Potential of landrace germplasm for genetic enhancement of white lupin in Egypt

Landraces of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) collected in Egypt were evaluat ed along with locally developed cultivars and selected foreign germplasm fo r yield and major morphological characteristics in five different locations . These locations represent different soil types and climatic conditions in Egypt. The results showed an outstanding performance of the local cultivar checks across traditional locations for lupin cultivation, which supports the utilization of local germplasm for further improvement of locally adapt ed lupins in Egypt. The results further suggest that local landrace germpla sm may be an important source of alleles for shortening the vegetative peri od, reducing plant height and stem length, as well as for improving some yi eld components as number of pods and seeds per plant. The genotype-by-locat ion interaction was significant for all characteristics. Mass selection in the Egyptian germplasm collection of white lupin has the potential for enha ncing yield, especially in germplasm adapted to newly reclaimed desert loca tions.