White Lupine Crop

White lupine is known botanically as Lupinus albus. It part of the legume family and one of about 200 species in the genus Lupinus. White lupine, along with yellow lupine and blue or narrow-leaf lupine, has long been grown as an agricultural crop for its nutritious seeds.

White Lupine Characteristics

Before the 1920s, white lupine seed had to be soaked after it was harvested to remove a bitter taste caused by alkaloids in the seeds. In the 1920s, scientists bred strains that did not contain the alkaloids, eliminating the soaking step, and making cultivation more profitable.

Use as a Food Crop

White lupine is high in protein and can be consumed by humans as well as animals. However, the seeds are most often used as fodder for cattle, turkeys, lambs and swine.

Threats to White Lupine Crops

Lupines do not flourish in hot, dry summer conditions, so seeds must be planted early in the growing season.The plants do not compete well against weeds, and high seed yields depend on elimination of weeds -- either by use of a mechanical hoe or application of herbicides.

References

• University of Wisconsin Extension-Cooperative Extension and University of Minnesota: Center for Alternative Plant and Animal Productsand the Minnesota Extension Service: Alternative Field Crops Manual: Lupine
• "The Botanical Garden, V II"; Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix; 2002