14
TRUFFLES
Paradise for black truffles in Spain
Teruel was the perfect venue for the ‘1st International Congress of Trufi culture’. More than 270 attendees from 23 countries convened in Aragon from 5 to 8 March to share new research, visit companies and to enjoy top notch truffl e cuisine.
By Judith Evenaar
Teruel is a town with a population of 35,000, located halfway between Valencia and Madrid. The inhabitants are proud of their rich cultural history and gastronomic traditions, but they are particularly proud of the fact that their region accounts for no less than 20 per cent of the global production of black truffles. The town offers all the facilities necessary to welcome an international group of scientists and truffle growers from all over the world. Aragon, and the municipal authorities of Teruel in par- ticular, have chosen truffle growing as a vehicle to trig- ger sustainable development in the region. In the 1950s and 1960s lone truffle hunters in this area could even find specimens weighing 15 to 20 kilos out in the wild! “They gave a kick and found a truffle!” people said. But nowadays it is impossible to find naturally grown wild truffles here.
Certifi ed seedlings of Quercus ilex with black truffl e mycelium at In- otruf, the largest growery of Spain in its fi eld (see:
www.inotruf.com).
In the 1970s and 1980s the region faced huge chal- lenges. Traditional crops of cereals and almonds were no longer profitable. The inhabitants abandoned the region, cattle farming disappeared and trees were no longer felled for use as fuel and building material.
In 1987 an extensive action plan was launched by the Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA) in an attempt to reverse the tide, and the first training courses were organised for truffle growers. Julio Perales Vicente and Juan M. Estrada of the Teruel Black Truffle Growers’ Association expressed their im- mense gratitude for the investments made in know- ledge and the funding to help start the truffle planta- tions. The growers’ association has now been going for 15 years and numbers more than 500 members. It acts as a platform to unite the people in the region and training younger members serves as the foundation for the further development of the sector. Aragon has a characteristic, continental moderate cli- mate and a soil that is ideally suited for growing ‘black diamonds’ (Tuber melanosporum, el trufa negra /black truffles). Expectations for the future are high, as more than 12,000 km² is considered to be very favourable for cultivating black truffles. Spain is the global leader in the production of black truffles. Some 30-50% of the total world production is harvested in Spain and an es- timated 10,000 families are employed in truffle growing or truffle hunting.
The fi rst congress Dr. Reyna (University of Valencia) had the honour of opening the congress. In his speech he emphasised the general trend of the declining harvest of natural truffles, and that truffle growing is very important for the sustai- nable development of rural areas. The same applies to France - where truffle production has fallen from 2000 tons to 50 tons – and other Euro- pean countries. The congress in general gave a good impression of the state of truffle cultivation worldwide. The subjects treated included; cultivation and cultiva- tion techniques, sustainable forest management and development, ecology and biodiversity, genetics and the life cycle of truffle varieties, strategies for preser- vation and marketing and post harvest processing. The organising committee, chaired by Juan J. Barriuso of CITA, deserve a compliment for the perfect organisa- tion of the very first congress of its kind. After many years of research there is more insight into the key factors for successful truffle growing: soil and climate parameters, irrigation, planting density, ways of tilling the soil to achieve better aeration, how to prune the trees to promote better root growth, choosing the right type of tree to inoculate with truffles and the quality of the mycorrhized seedlings. Despite all the in- formation produced by research and the latest insights, Dr. Reyna compared truffle growing with a blindfolded person growing oranges. Growing truffles is more complicated and growers have to take many risks and accept the inherent insecurities. There is no ignoring
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