Media coverageSeptember, 2025
WICC was invited to a two-day celebration in Denmark of new technology that gives farmers confidence in planting trees with significant economic returns. Kylie Cook and Shaun Ossinger from WICC, along with Luke Bayley from South Coast Natural Resource Management (SCNRM) participated in the two-day event with the research team collaborating with Silverplace; a Denmark-based truffle nursery and experimental truffle orchard committed to science-led truffle cultivation. Silverplace collaborates with researchers from Murdoch University, the University of Bologna, and Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre.
Historically, farmers establishing a truffle orchard as a large plantation has been a high-risk venture. This is because the fungal biome's subterranean microscopic nature makes choosing quality truffle tree seedlings and their management in the paddock essentially no better than guesswork. The solution is advanced molecular techniques used on truffles developed in collaboration with Silverplace in Denmark. These transform truffle farming from a speculative endeavour into a science-backed enterprise. For example, environmental DNA (eDNA) offers a non-invasive way to monitor truffle health year-round. By analysing soil and root samples, farmers can confirm that their host trees and mature truffle orchards are properly colonised by the target truffle species and are free from competing contaminants and fungi. This technology is critical for ensuring that inoculated seedlings are of the highest quality, reducing risk and protecting the significant investment involved in establishing and maintaining a productive truffle orchard. It is a globally unprecedented level of insight into how to better manage a truffle producing forest to sustainably produce truffles.
Reducing risks for farmers to establish truffle forests is an even stronger commercial incentive to plant more trees on farms. Kylie, Shaun, and Luke discussed with Murdoch University researchers, including Professor Treena Burgess, that it is now possible to reliably grow multiple species of culinary truffles on a greater diversity of host trees. There are more than 10 species of trees confirmed to successfully host new-to-WA truffle species in Denmark, including oaks and importantly, two species of pines: Pinus radiata and Pinus pinaster. Both pines are high quality construction timber species commonly used in Western Australia to build homes. New truffle species to WA include the White Spring Truffle (Tuber borchii), and Black Summer Truffle (Tuber aestivum), in addition to the existing production of the Winter Black Truffle (Tuber melanosporum). As the truffle names imply, these truffles are harvested in winter, spring, and summer. This means many months of fresh truffle availability, in contrast to the very limited harvest season of the present black winter truffle.
For local farmers, this scientific approach makes high-value sustainable farm forestry an accessible option. Instead of planting trees solely for environmental benefits, we can establish a commercially viable farm forest that produces a high-value irrigated horticultural crop. This diversification offers another viable alternative to livestock-only production with only a few hectares of suitable land. The benefits of these farm forests extend far beyond the expensive truffles themselves, offering all the traditional advantages of revegetation, such as enhanced biodiversity, shade, windbreaks, and improved soil and water quality in riparian zones.
Farmers around the Wilson Inlet and the South Coast can now confidently grow a diverse forest producing high-value truffles with support from Silverplace's collaborative researchers. Interested folks can get in touch with Silverplace at https://www.silverplace.com.au/contact