Establishing a Tuber melanosporum Orchard in the United States with Jasmine Richardson

Every year, Americans enjoy imported black Périgord truffles from highly productive orchards in Europe and Australasia. Americans have been pioneering exotic truffle cultivation since the 1970s, but the commercial success of Tuber melanosporum has been underwhelming. As an ongoing quest to establish her own black truffle orchard in southern Virginia, Jasmine Richardson has spent several years learning traditional and cutting-edge methods of truffle cultivation in highly productive orchards in Europe while tailoring these methods for growth in the United States. In her presentation, Jasmine will outline the importance of microscopy, DNA analysis, and orchard management while forming a Tuber melanosporum orchard in the U.S.

Jasmine Richardson is a microscopist specializing in the identification of mycorrhizae found in European and North American truffle orchards and fungal endophytes. She is currently establishing a Tuber melanosporum orchard on her family farm in Southern Virginia. Jasmine is the former vice president of the San Francisco Microscopical Society and regularly hosts microscopical and mushroom cultivation workshops in the Bay Area. She is passionate about fostering scientific and community-based collaborations and bridging the divide between conventional American farming and mycology.

A Zoom link to access this meeting along with instructions and password will be emailed to MMS members.

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This meeting is free and open to the public.  If you are not a member, contact Tim Clemens to get details on how to join this virtual meeting.  Please do so no later than an hour before the meeting.

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