Investment

Lupin is the most important grain legume in Australia for acid, well drained, light textured soils in southern Australia. It provides a viable break crop in Australian crop rotations by facilitating disease and weed control in cereal rotations as well as providing legume nitrogen inputs and on-farm stubble and seed for stock feed. Declining profitability of lupin production needs to be addressed to enhance the appeal of lupins as a profitable and sustainable crop option in farming systems. In response to this need this project aims to increase breeding efficiency for new higher yield-related genes by developing molecular markers for yield and yield-promoting traits in narrow-leafed lupin. In addition it aims to provide new yield, phenology, plant vigour and drought tolerance related traits to the core lupin breeding program.