The cultivation of the prestigious and rare white truffle from Italy is now possible in France

A world first. French researchers have succeeded in cultivating the rarest and most expensive truffle in the world: the white truffle from Italy, harvested so far only in the wild. For several years, INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment), associated with Robin nurseries (Hautes-Alpes), have been trying to control the development and production of this rare product in several plantations. The first harvests took place in 2019 and 2020 and the scientific results of this work were published Tuesday in the scientific journal Mycorrhiza. The precious mushrooms, seven in total, were harvested over the past two years from a plantation in southwestern France, in which mycorrhizal trees (which carry the mycelium of the fungus on their roots) in Tuber magnatum had been planted. This white truffle is the most sought after species. It sells for between 1,500 and 5,000 euros per kilo, or five times more than the black truffle. Prices can even reach ...