This talk will focus on optimal tree host nutrition for truffle production. I will cover the basics of tree nutrition and soil nutrient availability, highlighting special nutritional characteristics of trees. Target ranges of foliar nutrients for truffle production and the challenge of optimizing tree nutrition in basic soils will be discussed. I will review methods of foliar nutrient analysis and suggest avenues for future research.
Webinar Recorded 10/17/2022. This is NATGAās first webinar under the TRAPI umbrella. We highlight the current tools and technologies using DNA to characterize fungal species and populations present in truffle orchards. The team discussed what these genetic tools are and what they can tell us, how these insights might be applied to management, and how current and emerging genetic technologies may help us to provide better information on the living communities present in your orchard.
Webinar recorded September 19 2022. On a cold morning in February 2022 the Microbial Ecology and Evolution class (Bio557L) from Duke University visited Burwell Farms in north central North Carolina. The class was led by Dr. Rytas Vilgalys, Dr. Jake Nash and Dr. Corbin Bryan. Burwell Farms invited the class to conduct research on the effects of high pH and other orchard management practices on Tuber borchii and native fungi and bacteria. Burwell Farms has earned fame for having successfully cultivating T. borchii with loblolly pine and is currently the USAās most productive truffle orchard (Smithsonian Magazine June 2021). The students learned best truffle cultivation practices and how two dogs, Elora and Laddie, work to find truffles. As part of the class project, students collected fresh soil and root samples from within and outside the truffle orchard. Then students performed a series of forest microbiome analyses using both Sanger and nextgen sequencing (ITS gene for fungi, 16S gene for bacteria). In this webinar, Dr. Vilgalys will present their findings which compare the fungal and bacterial communities associated with managed and natural pine forest microbiomes.
Having the right tools is half the battle. Todays Genetic Tools to help measure success for increased Truffle Production. This is NATGA’s first webinar under the TRAPI umbrella.
Webinar recorded July 18 2022
As the twinkling of the last star fades
The morning mists arise
The secrets of the forest lie
Beneath their earthly guise
The mossy duff exudes
An ancient aromatic lure
Of reproductive readiness
Irresistible and pure
A bouquet of love, and want and spice
Rivulets arise
Invisible on morning air Belie
A subterranean surprise
The damp silence, split by echoes
The jingle of a dog
The gravel crunches underfoot
In the eastern mountain fog
The huffing puffing quadruped
Detects the ancient scent
His head snaps to, he drops his nose
To find the hunts intent
He circles against the gradient
Of biochemical diffusion
A miracle of mammalian
Olfactory evolution
A cool dawn breeze amongst the trees
The leaves, the spruce duff rustle
A frantic paw pulls back the moss –
The Appalachian truffle
In this webinar, Dr. Vilgalys will present their findings which compare the fungal and bacterial communities associated with managed and natural pine forest microbiomes.
Fall Truffle Congress
November 11-13, 2022
Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
Roanoke, Virginia
Unearthing the Appalachianā¦or, Can I Lick Your Bottom, Canaliculatum. (An important mnemonic device) by Ben Kable
Truffle growers have a lot of ideas and information available on management practices necessary to produce truffles. Sometimes ideas conflict, it is not clear what level of a treatment is most effective, or you have an off-the-wall idea to try. We can test our ideas and decide which practices work best using basic experimental methods. This webinar reviews those methods and encourages the sharing of results to help us all learn. The discussion will include how to use controlled experiments to test approaches or ideas, i.e., your hypothesis, and consider different types of variables, experimental subjects, replication, controls, and how to decide if observed responses are meaningful. We will also consider some essentials that make it easy to document the justification, approach, and results of your test. Beyond these basic requirements, understanding basic experimental practices is essential to successfully host meaningful research conducted by truffle scientists.
View Recording Truffle growers have a lot of ideas and information available on management practices necessary to produce truffles. Sometimes ideas conflict, it is not clear what level of a treatment is most effective, or you have an off-the-wall idea to try. We can test our ideas and decide which …
