Woodford Truffles SA has helped budding farmers nationwide to establish successful truffle farms with a relatively high yield of good quality truffles. They offer technological services and production tips to truffle farmers based on international consultation from well-established truffle farming countries such as France, Italy and Spain.
One of the first truffle farms was identified in 2007 in Swartruggens, North West. Around 7ha of truffière (a piece of land where truffles are grown) was established on Groenfontein farm in 2009 in sandy soil with a pH of 4.5, which was changed to 7.5 prior to planting. Both blanket irrigation sprayers and microjets were installed, and in 2012, inoculated truffle seedlings were planted to replace trees from the first plantations in 2009.
About 3ha of truffière was planted in 2010 in Villiersdorp, Western Cape. In 2013, a further 3.3ha was added. The Langkloof area established truffle farming in 2010 as well, which solidified the Western Cape’s reputation for prime truffle farming in South Africa.
In 2011, 10ha of truffière was established on Willowdale farm in Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal. The clay-based, acidic soil and summer rainfall made the area well-suited for truffle farming. A second 10ha of truffière was added in 2014.
Woodford Truffles SA continues to support and advise these truffle farms and frequently introduce new truffière nationwide.
Cultivating truffles depends on the technology available to inoculate host trees with spores of the truffle fungus, which occurs under tight...