Award details

Adapting new crops for the UK climate: genotype and environment interactions on development, structure and yield of lupins

Reference	BBS/E/C/00091493
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Ian Shield
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	191,220
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/1997
End date	31/03/1999
Duration	24 months

Abstract

The strategic research involved in this project underpins the development of lupins as a novel, high-quality protein crop for the UK that has an existing and identified market and the potential to compete with imported soya, without subsidy if necessary. The project provides the physiological understanding of plant responses to climate, abiotic stresses and agronomic practices to guide the breeding and evaluation of new genotypes suited to British conditions. This knowledge also helps accelerate the development of the optimal agronomic packages for the new genotypes in different regions of the UK, and the production of management and decision-support systems to stimulate the commercial introduction of the crop and aid the transfer of technology from research to growers and the processing industries. The work directly contributes to the Technology Foresight objective to increase the competitiveness of British agriculture in European and world markets, and to the Agricultural Systems Directorate's perceived requirement for technology to underpin the development of new types and varieties of crops to meet consumer demand. A preceding project identified the characteristics that limited the performance of older, unsuccessful, spring-sown, indeterminate genotypes in the UK and led directly to the development of winter hardy, determinate genotypes that have a high yield potential, good yield stability and, most importantly, early ripening necessary under our cooler, maritime growing conditions. The studies confirmed the considerable commercial potential of these genotypes, showed that their structure and performance were greatly affected by the vernalising and developmental effects of autumn temperatures, and developed simple physiological models to predict crop behaviour. These models are being exploited in associated agronomic projects. The earlier work also showed that considerable scope exists for further improvement through exploitation of a dwarfing character, and variation in juvenility, vernalisation requirement, and tolerance to cold and alkaline conditions. The current project will build on the early progress through studies of the physiological responses of new genotypes with these characteristics to climatic factors and agronomic practices. To use a series of promising new genotypes currently emerging from a collaborative breeding programme in France to evaluate the limitations on performance and grain quality imposed by the increased restriction of plant architecture resulting from the dwarf- determinate character. To monitor, interpret and model the responses of genotypes with different architecture to climatic and soil factors and to agronomic practices through measurements of plant development and growth, plant architecture and canopy structure, the interception and utilisation of photosynthetically-active radiation, and nutrient accumulation and distribution. To use a series of genotypes from a collaborative breeding programme in France to evaluate the limitations on performance and grain quality imposed by the increased restriction of plant architecture resulting from the dwarf- determinate character. To monitor, interpret and model the responses of genotypes with different characters, such as architecture, to climatic and soil factors and to agronomic practices through measurements of plant development and growth, over-winter survival, plant architecture and canopy structure and the interception and utilisation of photosynthetically-active radiation. Continue to monitor breeders lines for promising new genotypes with potentially useful characters.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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