A few months ago we published a poster at the TAUESG Vísby conference about Tuber borchii ecology, comparing natural producing sites in Portugal, Spain and Hungary.
Here you have links to download the poster:
Preliminary results on Tuber borchii Vitt. ecological studies 2018
Tuber borchii Vitt., also known as bianchetto, is considered to be a valuable species among the white truffles. Plantations have been established in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and New-Zealand. The natural distribution T. borchii is reported to Europe from United Kingdom to Hungary, and from Poland to Sicily. It is considered common in Italy where the species has been widely cultivated and used as a useful organism in molecular studies.
Main host plants of the species include stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) and maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) but it is also frequent under broad-leaved trees, such as oaks (Quercus spp.), larch (Larix spp.), and beech (Fagus spp.). Bianchetto truffle prefers sandy, free draining, calcareous soils with a pH around 7.
The present investigation focuses on natural Tuber borchii habitats, and plantations, located in Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and New Zealand. The characterisation of soil properties and detailed description of habitats have being conducted in truffières of those countries, and the presence of truffle mycorrhizae is being measured by morphological/anatomical tools.
Previous results show a wide range of host plants in Europe, with P. pinea and Quercus suber L. the main species in Portugal; Pinus sylvestris L., Quercus ilex L., Quercus pubescens Willd., and Quercus coccifera L. in Spain; and Quercus cerris L. and Quercus robur L. in Hungary. Canopy coverage ranges from 10% to 35% in Portugal, 40-80% in Spain and 85-90% in Hungary. Standard techniques are being employed to assess soil chemistry and texture.
Cheers,
Marcos S. Morcillo
trufflefarming 
Hi Marcos, I’m starting to repair after a pretty heavy cancer treatment. Thanks for the update on T. borchii, but I was interested to note that you made no mention of them growing in Australia. Is there a particular reason for this omission?
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Hi Peter, you are right, we missed to note at the first sentence that several orchards are already producing borchii in Australia and USA as well. Although in this case, the investigation focuses on natural Tuber borchii habitats, and plantations, located in Hungary, Portugal and Spain.
BTW, do you know how many borchii plantations may be in Australia? how many producing?
a big hug from Barcelona, hope your recover runs well.
Marco:
This is Michael Riggan. We met at the NATGA conference in Charlottesville. Do you have any experience with the English Oak Tree hosting the Tuber Melanosporum?
I still plan on being in Barcelona September 1. Hope you are still there so that I could see some of your operation.
Thanks,
Michael Riggan
Hi Michael, see this old post: https://trufflefarming.wordpress.com/2016/03/08/quercus-robur-as-a-black-truffle-host-tree/