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Truffles, Timber, Food, and Fuel: Sustainable Approaches for Multi-cropping Truffles and Economically Important Plants

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Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms

Part of the book series: Soil Biology ((SOILBIOL,volume 34))

Abstract

Truffles are the fruiting bodies produced by a number of sequestrate fungi, the majority of which are ectomycorrhizal. Most edible truffle species belong to the Pezizales. The greatest successes in cultivating edible ectomycorrhizal fungi have been within the truffle genus Tuber. Traditionally, hazelnut and oak are used as host plants in truffle cultivation, yet there are other economic host taxa that also hold promise as truffle hosts. These include trees being planted for timber and fiber (e.g., Pinus spp., Pseudotsuga spp.), food [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) K. Koch, Corylus spp.], and fuel (e.g., Populus spp., Salix spp.). When planted in their native range, various economic truffle species are found associated with these particular host taxa. Truffle harvests provide a shorter-term revenue source while longer-term timber investments mature, and together provide long-term annual income from standing forests. Nonmarket benefits of ecological multi-cropping with truffles include carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, and wildlife habitat.

Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci and Gregory Bonito contributed equally to this work and must be considered first authors.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Europe, truffle plantations are not so often damaged by pathogens or pests and usually do not require any particular treatment. One exception however is downy mildew [Erysiphe alphitoides (Griffon & Maubl.) U. Braun & S. Takam.], a common pest of oaks (e.g., Q. pubescens) in truffle orchards in Europe and the USA. Precautionary measure should be taken when introducing exotic hosts to a nonnative habitat (Fisher et al. 2012), and as in any nursery trade, care should be taken to avoid transporting and transplanting pests, diseases, or susceptible rootstock into one’s orchard. In the USA, eastern filbert blight [Anisogramma anomala (Peck) E. Müll.] has become a major problem in truffle orchards using susceptible hazelnut species (C. avellana). Resistant hybrid cultivars have been produced, but resistance varies. Similarly, a range of diseases affect pecan. These are more of a problem in humid climates but can be managed for (Sparks 2005). Emerging diseases, such as sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum Werres, de Cock, & Man in’t Veld), could be disastrous if introduced to an oak orchard (Garbelotto and Pautasso 2012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Biology, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy

    Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci, Leonardo Baciarelli Falini, Mattia Bencivenga & Domizia Donnini

  2. Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    Gregory Bonito

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  1. Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci
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  2. Gregory Bonito
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  3. Leonardo Baciarelli Falini
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  4. Mattia Bencivenga
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  5. Domizia Donnini
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Correspondence to Gian Maria Niccolò Benucci or Gregory Bonito .

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  1. , Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Universitá di Bologna, Via Fanin 46, Bologna, 40127, Italy

    Alessandra Zambonelli

  2. , Biology Department, Duke University, 130 Science Drive, Durham NC, 27708-0338, USA

    Gregory M Bonito

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Benucci, G.M.N., Bonito, G., Falini, L.B., Bencivenga, M., Donnini, D. (2012). Truffles, Timber, Food, and Fuel: Sustainable Approaches for Multi-cropping Truffles and Economically Important Plants. In: Zambonelli, A., Bonito, G. (eds) Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms. Soil Biology, vol 34. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33823-6_15

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