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Development and Maturation of White Lupine Seed

USDA-ARS, New England Plant, Soil and Water Lab.
Dep. of Plant and Soil Sci., Univ. of Maine, Orono, ME 04469.

^* Corresponding author.

Unreliable ripening has limited production of white lupine (Lupinus albus L.) in northern temperate climates. Currently, there are no adequate methods to predict physiological maturity of this crop. The objectives of this study were to develop a descriptive index of maturation for white lupine pods and seeds, and to relate physiological maturity to the relationship between seed and pod moisture contents. Field data from a series of studies on the effects of planting date and plant density on white lupine growth and yield were used to generate the developmental index. The index was useful in determining developmental stages for both main-stem and higher-order lateral pods. Funicula detachment occurred between 55 and 80 kg kg^–1 pod moisture content and was consistent with literature reports of physiological maturity, maturation drying and onset of desiccation-tolerance. Rapid seed filling occurred when pod moisture content was greater than 83 kg kg^–1 fresh weight. The relationship between pod and seed moisture content was linear and varied between years, but did not vary between main-stem and lateral pods within year. At pod moisture content less than 83 kg kg^–1, however, the relationship was curvilinear and did not vary over year or pod order (main-stem or first-order lateral pods). The change in slope of this relationship at 83 kg kg^–1 pod moisture content may explicitly identify physiological maturity and the onset of maturation drying. Although lupine is harvested when seed moisture content falls below 20 kg kg^–1, these data concur with reports in the literature suggesting that a lupine crop may be harvested when pod moisture content range from 55 to 80 kg kg^–1 without loss of seed yield or viability.

Received for publication February 13, 1989.