State of the art in truffle knowledge and cultivation in Italy

The presence of truffles in Sicily and perspectives for their cultivation on the island are assessed, with a brief analysis of basic and applied research on truffles and truffle cultivation in Italy, focusing on successful production and on reasons for failure in some artificial truffle-beds. Truffle cultivation has progressed in recent decades and there is now sufficient know-how for creation of productive truffle plantations. Further research is needed on host plant growing techniques.