news
NEWS
Prof. Paul Thomas (our Managing Director) has appeared on several TV programmes, radio shows and in many written articles. Specific areas of expertise include the biology, cultivation, hunting and cooking methods of the wide range of truffle species. If you would like an interview or require information for an article then please use our contact form and we would be very happy to help.
Below, our most recent news articles are displayed and our back-catalogue is open for browsing.
October 16, 2018
We’ve been shortlisted for an award: for bringing successful truffle cultivation to Scotland and the potential this has for boosting the region’s economy. The winner is decided by public vote. You can read more and vote (hopefully!) on the SRA’s website , we very much appreciate your support. Thank you!
September 13, 2018
Next week Mycorrhizal Systems will be attending the APF Forestry Show where we will be offering advice and information on truffle cultivation. Come and talk to us to around any aspects of planting truffle trees and growing truffles, we’ll be happy to help you. The APF exhibition in Alcester, Warwickshire on 20th, 21st and 22nd September 2018 Click through for further information around the event.
August 8, 2018
Whilst a heatwave hits large parts of the northern hemisphere, it’s winter truffle season in the south. Last weekend, during the first ‘hunt’ of one of our Southern African truffle orchards a total of 40 black winter (Périgord) truffles were found including one 380g monster (click through for pictures)! We have some great projects in South Africa and a number of plantations are now in production with a total of three different truffle species. Production at 5 years is young for a plantation but these results again highlight the importance of checking your trees for signs of truffles from quite early on.
July 23, 2018
Ruth Sanderson meets a truffle farmer on the Isle of Bute, just off the west coast of southern Scotland. Truffle expert Dr Paul Thomas is planting the first truffle plantation on the island, in joint venture with sheep farmer Ian Dickson. Ruth helps to plant hazel trees which have been inoculated with the truffle fungus, and hears how they hope to reap a profitable harvest within at least six years.
July 23, 2018
The Scottish Daily Mail accompanied Dr Thomas to a truffle plantation near Edinburgh, one of our growing partner plantations now producing our native summer truffle. The article considers the secrecy around truffle growing, the future of the Scottish truffle industry, truffle dog training and hunting (sneak peak – you don’t need an expensive breed!) and the burgeoning demand for local produce.
January 18, 2018
We are holding two seminars aimed at those interested in learning about truffle cultivation. These are free to attend and focus on what truffles are, how to cultivate them, the wider truffle market and details of our partnership offer – they are ideally suited for those interested in learning about whether truffle cultivation is for them and for people who have already been in talks with us to meet us face to face. The seminars will be informal with questions from attendees encouraged. Venues are start times are yet to be confirmed but we will be in central Glasgow on February 5th, starting around 1.30 pm and in central Birmingham on February 8th, starting around 2 pm. Please contact us at shop@plantationsystems.com if you’d like to attend one of these seminars and we’ll send out full details.
January 3, 2018
One of the world’s most expensive ingredients has been cultivated near Edinburgh after a sever-year wait. Researchers from Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd teamed up with local farmers to cultivate the summer or burgundy truffle. This is the first time the ingredient has been successfully cultivated in Scotland. Researchers believe the potential to cultivate truffles is increasing as a result of climate change. Click through for the full article from Edinburgh Evening News reporter David Bol.
January 3, 2018
We have successfully cultivated the summer or burgundy black truffle, one of the world’s most expensive ingredients, as part of our partnership programme just south of Edinburgh: the first time this has ever been achieved in Scotland. This latest development follows a recent report in the journal Climate Research, suggesting that truffle cultivation potential in the UK is increasing as a result of climate change. In November a number of truffles were harvested by a newly trained dog, Maxwell, on the root system of an inoculated oak tree and further microscopic analysis confirmed that Maxwells’s find was indeed a summer or burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum syn. uncinatum). The site continued to produced throughout November and December confirming that the site was firmly in production.
December 6, 2017
In November Dr Thomas met with The Telegraph’s Boudicca Fox-Leonard to discuss how a small village in South Wales became home to the first black winter Perigord truffles to be found north of France.
February 15, 2022
...in truffle literature, it is often claimed that truffle mycorrhiza can tolerate submersion for '14 days and no more' but with flood events increasing in frequency, we thought we'd put this to the test. As part of the experiment, saplings with truffle mycorrhiza were flooded from 7 to 65 days and full results have now been published.
January 13, 2022
The summer or burgundy, black truffle, one of the world’s most expensive ingredients, has been successfully cultivated in Ireland, making history after 10 years of waiting.