Zoom, Online
Constraints and opportunities for legume production in Northern Europe will be discussed at this seminar which is part of the Department of Plant Production Ecology's seminar series. Welcome!
In this seminar, we will discuss the recent insights about constraints and opportunities of legume production in northern Europe with two of the leading researchers in this scientific field; Christine Watson and Fred Stoddard.
Legume crops offer a great potential for diversifying cropping systems and farm businesses as well as for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, fertiliser and pesticide use and for mitigating land degradation.
Legumes are also a valuable alternative protein source and of importance for a more sustainable and healthier human diet. Not least, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is underlining the need for increasing the self-sufficiency in agricultural products, which is opposing the fact that the import of plant proteins into the EU are at a record high.
Despite the scientific and political awareness, the adoption of legumes in European cropping systems is still very low. Several large-scale research projects are investigating the agronomic, ecologic and socioeconomic production potential of grain legumes in Europe (e.g. IMPULSE, LegumeGap).