Launched in October 2023, the BELIS innovation project aims to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of European legume breeding. Its key objectives include developing cost-effective breeding tools, improving the economic and regulatory landscape for legume breeding, and facilitating efficient innovation transfer through a collaborative public-private partnership platform, according to a press release.
The BELIS project held its annual meeting from Sept. 17-19 at the Flemish research partner ILVO in Melle, near Ghent, Belgium. The gathering brought together all project partners to showcase the progress made so far, plan future activities, and discuss key strategies for enhancing and innovating legume breeding.
Legumes, crucial for grain and forage production, provide essential proteins for human and animal consumption while offering environmental benefits, particularly through symbiotic nitrogen fixation. However, legume cultivation in Europe has been limited due to a lack of high-yielding and resilient varieties, leading to significant imports of legume crops. The BELIS project aims to address this gap by utilizing advanced breeding methodologies and promoting collaboration among research and industry stakeholders.
Launched in October 2023 as part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe program, the ambitious project “Breeding European Legumes for Increased Sustainability” seeks to establish a solid foundation for the legume breeding community in Europe. With a consortium of 34 partners from 18 countries, including research institutes, plant breeders, seed companies, registration offices, and advisory services, BELIS is set to tackle key challenges in legume breeding and variety production. The project emphasizes sharing knowledge on innovative breeding tools, experimental germplasm, and improved varieties with all stakeholders in the value chain, including farmers and the food and feed industry. It also focuses on developing business and cooperation models to facilitate the release of new varieties into the market.
BELIS targets seven forage crops — red, white, and annual clovers, lucerne, sainfoin, birdsfoot trefoil, and vetches — and seven grain crops — pea, faba bean, soybean, white lupin, lentil, chickpea, and common bean — representing a significant portion of the legume species cultivated in Europe.
Ultimately, the BELIS project aims to enhance breeding methodologies and improve the resilience of legume crops.
Innovative Research and Breeding Techniques to Enhance Genetic Progress
BELIS is leading the integration of advanced technologies in legume breeding to enhance genetic progress for new varieties. For example, drone technology is being used in red clover breeding programs to predict flower head counts and biomass, which are critical for seed and forage yield. Additionally, 300 Vicia accessions have been phenotyped with spectral cameras to analyze stress responses and plant health indicators, paving the way for high-throughput analysis.
The project also focuses on identifying and validating genetic markers linked to agronomic traits. These phenotypic traits and molecular markers will be utilized in experimental breeding programs to demonstrate new tools and methods that enable breeders to release better-adapted varieties more efficiently. In grain legumes like faba bean, BELIS is developing near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) calibration models for quality traits and validating markers related to drought resistance, yield, and broomrape resistance. Similarly, soybean breeding trials are being prepared to assess traits such as grain yield, quality, and drought tolerance, with main phenotyping trials set to begin in 2025.
BELIS will also offer innovations regarding legume variety adaptation and availability for farmers beyond genetics. This includes designing cross-country tests and standardizing criteria for official variety testing systems to provide farmers with valuable information on seed value for cultivation and use (VCU) at their locations. Additionally, the project aims to propose tools and improvements to official variety registration systems to enhance effectiveness and reduce costs and time requirements.
