Major breakthrough in selection of lupin with export potential

29/12/94

Primary Industry Minister Monty House today announced a major scientific breakthrough with the selection of a high quality lupin that will attract premium prices on world markets, as well as rejuvenate large areas of degraded farmlands in Western Australia.

The world-leading research by scientists at the Department of Agriculture of WA is also helping solve a threat to the world's environment in a project potentially worth millions of dollars.

"Yellow lupins are a high-value crop that will help combat soil acidity, which is reducing crop yields, by improving soil fertility on WA's acidic sandplains, of which we have over one million hectares," Mr House said.

"Yellow lupins will help rejuvenate agriculture on these soils and reduce the risk of rising water tables and salinity.  It is a major breakthrough spear-headed by the Department of Agriculture and the Chemistry Centre (WA)."

The yellow lupin might have remained an oddity from the past if it were not for collaboration among lupin breeders in Australia and Poland (which defied cold-war barriers), several world-first discoveries in WA, and an injection of research funds from the grower-supported Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

In 1992 the GRDC sponsored a research initiative to broaden the range of lupin species available to Australian farmers.

The new lupin was bred from an introduced Polish variety by Department of Agriculture lupin breeder Dr Wallace Cowling.

During visits to Poland in 1988 and 1993, (sponsored by the GRDC and the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) in WA), Dr Cowling was able to secure improved varieties of yellow lupin from his Polish colleagues and has used them as the basis for selection of new low alkaloid lines.

Alkaloids are the cause of the bitter taste in wild lupins.

The new yellow lupin has a range of other highly attractive features in that it is virtually immune to Pleiochaeta root rot and cucumber mosaic virus, resistant to brown spot, Phomopsis and Eradu Patch disease, and highly tolerant of aluminium toxicity which stunts crop growth.

CLIMA has also confirmed that it has improved waterlogging tolerance and is conducting further genetic engineering to improve its resistance to bean yellow mosaic virus.

All of these features will make the new lupin a very important weapon for farmers to combat disease and land degradation on acidic soils.

Testing of the alkaloid levels also led the Chemistry Centre to develop the most advanced technology for this work in the world, which means future buyers will be assured of high quality.

The new lupin has a higher protein content and better quality protein in the seed than most grain lupins grown in southern Australia.

The department is now joining forces with the Grain Pool of WA (the largest exporter of lupins in the world) to conduct compositional and nutritional research.

Seed for the new high value crop should be available in 1997.

Mr House said the new lupin was an outstanding example of how collaboration among scientists in many different departments and around the world could provide new market opportunities for farmers while improving their land resource.

"Not only will the new yellow lupins change the look of the agricultural landscape, they will also change the smell, as the yellow flowers have a particularly attractive aroma that may be of interest to the cosmetics industry," Mr House said.

Media contact:  Will Henwood (09) 481 2044 or

Department of Agriculture:  Dr Wallace Cowling (09) 368 3528