Lupine waiting for the breakthrough

In October 1918, the Association for Applied Botany in Hamburg invited to an unusual banquet. On lupine fiber tablecloths were served: lupine soup, fried lupine steak in lupine oil followed by lupine cheese and a strong lupine schnapps at the end. This heavy lupine-heavy menu was a subtle reminder to politicians that the pretty yellow, white and blue-flowering plant has a gigantic potential. But the postwar shortage of food and raw materials was remedied so quickly that it was not anything from the large-scale cultivation in Germany, on which the botanists had hoped.

The bean-like seeds of the lupine have absolute star qualities, which should actually be enough for the big breakthrough. Its protein content of 35 percent and more is almost equal to that of soybean, it contains up to 10 percent oil and considerable amounts of vitamins A1, B1 and B2. Lupine protein can even improve cholesterol levels, at least if you eat it in large quantities. Also in cultivation, it is easy to clean. It collects the required nitrogen from the air and grows easily on light sandy soils, even in cool climates.

Image: Popova Olga - fotolia

The fact that the lupine nevertheless attracts attention rather than a pretty flower on motorway ramps, as by large-scale cultivation, has to do with some special features, which are not well received by farmers. So the yields are usually quite modest and are still very unsteady. Even more serious is their susceptibility to the so-called focal blotch disease, which can halve the already modest yields. Nevertheless, agronomists continue to tinker with the career of undemanding legume.
In the meantime, it has been possible to breed sweet lupins without bitter substances, which used to have to be removed by complex procedures. Even in the fight against the focal spot disease was successful, at least for the Blue Lupine there are now resistant varieties. That is also the reason why today almost exclusively blue lupins are cultivated.

There are also promising developments in the food industry. The high-quality protein is ideal as a meat substitute, such as for Vienna sausages, liver sausage or Lyons and theoretically could replace soy as the basis for tofu. Even a lupine ice cream has made it into the freezers of German supermarkets. For other products, however, there is still a strong demand from consumers, although experts certify the protein's excellent taste.

But obviously something has started in the last few years. After decades of decline in acreage farmers have been relying on the lupine for two years, especially in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg. In the last year alone, the acreage increased by nearly 40 percent compared to 2014 to about 30,000 hectares. This is not much compared to wheat or corn, but perhaps the beginning of the great breakthrough of lupine. She deserves it. Jürgen Beckhoff, aid