Quality assessment of truffle-inoculated seedlings in Italy: proposing revised parameters for certification
Abstract
Aim of study: the main aims of this study were to evaluate the quality of truffle-inoculated seedlings produced by commercial nurseries in Italy and to identify their minimum requisites in terms of plant age, health, homogeneity, and cut-off percentage of inoculated Tuber and non-Tuber ectomycorrhizae, based on the analysis of an extensive sample of seedlings subjected to quality control and certification.
Area of study: truffle-inoculated seedlings produced by Italian commercial nurseries.
Material and Methods: analysis of truffle-inoculated seedlings for health and quality standards; recording of presence of inoculated Tuber spp. and other concurrent fungi according to the official Italian method for certification; selective amplification of ectomycorrhizal DNA by PCR species-specific primers.
Main results: We showed that mycorrhization levels in truffle-inoculated seedlings increased with time after truffle-spore inoculation. The highest mean percentage of the inoculated Tuber spp., but also the highest presence of contaminants, were recorded after three years. The mycorrhization level of Tuber melanosporum and T. aestivum was higher in Corylus and Ostrya seedlings than in Q. ilex and Q. pubescens, but the latter two host species showed the lowest presence of other ectomycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhization level distribution in truffle-inoculated seedlings of suitable batches differed very little from the distribution in only all suitable seedlings. Truffle seedlings with other Tuber spp. were very few and even absent after three years. The general quality of Italian truffle-inoculated seedlings is high but can be improved even further by revising the parameters used for their certification.
Research highlights: Mycorrhization assessment in truffle-inoculated seedlings produced by commercial nurseries and a revision of the parameters of quality standards following several years of certification in Italy.
Keywords: Truffle cultivation; truffle seedlings; mycorrhization level; Tuber; commercial nursery; certification methods.
Downloads
References
Agerer R, 1987-2012. Colour atlas of Ectomycorrhizae. Einhorn-Verlag + Druck GmbH, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany.
Alvarado P, Manjon J, 2013. A quantitative and molecular examination of Tuber melanosporum mycorrhizae in Quercus ilex seedlings from different suppliers in Spain. Forest Systems 22: 159-169. http://dx.doi.org/10.5424/fs/2013222-03559
Amicucci A, Zambonelli A, Guidi C, Stocchi V, 2001. Morphological and molecular characterization of Pulvinula constellatio ectomycorrhizae. FEMS Microbiology Letters 194: 121-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb09456.x
Bach I, Bordács S, Szlávik S, 2010. Development of an official method to control the quality of mycorrhized forestry material in Hungary. Ost Zeitschr f Pilzk 19: 227-229.
Bencivenga M, Baciarelli Falini L, 2012. Manuale di Tartuficoltura, Esperienze di coltivazione dei tartufi in Umbria. Perugia, Italy.
Bencivenga M, Di Massimo G, Donnini D, Tanfulli M, 1995. Micorrize inquinanti frequenti nelle piante tartufigene. Nota 1 - inquinanti in vivaio Micologia Italiana 2: 167-178.
Benucci GMN, Bonito G, Baciarelli Falini L, Bencivenga M, 2012a. Mycorrhization of pecan trees (Carya illinoinensis) with commercial truffle species: Tuber aestivum Vittad. and Tuber borchii Vittad. Mycorrhiza 22: 383-392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00572-011-0413-z
Benucci GMN, Bonito G, Baciarelli Falini L, Bencivenga M, Donnini D. 2012b. Truffles, Timber, Food, and Fuel: Sustainable Approaches for Multi-cropping Truffles and Economically Important Plants. In: Zambonelli A, Bonito G (Eds.), Edible Ectomycorrhizal Mushrooms,Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 265-280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33823-6_15
Benucci GMN, Gogan Csorbai A, Baciarelli Falini L, Bencivenga M, Di Massimo G, Donnini D, 2012c. Mycorrhization of Quercus robur L., Quercus cerris L. and Corylus avellana L. seedlings with Tuber macrosporum Vittad. Mycorrhiza 22: 639-646. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00572-012-0441-3
Benucci GMN, Raggi L, Di Massimo G, Baciarelli-Falini L, Bencivenga M, Falcinelli M, Albertini E, 2011. Species-specific primers for the identification of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Tuber macrosporum Vittad. Mol Ecol Resour 11: 378-381. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0998.2010.02915.x
Council Directive 1999/105/EC of 22 December 1999. on the marketing of forest reproductive material. Official Journal of the European Communities 11: 17-40.
DGR n. 13429 of 24 May 1996. Approvazione del metodo di valutazione delle piante micorrizate con funghi del genere Tuber basato sulla caratterizzazione morfologica delle micorrize. Regione Umbria 65-73.
Donnini D, 2005. Controllo morfologico e certificazione delle piante micorrizate. Seminario sullo stato attuale della tartuficoltura italiana, Spoleto-Norcia, pp. 22-27.
Fischer C, Colinas C, 1996. Methodology for the certification of Quercus ilex seedlings inoculated with Tuber melanosporum for commercial application. First International Conference on Mycorrhiza, Aug. 4–9, 1996, Berkeley, CA.
Frank B. 2005. On the nutritional dependence of certain trees on root symbiosis with belowground fungi (an English translation of AB Frank's classic paper of 1885). Mycorrhiza 15: 267-275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00572-004-0329-y
Gilman EF, Sadowsky L, 2007. Selecting quality trees from the nursery. In: Urban Forest Hurricane Recovery Program series (UF/IFAS Extension Eds.), pp. 1-8.
Govi G, Bencivenga M, Pacioni G, Palenzona M, Tocci A, Zambonelli A, 1995. Presentazione del metodo di valutazione delle piante micorrizate con funghi del gen. Tuber basato sulla caratterizzazione morfologica delle micorrize. .
Granetti B, De Angelis A, Materozzi G, 2005. Umbria terra di tartufi. Umbriagraf, Terni, Italy.
Hall IR, Brown GT, Zambonelli A, 2007. Taming the truffle: the history, lore, and science of the ultimate mushroom. Portland, Or: Timber Press.
Horton TR, Bruns TD, 2001. The molecular revolution in ectomycorrhizal ecology: peeking into the black-box. Molecular Ecology 10: 1855-1871. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01333.x
Kennedy P, 2010. Ectomycorrhizal fungi and interspecific competition: species interactions, community structure, coexistence mechanisms, and future research directions. New Phytologist 187: 895-910. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03399.x
Mello A, Garnero L, Bonfante P, 1999. Specific PCR-primers as a reliable tool for the detection of white truffles in mycorrhizal roots. New Phytologist 141: 511-516. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.1999.00356.x
Mello A, Cantisani A, Vizzini A, Bonfante P, 2002. Genetic variability of Tuber uncinatum and its relatedness to other black truffles. Environmental Microbiology 4: 584-594. http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1462-2920.2002.00343.x
Miko M, Gažo J, 2007. Methodical assessment of host tree seedlings inoculated with Tuber aestivum Vitt. for application in agroforestry. Acta Fytotechnica et Zootechnica 10: 12-16.
Reyna S, Boronat J, Palomar E, Hall I, Wang Y, Danell E, Zambonelli A, 2002. Quality control of plants mycorrhized with Tuber melanosporum Vitt. Edible mycorrhizal mushrooms and their cultivation. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Edible Mycorrhizal Mushrooms, Christchurch, New Zealand, 3-6 July, 2001., Crop & Food Research, pp. 0-9.
Rubini A, Paolocci F, Granetti B, Arcioni S, 1998. Single step molecular characterization of morphologically similar black truffe species. FEMS Microbiology Letters 164: 7-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.1998.tb13060.x
Rubini A, Paolocci F, Granetti B, Arcioni S, 2001. Morphological characterization of molecular-typed Tuber magnatum ectomycorrhizae. Mycorrhiza 11: 179-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s005720100116
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the printed and online versions of this Journal are the property of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” (CC BY 4.0) License. You may read here the basic information and the legal text of the license. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 License must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the published by the Editor, is not allowed.
