New annual legume crops for Finnish conditions

Legumes are an important component of sustainable crop rotations around the world, but are under-represented in European agriculture. Finnish use of grain legumes is exceptionally low. These experiments were initiated to test the possibility of extending the range of grain legumes that can be grown in Finland. A small range of germplasm of blue lupin, white lupin, lentil and some other annual species were tested in a trial that also included familiar cultivars of faba bean. Faba bean yields were 6.0 – 7.3 Mg ha-1, blue lupin yields 3.3 – 4.8 Mg ha-1. Two of the cultivars of blue lupin reached maturity in a timely fashion, showed little disease and did not lodge, so they have potential for use in the national agricultural system. Lentils also ripened, but presented management problems that require further investigation. White lupin showed potential as a producer of biomass, with one cultivar exceeding 18 Mg ha-1 dry matter.