Legume Generation Report 4
Elizabeth Ninou, Ioannis Mylonas, Donal Murphy-Bokern, Udo Hennenkaemper, Ulrike Lohwasser, Patrice Jeanson, Tania Gioia and Roberto Papa
Our goal is the improvement of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.), which was considered a neglected crop in Europe. However, lentil is increasingly promoted as a healthy and affordable protein source, rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, free of fat or cholesterol, and especially suitable for low input and organic agriculture systems. Consumption in Europe is expected to increase with the demand currently met mostly by imports. Lentil is one of the most important pulse crops worldwide due to its nutritional characteristics but there is little investment in breeding in Europe.
Our project is structured and focused to directly support our breeding partners and associates as risk-taking innovators. A core principle is plant breeding as a species-specific entrepreneurial activity. Boosting should be a species-specific effort. Consequently, our innovation community (IC) links practical breeding with the supporting research-base in a transdisciplinary platform. This operational framework enables us to harness the relevant science base provided by six cross-cutting science-support activities. We innovate up to the point where newly-bred germplasm and tools are demonstrated on farm at technology readiness level 7.
The Lentil Innovation Community operates in lentil supply through innovation in breeding, in other words, it aspires to contribute to the secure production and sustain of health and to good characteristics propagation material of lentil. Seed is the basis for a good crop, but in Europe there is little investment in lentil breeding for the development of new varieties.
