Monday the 6^th of February

Morning (9:30 to 14:00 h) and afternoon (15:30 to 19:00 h) Basic concepts, plantation assessment and establishment, most common failure points, annual task calendar

Basic concepts (2 hours):

• What is truffle farming? Why not wild truffle hunting?
• Basic concepts on fungal biology: fungi, truffles, mycelium and mycorrhizae, the brûlé
• Truffle species used in truffle farming around the world, characteristics,
  basic agricultural needs and viability
• The host species used in truffle farming (trees and bushes), characteristics
  and viability in field conditions
• Black truffle, Tuber melanosporum, ecology, helper bacteria
• Productive and life cycle, of Tuber melanosporum, sexuality
• Why do truffle plantations stop producing?
• Mycohhizal contamination progress in black truffle plantations

Previous assessment on plantation viability (1.5 hours):

• Climate: temperatures, rainfall and their annual distribution
• Soil: basic parameters, nutrient levels, nutrient correction, correct soil
  sampling
• Water availability and basic needs for irrigation
• Previous crop and forest contamination
• Plant selection: tree species, plant age, plant quality
• Bibliography and on-line information sources

Plantation establishment (1.5 hours):

• Previous steps: correction of soil parameters and fungal contaminantion
• Soil preparation
• Establishment: planting season, pattern (spacing), planting, tubes

Conclusions: basic failure points in truffle plantations (1 hour)

Annual calendar for plantation tasks (1 hour)

Tuesday the 7^thof February

Complete day at MicoLab’s facilities, including lunch Pruning and shade control, weed control and tillage, showcooking, irrigation design and management

Pruning and shade control (1.5 hours)

• Techniques and aims based on plant age
• Basic tips
• Pruning young plants
• Pruning older plants, factors that may influence decision-making
• Climatic factors that condition pruning options
• Mulches and other techniques to provide summer shading

Weed control and tillage (1.5 hours)

• Objectives
• Tasks depending on plant age and type of soil, machinery and tools used
• Tilling the brûlé: why, when and how

Showcooking (1,5 hours)

• How to cook with fresh black truffles
• Organoleptic characteristics of black truffles, how compose a plate thatenhances those qualities and puts aroma in the spotlight
• Preparation of easy cold and hot courses to promote black truffles

Irrigation (2.5 hours)

• Objectives and aim in each plantation phase
• Moments and frequency
• Basic tips
• Irrigation emi מּers, pros and cons. Emi מּer selection
• Irrigation system design
• Other important devices for irrigation

The Schedule and timings for the whole training course may vary slightly depending on the group members’ needs

Wednesday the 8^th of February

Morning (9:30 to 14:00 h) and afternoon (15:30 to 19:00 h)
Spanish wells, pests, diseases and other damage factors,
truffle dog training

Spanish wells (spore field inputs), with the technical support of Clara Rascón Lozano (2 hours):

• Definition, pros and cons and how they operate
• When and how to do spore inputs with substrate
• Manual and mechanical options
• The substrate
• Techniques used to add the spores and how to prepare the inoculum
• Reinoculations: in which situations are they useful? How to do them?
• Inoculum quality control

Pests, diseases and other damage factors in truffle plantations, by María Martín Santafé (2 hours):

• Do truffle plantations really have big phytopathological enemies?
• The importance of assessing the real need for pest and disease controlin the plantation
• Agents of tree damage
• Truffle pests: flies and the truffle beetle (Leiodes cinnamomeus)
• Damage prevention and control

Truffle dog training, by Alba Herranz (2 hours):

• Characteristics of the canine sense of smell, olfactory memory
• Selecting a future truffle dog
• Definition and stages of dog socialization
• What it is and how to achieve motivation in working dogs
• How do dogs learn? Classical and instrumental conditioning
• Smell association: direct and by reward
• Animal welfare

Final conclusions and group discussion

Thursday the 9^th of February

From 9:30 until 20:00 hours

Truffle search with dogs and dog managenet in truffle plantations, with Alba Herranz (morning, in Cella)

Truffle menu at lunch time in La Fondica (in La Puebla de Valverde)

Field visit: Traditional management of high yield truffle plantations with the plantation owner and farmer (afternoon, in Sarrión)

Friday the 10^th of February

From 8:00 until 20:00 hours

Field visit: Implantation and intensive management of highly technified truffle plantations, with machinery demonstrations

Demos on machinery and techniques for tilling, weed control and Spanish wells, explanation of the irrigation design, with Ricardo Forcadell and César Vaquero

Demo on the management of a linear trenching machine to do Spanish wells plus discussion on the importance of creating truffle farmers' associations, by Marisa Esteban and Jesús González (morning, in Monreal del Campo)

Truffle menu at lunch time in Bar Teruel (in Teruel city)

Field visit: Mytruff facilities for truffle marketing and export. Explanation of facilities needed for truffle preparation for exportation and quality diferentiation and selection, by Cosme Martínez (afternoon, in Teruel)

Lectures, field visits and demos by:

Price and additional information

The price of the course is 2.650 €. In Spain taxes are not applied to training courses.

The price includes:

• Bound notes on all the concepts explained during the course
• The lunch meals of the five days of the course
• Snacks and drinks in between lectures at MicoLab’s facilities
• Roundtrip rides in a private bus from MicoLab’s facilities for the two field trips

In order to book the course, 25% of the total price has to be paid by bank transfer. The remaining amount has to be paid maximum by the 15th of November, 2022. Aﬞ er this date, if the remaining amount hasn’t been paid, the deposit and the reserved place will be lost.

If by the 6th of December of 2022 a minimum of 6 students haven’t applied for the course, it will be cancelled and the full amount paid will be returned to all students.

All students get an official invoice and a training certificate signed by Luz Cocina Romero (Agricultural Engineer with a marster’s Degree on
Education, and accredited teacher by the Spanish Education Ministry).

A maximum of 18 students are allowed per course.

The lectures on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will take place at MicoLab’s facilities, located in:

Avda. Corts Valencianes, 75 bajo izda  46530
Puzol (Valencia Province, Spain)

On Sunday the 12th of February (one day after the course) there will  be a technical training on microscopy applied to truffle farming for a
maximum of 9 students. If interested, contact MicoLab.

For more info, please, contact us:
info@micolab.com
+ 34 665 911 457 (phone calls or WhatsApp)