Project "Lupi-Breed": Improving yield potential, yield stability and seed quality of lupins as protein plants: Work package: Weed suppression and intercropping

The overall goal of the project, which has been started in spring 2015, is to improve productivity of narrow-leafed sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) and yellow sweet lupin (L. luteus) with regard to kernel yield, yield stability, and seed composition. In addition, the question shall be addressed whether the narrow genetic basis of current breeding materials may be broadened by including genebank accessions as plant genetic resources. Another task is to optimize lupin cultivation systems for non-chemical weed control by optimizing intercropping cultivation and the establishing of a system for testing the weed suppression of new varieties resp. pre-breeding lines. These aims should be achieved in the joint project, carried out at the Julius Kühn Institute with the Institute for Breeding Research on Agricultural Crops (coordination) and the Institute of Resistance Research and Stress Tolerance, the Thünen-Institute of Organic Farming, the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Reseach and Saatzucht Steinach & Co. KG. The project is expected to provide fillips to lupin breeding, to improving agricultural practice and to enhancing acceptance of lupins as protein sources for feed and food applications