High protein lupins: diversifying the pulse industry in western Canada

Blade, S.F., Lopetinsky, K., Olson, M., Laflamme, P. & Phillips, C. (2004). High protein lupins: diversifying the pulse industry in western Canada. In Proceedings of the 4th International Crop Science Congress, Brisbane, Australia. (p.1- 5).

The pulse crop industry in Canada has grown rapidly in the past decade, with approximately 3.6 million tonnes of production from 2.9 million hectares in 2001, compared to 1.0 million tonnes of production from 0.6 million ha in 1991 (Pulse Canada, 2003). In order to achieve the pulse crop industry’s goal of sustainable annual crop rotations based on a 20-25% legume component, additional pulse crops are developed so that all prairie regions have at least two legume crop choices that provide economic return. Preliminary work in Alberta has indicated that new European genotypes of Lupinus angustifolius L. (narrow-leaf lupin) are adapted to the prairies. The production of a pulse crop with 35-40% protein and 6-8% crude fat could have beneficial implications for livestock feed (aquaculture, dairy, poultry and swine). The fatty acid profile of lupin seed has been noted as having excellent emollient properties for the cosmetic industry. The low amount of oil (8-10%) means that the seed does not have to be de-oiled, which is the case for some soy-based processes. The excellent tolerance for acidic soils also provides an area for pulse expansion in parts of Canada that currently do not have pulse crop options due to low soil pH.