focus your search. This is a natural br?l?e. Remember this applies to European Species being cultivated or wild European species in grassy habitats- not our native species in the PNW. Pecan truffles also do this if given the same kind of grassy habitat.

The 1st Perigord grown in Canada.

That Orchard the following Spring. Dandelions!

truffieresmall.jpg

Lo on that Burgundy Farm & Br?l?e

nutfarm8small.jpg