Lupinus albus as a European crop

Abstract

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) is still a minor crop in Europe. Thebreeding of this species in Western Europe is focused on the autumn-sowntype. Detailed studies of the physiology of the plant and the effectsof plant architecture on seed yield have shown that a combinationof dwarfism and determinate growth is likely to be the most productivetype. The development of dwarf determinate genotypes, as the Europeanideotype, now requires that varieties with high seed yield potentialare produced, that they can be grown efficiently and that the seedhas a high utilisation value as feed. It has been shown that withthis architectural type, biomass accumulation is a major factor limitingyield. Agronomic practices and selection criteria can be definedto increase biomass production. An E.U.-funded study, which startedin 1997, of dwarf-determinate genotypes is presented in this paper.