Presentation File 516efa1b 3878 42f7 Be14 13bdac1024da

7/28/2019 Presentation File 516efa1b 3878 42f7 Be14 13bdac1024da

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DIVERSIFYING TIMBER

CROPS WITH GOURMET

TRUFFLES

Nancy Rosborough, Founder and CEO

Helping Americas farmers and forests survive

Copyright 2013 Mycorrhiza Biotech


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Mycorrhiza Biotech (MBT) Facts

Mycorrhiza Biotech, LLC specializes in the application of mycorrhizabiotechnology for the improvement of agriculture

Founded in 2006

Located in Alamance County

Leadership Nancy Rosborough, Dr Felicia Anike

Products & Services - full-service laboratory with a wide range of servicesin bioremediation and design of custom assays in the fields of environmentalengineering, environmental restoration, environmental monitoring, andcharacterization of fungi in pure culture.

Specialties - truffle detection, analysis, and propagation

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Truffle Facts

Tuber borchiiis an edible truffle, a gourmet mushroom, with excellent culinary qualities.

It is commonly called the Bianchetto (white) or pine truffle.

They range in size from .5oz to 8oz but have been known to grow up to 2lbs.

Tuber borchiigrows well on loblolly pine but can be found on a range of host trees including oak,hazel, poplar, beech, chestnut, linden, alder, and cedar as well.

Tuber borchiihas a high ecological adaptability.

This truffle prefers sites with sandy loamy soils which are plentiful in North Carolina.

It fruits well in soils of pH 7 8 but canbe found in soils with levelsas low as 5pH.

According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, imports of truffles more than doubled from $6.6 in2008 to $12.4 million dollars in 2012.

Truffles are harvested using specially trained dogs3


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Loblolly Pine Facts

Pinus taeda (loblolly pine) is one of several pines native to the Southeastern US from central Texas east

to Florida, and north to Delaware and Southern New Jersey.

The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine.

U.S. Forest Service surveys found that loblolly pine is the second most common species of tree in theUnited States, after red maple.

Nearly 1 billion loblolly pine seedlings are planted each year.

Each acre can generate approximately $3000 in wood products over 36 years.

Co-cropping Tuber borchiiwith loblolly pine will provide growers with an additional $110,000 of incomeper acre over the truffle production cycle starting as early as year 4.

Loblolly pine forests have better survival rates against factors such as drought and weather extremes

when they are highly mycorrhized.4


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Loblolly Pine Geographical Areas

The shaded areas on the map indicate where the species has beenobserved in the United States.

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Obstacles to cultivating Tuber borchii

Contamination - The major problems in truffle cultivationare contamination by competing micro-organisms, poorquality nursery stock, or replacement of truffle mycorrhizaby indigenous mycoflora after planting.

Confirmation - Confirming whether or not a tree has the

correct truffle (e.g. Tuber borchii) inhabiting its root systemis key to success truffle production. At present, trufflefarmers and seedling producers in North America dependon the unreliable morphological characteristics of roots toguess whether their trees have the intended truffle fungus

on them.

Cost - Current seedlings cost $0.16 each through statenurseries. Through our efforts to maximize the process andstreamline our protocols we have been able to reduce theprice to $15 but it still remains comparatively high. Ourgoal is to reduce the price to $2 per seedling.

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MBT Solution

Mycorrhiza Biotechs solution to these problems includes acomprehensive approach to truffle farm management. Ourmethods follow strict protocols for:

Site selection

Site analysis

Site remediation and preparation

Seed germination

Seedling propagation

Seedling certification

Ongoing site and seedling analysis

Ongoing site and farm management

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Tuber borchiiinoculated loblolly pine seedling

Discussion

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Whats Next

MBT needs capital for infrastructure investment to expand production capability to meetthe current and future demand.

Greenhouse(s)

Autoclave

Growth chamber

Industrial soil mixers

Lab technician

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ContactNancy Rosborough, Founder & CEO

Address

1006 S Main St

Burlington, NC 27215336.512.5578

www.mycorrhizabiotech.com

Links-

NC State Specialty Crop Program -

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/specialty_crops/projects.htm

Current Prices for Bianchetto -

http://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-

fresca/trufabianchetto 10
http://www.mycorrhizabiotech.com/http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/specialty_crops/projects.htmhttp://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-fresca/trufabianchettohttp://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-fresca/trufabianchettohttp://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-fresca/trufabianchettohttp://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-fresca/trufabianchettohttp://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-fresca/trufabianchettohttp://www.trufaonline.net/index.php/tiendatrufa/trufa-fresca/trufabianchettohttp://www.cals.ncsu.edu/specialty_crops/projects.htmhttp://www.mycorrhizabiotech.com/

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