Introduction
Over the past decades, significant efforts have been made to promote the cultivation of legumes. Cultivation of legumes, particularly grain legumes, can reduce the use of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, enhance biodiversity, reduce dependence on imported feed proteins, and improve soil biological properties and humus content. However, grain legumes are still not widely grown. One of the main reasons for this is “legume fatigue”, which reduces the yields of grain legumes and limits the expansion of legume cultivation in many European environmentsProject objectives
The exact causes of legume fatigue are not known, although soil-borne diseases interacting with abiotic factors are thought to play a key role. Recent results suggest that the balance between pathogen load and soil suppressiveness, rather than pathogen load alone, is critical. In several farms and regions, legume fatigue is not reported to be a problem, while in others it severely limits legume production. The reasons for this variation are not fully understood, making the identification of causes urgent. Our collaborative project aims to identify the key factors driving legume fatigue. This will be achieved through a network of farms and long- term experiments covering various environments, incorporating comprehensive assessments of both biotic and abiotic factors.
Establishment of a farm network
A network of farms and long-term experiments is being established across a transect from southern to northern Europe (Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, and Norway). Each country will identify farms to participate in a farm network through a survey among farmers in the main regions for protein crop cultivation. Farms with documented legume fatigue, those successfully managing frequent legume cropping, and farms with no legume cultivation in recent decades will be targeted.
Sampling and analysis
For farms selected to participate in the network, the following tasks will be carried out:- Extensive interviews to collect metadata at both farm and field level (e.g., agronomic practices, cropping history, etc.).
- Field assessments of legume crops to evaluate disease symptoms of shoots and roots, crop ground cover, weed incidence, soil structure, and yield, as well as gathering weather data.
- Collecting plant and soil samples for analysis of chemical and physical properties, along with nematode, protist and microbiome asessments.
Expected outcomes
LeFaSus will undertake an in-depth investigation into the occurrence and underlying causes of legume soil fatigue, while also identifying effective management practices to prevent it. Data gathered from all partners within the farm and long-term experiments network will be analyzed to pinpoint the key factors driving legume fatigue. This will enable the development of a robust set of indicators for diagnosing legume fatigue and identifying disease-suppressive soils, while also clarifying how management practices impact these indicators.
Partners
University of Kassel, Faculty of Organic Agricultural sciences (UniKassel)
The Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences focuses on future topics in organic agriculture and the food industry - from soil life, resource-conserving plant production, animal-friendly and environmentally friendly livestock farming, food-friendly processing and target group-oriented marketing to agriculture as part of the landscape, environment and society. The section of Organic Plant protection has been working on applied issues of plant protection in organic agriculture since 1999 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Maria Finckh. The focus lies on the development of preventive measures for the promotion and maintenance of plant health, as well as their practice-oriented implementation under conditions of organic agriculture. The interdisciplinary work covers the three topics of plant diseases, harmful insects and weeds. Within the LeFaSus Project UniKassel coordinates the project and performs field research in 80 Sites spread all over Germany.
Institut fir Biologesch Landwirtschaft an Agrarökologie Luxemburg a.s.b.l. (IBLA)
IBLA is the competence centre for research and consulting in organic agriculture and viticulture as well as for agroecology in Luxembourg. The focus areas are inter alia protection of natural resources and biodiversity, sustainability assessment, preservation and improvement of soil fertility, variety testing, animal welfare and optimization of crop rotation. IBLA is also an important contact point in Luxembourg for the cultivation and utilization of legumes. In LeFaSus IBLA leads the meta-analysis and literature research on self-incompatibility and crop rotations with grain legumes, contributes to knowledge generation in the farm network in Luxembourg, and organises workshops and field days for stakeholders, supplemented by contributions to scientific articles and practice-oriented publications.
Tabea Theis theis@ibla.lu Administrative Contact: Ms. Julie Mousel info@ibla.lu +352 621 28 74 66
Scientific Contact : Dr. Sabine Keßler kessler@ibla.lu +352 26 15 13 90
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)
Høgskoleveien 7, 1433 Aas, Norway The Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) contributes to food security and safety, sustainable resource management, innovation, and value creation by conducting research and producing knowledge within the food, forestry, and other bio-based industries sectors. NIBIO will contribute expertise in fungal diseases in legumes. Our team will identify Norwegian farmers to participate in the farm network and conduct field assessments on these farms. Contact person (local project manager): Heidi Udnes Aamot, heidi.udnes.aamot@nibio.no
Silje Kvist Simonsen, silje.simonsen@nibio.no
Heidi Udnes Aamot, heidi.udnes.aamot@nibio.no
Birgitte Henriksen, birgitte.henriksen@nibio.no
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Faculty of Biosciences, Department of Plant SciencesPostbox 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway
The Faculty of Biosciences contributes to the shape of future food production through basic as well as applied research on the production and use of plants, livestock and fish. The faculty consists of the departments Department of Livestock and Aquaculture Science, IHA and Department of Plant Science, IPV. In this project, NMBU contributes with general expertise within agricultural science including weed science. Our team will do contribute to create the experimental protocol of the farm survey and participate in carry out the assessments.
Contact person: Lars Olav Brandsæter
Project Group:
Liv Berge, liv.berge@nmbu.no
Lars Olav Brandsæter, lars.olav.brandsaeter@nmbu.no
UNiversity of Ferrara
The team members of University of Ferrara will be in charge in collaboration with other project partner for the correct identification of Legume soil fatigue by a carefull literature search (WP1). In addition, a target of 20 fields will be identified by survey to farmers in order to get information of field management and legume cultivation (WP2). Soil sampling will be collected in selected farms and send to Kassel University for specific soil analyses (WP3). Finally, the UNIFE team will contribute on data collection and analysis and dissemination of the project results (WP4 and WP5).
Name Emanuele Radicetti
E-mail emanuele.radicetti@unife.it
Daniele Borgatti
daniele.borgatti@unife.it
Events
LeFaSus has been represented at the Organic Field Days 2025 in Germany.
Publications
T. Ruf, D.Borgatti, T. Theis, M. Ben Hassine, A. Sisic, E. Radicetti, S. Keßler (2025): Soil Fatigue in Legume Cropping: A still undefined phenomenom. Submitted to Biology and Fertility of Soils. BFSO-D-25-00315
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101056828 The Funding Organizations are
- The Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Italy
- The Luxembourg National Research Fund, Luxembourg
- The Research Council of Norway, Norway
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