Pearl or mutabilis lupins could soon boost Western Australia's grain industry, which is the world's largest. 

Addressing 20 eastern wheatbelt farmers on a tour of the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), GRDC-supported researcher, Jon Clements said that because of pearl lupin's high protein (43 per cent) and oil (18 per cent) levels, increasing interest in lupin protein isolates and higher protein feed markets, they may have a role to play.

"Starting genetic material included early flowering, but bitter and unacceptably high alkaloid accessions, along with several low alkaloid genotypes.

"Currently, we have bred low alkaloid, early flowering genotypes that have reasonable agronomic attributes and we expect a first cultivar can be produced by late 2008," Dr Clements said.