Crop yield and quality of locally selected evolutionary populations, elite breeding lines, and commercial varieties of white lupin in two European regions

Abstract Evolutionary populations (EPs) of inbred crops are a low-cost breeding alternative to pure line selection. Focusing on white lupin ( Lupinus albus L.), a high-protein food and feed crop of increasing interest, this study compared EPs issued from natural selection alone or combined with stakeholder selection versus elite breeding lines selected from the same genetic base and commercial varieties. Material initially selected for low quinolizidine alkaloid (QA) content and adapted to Northern Italy was further selected specifically for Sardinia or Central France and evaluated for two years in the former region and one year in the latter for grain yield under organic farming, stakeholder acceptability, total QA content, and other traits. Two or three generations of evolutionary adaptation to regions featuring a different climate (Mediterranean in Sardinia; semi-oceanic in Central France) relative to that of the original EP (sub-continental in Northern Italy) were sufficient to produce EPs with generally better local adaptation than the original EP and yielding ability comparable to that of the best pure line material, especially for the EPs concurrently subjected to one or two cycles of stakeholder selection. However, stakeholder selection increased the total QA content relative to naturally selected EPs, likely because of inadvertent preference for more vigorous bitter-seed plants arising from reverse mutation or pollination from bitter-seed material. While being more resource-demanding, pure line breeding offered the opportunity to select successfully for very low alkaloid content and higher protein content. EPs are a valuable low-cost breeding option but require periodic monitoring of total QA content.