Australia
November 19, 2008
It may only be a few years before
Australians are consuming a high protein, semi-domesticated
grain eaten by the Incas a thousand years ago.
Pearl lupin (Lupinus mutabilis), a nitrogen-fixing legume very
high in oil and originally from the Andes in South America, is
to be developed for medium to high rainfall zones of Australia.
Its name derives from the appearance of the lustrous, spherical,
pearl-white seeds.
A three year Grains Research
and Development Corporation (GRDC) funded project, involving
the Centre for Legumes in
Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) at
The University of Western
Australia (UWA) and the Department of Agriculture and Food
WA (DAFWA), will focus on increasing grain yield and improving
adaptation, with the ultimate aim being commercial release of a
new variety.
It builds on previous GRDC supported work on preliminary
breeding, agronomics and germplasm evaluation by Dr Jon Clements
of CLIMA and Dr Mark Sweetingham of DAFWA.
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Assessing pearl lupins at UWA’s Shenton Park Field
Station are (L to R) Gordon Francis, Technical Officer,
CLIMA, Dr Jon Clements, Research Fellow, CLIMA, Dr Bevan
Buirchell, Senior Lupin Breeder, DAFWA and Michael
Blair, Manager, Field Station. |
CLIMA Director, Professor William
Erskine, says Australian farmers presently grow narrow-leafed
lupin as a nitrogen-fixing crop in broadacre farming rotations.
“But broad-leafed pearl lupins are unique among crop lupins
because the seed quality is similar to soybean and it could
become the cool season equivalent of that crop.
“Pearl lupins have the unusual combination for a legume of high
protein, at up to 47 per cent and high oil at up to 18 per cent.
A thin seed coat is an added bonus as it increases grain value
and seed can be more readily dehulled,” he said.
Pearl lupins also had a good profile of amino acids relative to
other legumes, lysine levels are similar to soybean and the oil
has high oleic and linoleic acid.
“Traditionally eaten as a porridge with maize or quinoa, pearl
lupins have potential for modern human diets in bread, sausages,
cakes and yoghurt – in fact any food that soybean is currently
used for,” Professor Erskine said.
“Their value for inclusion in fish and pig feed rations will
also be assessed.”
CLIMA’s Dr Clements will conduct the breeding work in
partnership with project supervisor, DAFWA Senior Lupin Breeder,
Dr Bevan Buirchell.
“Rapid breeding cycles, combined with genotype by environment
and germplasm characterisation and evaluation studies, will help
us develop domesticated material with improved agronomic and
disease resistance traits,” Dr Buirchell said.
The project draws on useful germplasm from the Australian Lupin
Collection held at DAFWA’s South Perth site.
According to Dr Clements, the critical factors are yield and
adaptation and therefore the project would evaluate lines in
medium to higher rainfall regions in Western Australia and New
South Wales.
“Transferring the high oil and protein characters from pearl
lupin to narrow leafed lupin (L. angustifolius) would be
particularly valuable, if possible,” Dr Clements said.
The group, assisted by CLIMA’s Gordon Francis, John Quealy and
Dr Larissa Prilyuk, will also assess closely related South
American species for possible trait transfer into the pearl
lupin genepool.
Professor Erskine said CLIMA’s ongoing collaboration with DAFWA
in pre-breeding pearl lupins was a good example of how two
outcome focussed R&D organisations could potentially deliver
rapid and beneficial outcomes to legume growers. |
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