Prof Paul Thomas

(2/2)...mycorrhizae quantified with microscopy/PCR. It’s taken a long time to reach this point and theres much more to come  - if you’d like to know more or plant a trial, just get in touch! PlantationSystems.com

(1/2)... another new mycoforestry trial site - 9 fungi and 2 tree host species. Emerging data will shape our approach to building the fungi food-forests of the future 🍄🌲  Planted by myself and University of Stirling PhD student Ruairi Hafferty - tiny 1-yr old saplings with..

(5/5) Further reading: A couple of Asuncións papers: doi.org/10.1016/j.rhis… and doi.org/10.1007/978-3-… A paper published last year by Dr. Sakhr Alhuthali on microbial communities associated with desert truffles: doi.org/10.3390/agrono…

(4/5) taste test. Media shows our collection of canary-island truffles, but there is an extra photo of visiting desert truffle cultivation pioneer Prof. Asunción Morte whos work is always an inspiration!

(1/5)🏜️ Desert truffle hunting in February We’re often used to seeing truffles associated with large host plants, but desert truffles are different - associating with small desert shrubs. It’s this difference which has always captivated me. The host plant genus...

@MikeTheRedLFC well... its not tuber brochii! It looks kinda like the Rhizopogon genus... i'm back in the lab this week and will check my ID books for you!

@SummerTruffle hi Prof Paul hoping you might comfirm the tubor I found a few of in France 19yr old Melano orchard now infected with Brumale but these great smelling whites kept popping up.

Last week at the Napa Truffle Festival...a huge joy when orchard owners you've guided produce their first truffles and even better when I'm lucky enough to be there on the day! Congrats to Mark, Maria, Steve and truffle dog Mila! 👏👏

New practical mycoforestry research paper! ...focussing on the food-forestry land-use conflict, we describe the production of young trees with mycorrhizae of the excellent edible species Imleria badia (the bay boletus). Link: fs.revistas.csic.es/index.php/fs/a…

This week: Still finding truffles in my hedge at home (Scotland). 25% of the trees now producing at year 5 (trees from Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd). Working with Ruairi Hafferty Hay, for his first PhD fieldwork... monitoring of our newly out-planted mycoforestry trees!

New mycoforestry paper - reviewing saffron milk caps as a large-scale food production system. Congrats to Andre Dhungana - his first PhD output - citing 230 papers and translating a wealth of literature. Full open-access paper link:  mdpi.com/3609052 @MDPIOpenAccess

@MikeTheRedLFC Good question! The site required significant pH adjustment. The large trees that were left in situ were oaks and the planted (truffle-inoculated, from our nursery and with seed that was relatively local) trees were oaks and hazels… the pH adjustment is perhaps key here!

@SummerTruffle encouraging for truffle enthusiasts, is the soil naturally alkaline in this area?

An atypical approach to truffle cultivation- planting on a recently felled site and around standing mature trees. This site is a nice case-study that is now producing excellent quality truffles! linkedin.com/posts/profpaul…

Join us at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for our Autumn Open Meeting on 29th November. Speakers include Paul Thomas @SummerTruffle, University of Stirling & Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd - expert on truffle biology, cultivation, hunting & cooking ➡️ britmycolsoc.org.uk/aom_2025.html

@MikeTheRedLFC hope its useful!

@SummerTruffle Watched 3x already will no doubt need to listen again to take more in 😛

Interested about the latest truffle research and cultivation? Heres a podcast episode I recently did with Ben Sweet, including discussion about potential collaborative research opportunities… youtu.be/H9QyytEIvdA

Field work with Carmen Carmona, Flora Rendell-Bhatti and Neve Dee - first mycoforestry site in Scotland! ...soil sampling for physiochemical/biological/DNA recording before planting the trees we've grown at Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd - with grateful support from @MossyEarth

@MikeTheRedLFC thanks Mike, i'm sure there'll be chance to connect on the day!

@SummerTruffle love listening to you paul, would have come to kew, got a truffle comp that day, and likely at the trufflefest ill be competing when your on 😆

Interested in truffle cultivation or our research? I'll be speaking at the British Mycological Society meeting at Kew Gardens (29th of November) - britmycolsoc.org.uk/aom_2025.html ...and the UK Truffle Festival in West Sussex (15th of November) -  trufflefestival.co.uk Come say hi!