RUPIN

The green transition of the agricultural sector is, among other things, about converting from a high proportion of animal production to more plant-based products. In this transition - from the production of feed to the production of raw materials for food - it must be ensured that plant producers can deliver crops of high and stable quality that meet the requirements of the food industry.

The crops rye and lupin are well suited for organic cultivation and are found in Denmark especially on the more sandy and nutrient-poor soils. They are also well suited for the food industry, where they have potential as healthy and nutritious functional ingredients for baking and in plant-based foods. However, the quality of the crops is highly dependent on environmental and weather conditions, and the development of new sustainable varieties will be a milestone that can contribute to ensuring a stable supply of local organic crops for the foods of the future.

The purpose of the RUPIN project

This collaborative project between Nordic Seed, Aarhus University, the University of Copenhagen and the Danish Technological Institute aims to develop new high-yielding, quality-stable varieties of rye and lupin, which are necessary for organic farmers to produce high-quality crops for the food industry while ensuring reliable and safe supply to consumers.

The project will explore and analyze a wider range of quality traits in rye and develop genomic models for use in the selection of new hybrid and population varieties. In addition, the project will develop a new and improved method for determining alkaloid content in lupin to enable efficient and targeted breeding of new low-alkaloid lupin varieties that can be used for food. The development of the new varieties strengthens and promotes the opportunities for organic farmers to contribute to the green transition of agriculture by growing more high-quality crops for human consumption and increasing the production of healthy and local foods from poor quality soils. 

The project step by step

RUPIN wants to:

• develop a new analytical method for determining alkaloid content in lupins
• analyze new lupin lines for their alkaloid content, and select lines with low alkaloid content for new varieties - or for parental lines for further cross-breeding
• evaluate hybrid and population varieties of rye under organic conditions and analyze a wide range of quality traits
• develop new genomic prediction models for selection of parental lines in rye for both hybrid and population varieties

Project period

2025-2028