The seven-hectare global Product Design Center in San Nicolás includes state-of-the-art lab space for cell biology research and greenhouses for seed production

Bayer has announced the expansion of its vegetable seeds R&D product design centre in San Nicolás, Spain. The San Nicolás site supports Bayer’s global vegetable seeds R&D pipeline for varieties sold to customers in more than 130 countries and territories under the Seminis and De Ruiter brands, both united under Vegetables by Bayer. 

With the largest investment in research and development in the industry, Bayer began the €5.1 million expansion of the product design centre in September 2019. The expansion includes a multifunctional R&D facility for cell biology, laboratories, cell culture rooms, climate-controlled chambers, and plans to develop a high-tech greenhouse space. It also allows for a three-fold increase in capacity for innovative doubled haploid (DH) production methods. 

The seven-hectare global Product Design Center in San Nicolás includes state-of-the-art lab space for cell biology research and greenhouses for seed production. The San Nicolás site is a key component of a holistic strategy to accelerate the design of novel genetic combinations and produce high quality doubled haploid plants at scale. The product design approach within vegetable breeding enables the incorporation of cutting edge technologies including genomics, cell biology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and imaging to better design products for growers and consumers. San Nicolás is one of more than 30 best-in-class vegetable R&D sites around the world and one of four Product Design Centers located in key vegetable producing regions including the Netherlands, Guatemala, and California.

The San Nicolás announcement comes as the United Nations celebrates the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables in 2021, which aims to raise awareness around ways to promote increased consumption of fruits and vegetables across the value chain.