Europe’s knowledge
platform for legumes

Soybean is a short-day plant. Longer days and shorter nights such as in Central and Northern Europe are delaying soybean flowering and subsequently maturity. Genes controlling the time to flowering (E-genes) are essential for adaptation to a certain latitude. They are the base of classifying soybean cultivars into maturity groups. A total of 140 Chinese and European elite soybean cultivars were genotyped for the E-genes E1 to E4 and subsequently grown in 17 European environments within the Donau Soja Haberlandt project. Results do not only show how adaptation to a certain latitude is possible, they also indicate that new combinations of E-alleles between Chinese and European soybeans could facilitate a better adaptation of soybean to northern regions of Europe and China as well. This would support breeding progress and productivity of early maturity soybeans.

Switzerland’s livestock production causes high environmental costs and depends strongly on feed imports. While plant-based protein demand increases, the local grain legume production is negligible ( ~ 9000 hectares). Here, we investigated the potential of sustainable legume protein production based on an expert survey followed by a quantitative analysis based on yield, soil, terrain and climate data. Pea, soybean and faba bean showed high potential for Swiss agriculture given adaptions in policy, pricing and breeding. The potential grain legume production area was 107,734 hectares on suitable arable land (Scenario I). Switzerland’s self-sufficiency could be increased by cutting imports and maximizing legume production on 181,479 hectares (Scenario II) in expense of grassland and fodder maize. This would replace approximately 41% of animal protein consumption with plant-based protein, preserving 32% of milk and 24% of meat protein. In conclusion, domestic legume production could be substantially increased while improving human and environmental health.

Lupins are an interesting arable crop for cultivation. They provide a source of vegetable protein, can bind nitrogen in the soil as a legume, and have commercialisation potential thanks to their wide range of uses. However, lupins contain alkaloids, plant defence substances that can be toxic to humans and animals above a certain dose. The alkaloid content can vary depending on the variety and growing conditions, and should be determined after harvesting. The fact sheet provides information and guidance on analysing and reducing alkaloids in lupins and is intended for producers, collection centres, processing companies and all interested parties in the field. Some sections of this fact sheet refer specifically to the Swiss context, for example, the Swiss food law.