Europe, a continent with high potential for the cultivation of the Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum/uncinatum)

Abstract

The Burgundy truffle (<em>Tuber aestivum/uncinatum</em>) grows, in Europe, in the most varied soils from a physical and chemical viewpoint. The only common point is the presence of a minimum level of exchangeable calcium in the soil. The truffle soils in Europe can be classified in two categories: the soils coming directly from the parent rock, and those formed from deposits covering the parent rock. The first group corresponds to most traditional truffle areas , France, Italy and Spain. It is also true for some soils from Ireland to Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria), from Southern Europe (Greece, former Yugoslavia) to Northern Europe (Sweden, Baltic countries). The sedimentary layers that cover most areas are from the secondary and tertiary era. The primary parent rocks are less frequent. The second group means quaternary or recent alluviums covering the parent rock on huge surfaces and at great depth sometimes. They characterize mainly countries Eastern and Northern Europe. By bringing within reason limestone, it is possible to cultivate <em>T. aestivum/uncinatum</em> on sedimentary soils non-calcareous or decalcified or even on soils issued from magmatic rocks (granite) or metamorphic (schists). The possibilities of truffle cultivation in Europe are therefore enormous, the limiting factors not being the soil but the climate.