Truffle oaks

Truffle production from an oak plant

Oak accommodates and lives naturally in symbiosis with the truffle. It is the queen species of truffle growing and for good reason : It suits any type of non-acidic soil (from very poor to good, dry, preferably calcareous and well-drained). Robust, it tolerates cold while thriving fully in full sun.

Ability of mycorrhizal oak to produce truffles

Truffle tree par excellence, the oak is undemanding in water, thrives on a very wide variety of soils even very poor ones, but only develops fully in warmth and sunlight. It thrives even on poor and superficial soils thanks to the extreme density of its root system, which is a real asset for truffle production. Naturally "armed" against rodents, it requires less protection than other species. In addition, oak has no particular phytosanitary sensitivity.

Pubescens oak, evergreen oak, turkey oak... Which one to choose in truffle farming?

The oaks are the emblematic trees of truffle growing (it is on these species that the first mycorrhized plants were developed in 1974 by the INRA). The choice between the different varieties of oaks is made according to the desired characteristics. The parameters to be taken into consideration include
- exposure: maximum exposure for the pubescent oak and the kermes oak, full sun to half-shade for the pedunculate oak, the evergreen oak and the turkey oak, half-shade for the sessile oak.
- altitude : up to 1600m for the pubescent oak, 1400m for the turkey oak, 1200m for the pedunculate oak and the evergreen oak, rarely above 600m for the kermes oak.
- the need for water : good tolerance to drought (apart from the recovery phase) for the evergreen oak, the downy oak, the kermes oak and the turkey oak, contrary to the pedunculate oak which does not tolerate aridity well.
- hardiness: up to -25°C for the turkey oak and the pubescent oak, -15°C for the evergreen oak and the pedunculate oak, -12°C for the kermes oak.

What truffles to grow from an oak plant

The growth cycle of the oak, which requires heat and light, naturally brings it closer to the ideal conditions for the cultivation of the black truffle (tuber melanosporum) and the production of summer truffle (tuber aestivum). However, a simple increase in its planting density allows to favor shade and humidity, which generates the right conditions for the Burgundy truffle farming (tuber uncinatum). Finally, note that controlled mycorrhization also makes pedunculate and pubescent oaks very good hosts for the Italian white truffle. So to summarize: the oak is the truffle plant able to produce the four varieties of truffles.