A tasty and often elusive wild mushroom, the morel is a food that is usually sampled sparingly, given its high price (close to €100 a kilo), but also due to its very short season. Its particularly capricious growth has been the subject of research for many years. Now, biologists may have found the answer to successfully cultivating black morels, which could potentially lead to more widespread production.
Morels -- the famous mushrooms, known for playing hide-and-seek under the wet grass from March until June -- can be a make-or-break ingredient for certain dishes. But this little mushroom with a delicious nutty taste is not so easy to find and pick. In fact, there are so many factors at play that it can be hard to pin down any generalities about them. And the more the season advances, the higher in altitude you need to hunt to hope to find them. You'll also need to be able to tell the difference between varieties, like black morels and yellow or "blonde" morels.
The quest to cultivate morels in greenhouses
The idea of cultivating morels in greenhouses is not new. For several years, producers have been working on this very delicate task, which requires ventilation, a specific degree of humidity and precise shading to hope to obtain an economically viable harvest. In China, a scientist by the name of Dr. Douxi Zhu has developed an artificial cultivation technique that can yield 10 to 15 tonnes per hectare, according to agricultural engineer Corenthin Chassouant, writing on the Horti Génération blog. But this type of production can be particularly capricious since it is necessary to adapt the growing conditions to the specific local environment, while being able to anticipate any climatic hazards. The specialist blog notes that this business presents "a challenge" for experienced producers, nevertheless attracted by the potential financial gains that this small mushroom represents.
A French company, called France Morilles, which brings together researchers as well as food and agriculture professionals, has set up an online service selling permits to cultivate morels, as well as spawn seeds, and all the necessary equipment, from polytunnels to netting. According to France Morilles data, half of their professional customers obtain 200 to 400g of morels per square meter.
A new breakthrough in Denmark
Evidently, growing morels is a complicated business! But, in Denmark, a pair of biologists think they have found the solution. The scientists report that, using their indoor cultivation method, they managed to grow just over 4 kg of black morels per square meter in 22 weeks, equivalent to an annual production of 10 kg of morels per square meter. According to Green Queen, this breakthrough draws on more than 40 years of research, conducted in collaboration with the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University. The two researchers developed an artificial soil to avoid any risk of contamination by a bacterium that could reduce the quantity of the harvest. They also evaluated numerous strains of morels to identify those capable of being the most fruitful. The duo is now planning to commercialize their method and even foresee the automation of the morel cultivation process. Their goal is to reduce the cost of these precious mushrooms in order to make them more accessible.
