Perennial Legumes - Cultivate Sustainable Futures

Why perennial legumes?

With more than 20,000 legume species in the world and only around 15 pulse (grain) and 40 forage legumes traded globally, there is great opportunity to develop new perennial grain and companion legume crops. The Land Institute is currently domesticating perennial Baki™ bean, the edible perennial pulse produced by the perennial legume sainfoin.

As a legume, sainfoin is able to convert atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants, and when planted in companion with other crops, it can reduce or eliminate the need to apply synthetic fertilizers. For this reason, The Land Institute is also pursuing research into the benefit of planting Kernza in companion with other legumes like alfalfa and kura clova to maximize productivity and environmental benefits in the field.

Timeline

2017

Identifying perennial legume potential

The perennial legume program explored alfalfa and lupin as potential new grain legumes and Kura clover as a perennial companion legume, and ultimately identified sainfoin as a prime candidate for domestication.

2018

Sainfoin demonstrates ecological benefits

Perennial legume researchers Brandon Schlautman and Spencer Barriball initiated perennial grain legume breeding at The Land Institute. This was supplemented by the release of a candidate species selection publication supported by St. Louis University and the Missouri Botanical Gardens, which included Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia and Onobrychis spp.) and its role in reducing synthetic nitrogen inputs in agroecosystems.

2021

Global collaboration

The Sainfoin Consortium organized efforts to develop a crop ontology with collaboration between The Land Institute, Adana Alparslan Turkes Science and Technology University, Kafkas University, Sakiroglu Research Group, Birzeit University (Palestine), & UC Davis.

2022

Sainfoin research on farming landscapes

The perennial legume program established sainfoin on farms in Kansas and Nebraska to explore its application in different crop configurations and geographies.

2023

Key food science research

Researchers in the Perennial Legumes and Crop Stewardship teams at The Land Institute published the first paper on sainfoin seed (Baki™ bean) quality. This research showed that sainfoin seeds contained levels of crude protein and fat on par with soybean and chickpea, respectively, and quantified other important macronutrients like fiber and micronutrients like iron and zinc.

2024

Promising safety findings

Researchers released three more papers on sainfoin seeds, pointing to their absence of toxins and heavy metals, benefits to human diets as a complete plant protein source, and safety to eat based on a study in mice.

Goals

Government food approval for Baki™ bean

The perennial legume and crop stewardship programs are pursuing the Food and Drug Administration’s Generally Recognized as Safe (FDA GRAS) status for perennial Baki bean to begin moving the perennial pulse crop onto landscapes and into markets.

Compatibility with Kernza

We are designing breeding strategies and buidling agronomic knowledge to improve the compatibility of perennial legumes when grown in an intercropping configuration with Kernza perennial grain.

Drought-tolerance

A collaborative project in the Colorado River Basin is looking at the potential for sainfoin (and other perennial grains) to serve as alternatives to water-intensive alfalfa to conserve water and adapt to drought conditions in the arid western United States.

Accelerate Baki bean genetic improvement

We are working with research partners in Alabama and Turkey to sequence the sainfoin genome and develop genomic-assisted (non-GMO) breeding platforms to accelerate progress.

Perennial legumes research collaborators

Project team

Spencer Barriball

Research Program Manager – Perennial Legumes

Spencer came to Salina from Northwestern Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota. Three years after completing his degree, he worked as a research technician for the UM Horticulture department under the Potato Breeding and Genetics program. There, he managed potato variety trials across Minnesota and North Dakota and […]

Glory Benacka

Greenhouse Manager

Glory’s Kansas homeplace is a few acres in Ellsworth County near Lake Kanopolis. She grew up in Nebraska and Chicago. Glory earned a B.A. in Visual Art and a minor in Environmental Studies from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. She is excited to join The Land Institute in a position where she can work […]

Evan Craine

Research Scientist II – Crop Stewardship

Evan Craine is a Research Scientist in the Crop Stewardship Program at The Land Institute, working on the perennial legume sainfoin. He lives in Pullman, Washington, at the edge of the Palouse region in the eastern part of the state. He earned a Ph.D. in Crop Science, with a focus on plant breeding and genetics, […]

Tiffany Durr

Senior Facilities Operations Manager

Hailing from McPherson County, Kansas, Tiffany is our Facilities Operations Manager. She earned her BS in Horticulture from Kansas State University and was pursuing a career in landscaping when she started working with The Land Institute. She quickly fell in love with the mission, and by the end of her first summer at The Land […]

Bo Meyering

Applications Developer

Application Developer Bo Meyering lives in Florida, but also lived on the northernmost island in Japan after college. Even though it’s not his home country, the mountains and streams near the sleepy seaside village where he lived will always remain near and dear to his heart. Bo graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology […]