Brescia Truffle Experiment Promises White Tuber Market Expansion
Returns to the scene this weekend in Puegnago for the Mostra Mercato del Tartufo Bresciano (extensively discussed on the adjacent page), the main reference point in a sector rich in economic and productive potential yet still unexplored: and this year’s event kicks off amid great anticipation for the results of Brescia’s experimentation on Tuber Magnatum, the highly sought-after “precious white,” inaugurated four years ago by Virgilio Vezzola, president of the Associazione Tartufai Bresciani and one of the world’s leading experts in the field.
Several years ago, Vezzola, following a series of research efforts, managed to establish four plantations in our province with roots of mycorrhized plants, meaning grafted, with spores of “Magnatum,” which tested positive for DNA analysis as well: plants that Vezzola now promises will soon enter production. The waiting period has been long, but we are now nearly at the end: within a year, at most two, the first white truffles derived from “mycorrhizae” could reach the market.
If Vezzola’s experimentation proves truly successful, Brescia Province — which is geographically suited to truffle growth — could experience an explosion of a business that has already created major players like Alba in Piedmont and Umbria: current prices for the “precious white” are averaging around 8 million per kilogram.
Results and Prospects of the Experimentation
Vezzola is optimistic, especially because in recent days he achieved another remarkable result, harvesting the first specimens from experimental plantations also established in Brescia of Tuber Macrosporum, also known as Nero Liscio, a very rare and therefore highly prized tartufo, of very high quality, capable of exceeding the price of one million per kilogram, and which shares strong affinities with Magnatum: same fragrance, and, most importantly, similar environments and characteristics of the “white.” These affinities lead to the belief that doors are about to open for the growth of Magnatum as well.
“Until now, the experimentation has gone well,” announces Vezzola, who has recently been recognized by the Comitato Nazionale delle Ricerche di Torino in an important American scientific publication as the world’s leading pioneer in Brescia’s experimentation with Magnatum.
The arrival of the first mycorrhized specimens of “Nero Liscio” will thus be the main event of a show that attracts enthusiasts from all over Italy and Europe, aiming to showcase a complex sector, still little known due to the natural reticence of truffle hunters to publicly reveal their harvests and activities.
The Associazione Tartufai Bresciani unites 180 foragers across the province. Unofficial estimates say that the provincial annual harvest is around 20-25 quintals, but demand is at least three times higher. The main species? The Estivo, which was abundant this year, the Tuber Uncinatum (the 2001 harvest was not bad), and the Premier Black, which is being harvested now and commands prices around one million per kilogram.
It’s also possible to find specimens of Tuber Magnatum, especially in the low Garda area. Considering an average of about half a million per kilogram (no specimen falls below 300 thousand), it forms a picture of a significant business, which could truly see new, important developments if Vezzola’s hypotheses are fully confirmed.
