[Pil-pc-oceania] Aust company makes truffle growing breakthrough (farmonline)

[Deb Guildner]

Aust company makes truffle growing breakthrough
17/04/2008 4:08:00 PM
Research by an Australian company and an organic soils analysis consultancy has identified the ideal soil requirements for growing truffles.
The breakthrough was announced by Tim Terry, director of Truffles Australis Pty Ltd, which has been working with the organic soil analysis consultancy, SWEP Laboratories and Palm-Ag Services.

"After taking dozens of soil samples from truffle producing trees and non truffle producing trees around Australia, Truffles Australis and SWEP Laboratories have been able to detect a clear difference in the soil requirements to achieve production." Mr Terry says.

Mr Terry produced the first truffle grown in Australia, on his farm in Deloraine, near Launceston in Tasmania in 1999.

Since there have been nine-year-old trees that had never produced a truffle Mr Terry decided to test the research.

He applied the new management regime to just a few of those trees in September 2007. In the first week in March, 2008. he says he he saw truffles under those trees.

"This is a fantastic breakthrough for the industry.

The breakthrough came after examining not only soil nutrition, irrigation management and climate but also the microbial interaction.

"This is a multi faceted research project that has taken many years to come together. Most other truffle research has focused on just the major soil elements, or water or microbial issues. 

"SWEP, Truffles Australis and Palm-Ag Services believed the key lay in the interaction between all of these and the results of the research have proved them to be correct.

"Overseas technology and consultants cannot give us these sorts of answers in our soils we can proceed with confidence knowing our research is probably the most extensive and up to date as any in the world," he says.


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