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Asian Journal of Agricultural Research

Year: 2013 | Volume: 7 | Issue: 1 | Page No.: 1-14
DOI: 10.3923/ajar.2013.1.14
Agronomic Potential of Lupin (Lupinus spp.) in Sri Lanka as an Alternative Crop: Growth and Yield Performance in Different Agro-ecological Regions
S.R. Weerakoon and S. Somaratne

Abstract: Lupin (Lupinus spp.), a pulse crop gained popularity throughout world as a protein-rich-healthy human and animal food. Lupinus luteus (yellow-Lupin), Lupinus albus (white-Lupin) and Lupinus angustifolius (narrow-leafed-sweet-Lupin) varieties are commercially cultivated. Lupins are cultivated in many countries. Diverse climatic conditions with fertile soil provide a high possibility to introduce commercially-developed lupin varieties to Sri Lanka. With the primary objective of exploring possibilities of cultivating lupins in Sri Lanka and to select appropriate varieties and suitable Agro-Ecological Regions (AERs), a field experiment was conducted with ten commercially cultivated Lupinus varieties, L. albus (var. Kiev mutant), L. luteus (var. Wodjil, Pootalong), L. angustifolius (var. Ganguru, Tanjil, Walan, Belara, Donja, Kalya, Mandelup). Agro-morphological characters, time to flowering, number of seeds/plant, whole plant biomass were measured to assess growth and yield performance in AERs, Matale, Bandarawella and Nuwara Eliya for two consecutive years. Randomized complete block design was used with four replicates. Lupin varieties developed well in Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawella. Growth and yield performance of L. albus, L. luteus and L. angustifolius varied across AERs. Seedlings of lupin were better acclimatized to AERs, Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawella. Variation of temperatures in the range of 16 and 200°C was a crucial requirement for successful flowering and pod setting. Soil nutrients, soil organic matter as well as variation of soil pH were important factors for successful growth of lupins. Further field studies are recommended for a better understanding the impact of eco-climatic conditions on growth and yield performance of lupins in Sri Lanka.

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How to cite this article
S.R. Weerakoon and S. Somaratne, 2013. Agronomic Potential of Lupin (Lupinus spp.) in Sri Lanka as an Alternative Crop: Growth and Yield Performance in Different Agro-ecological Regions. Asian Journal of Agricultural Research, 7: 1-14.

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