Manuela Stoyanova, Biologist at CPSBB:
“Bulgaria Will Contribute to a Major Research Project for Improving Legumes in Europe”

What is the main objective of the BELIS project?

From a research perspective, the main goal of this international project is to improve the resilience and nutritional quality of legume crops in Europe. Economically, the aim is to develop tools and methodologies to optimize the cultivation of these economically important crops. Since Europe still relies heavily on imported plant proteins, the goal is to enhance the competitiveness of the legume-growing industry within the EU and associated countries by developing tailored tools and methodologies.

The research consortium includes 34 institutions from 18 European countries, and it is a privilege for CPSBB to represent Bulgaria with scientific expertise and contributions to the project. The project focuses on 14 legume crops, of which 7 are grain legumes and 7 are forage legumes. The grain legumes are pea, lentil, bean, chickpea, soybean, faba bean, and lupin. The forage legumes under study include alfalfa, red and white clover, sainfoin, birdsfoot trefoil (lotus), and galega.

What is Bulgaria’s role in this project?

In partnership with research institutes from the Czech Republic, Lithuania, France, and Germany, CPSBB is focusing on pea research. We are studying over 150 pea lines with a focus on traits that are prioritized by seed producers, breeders, and farmers—nutritional value, yield, stress resilience, and more.

The project spans five years. Each year, we grow the plants, record biometric characteristics, and collect material that will later be used to identify genetic markers associated with the studied traits. These genetic markers will help create an extensive open-access database, which will be of great importance to breeders in developing new varieties with desired traits such as high yield, valuable nutritional properties, and stress resistance.

How is the project expected to support legume producers in Europe?

Alongside the scientific activities, CPSBB is responsible for organizing meetings with farmers, breeders, and seed producers to identify the key challenges in the production-to-consumer chain. The feedback gathered from producers and consumers will be used by the project partners to develop cost-effective cultivation programs and improved legume varieties that can potentially be transferred from science to industry, livestock breeders, and producers of seeds, food, and feed.

Over 150 pea lines were grown by CPSBB in experimental fields during the past year. The researchers recorded biometric characteristics, and material will be collected to identify genetic markers related to plant traits such as nutritional value, yield, stress resistance, and others.