NL: LEDs put Bayer on the fast track to new seed varieties

Present on all continents, Bayer produces over 1,200 seed varieties across 24 vegetable crops, including lettuce. Its breeding programs deliver innovative cultivars, which in turn help improve their customers’ business growth and profitability.

In recent years, more hydroponic growers have begun using LED to accelerate crop growth and improve the quality of yields during winter. To help its customers remain competitive, Bayer has to adapt its lettuce varieties to meet the requirements of hydroponic systems that use LEDs.

Philips LED Horti Partner Light4Food helped Bayer gain experience using LEDs to grow lettuce in its greenhouse. The first results were promising, so Bayer decided to equip the entire greenhouse with Philips GreenPower LED toplighting, which produces a light intensity of 110 µmol/m2/s. A light intensity that corresponds with the light level of Bayer's customers.

Peter Does, Account Manager Lettuce: “We are always looking for more efficient ways to improve our breeding process so we can bring improved varieties to the market as fast as possible. With the LED lighting solution we are able to screen more varieties per season, which accelerates the process of finding the right varieties.

Before we used LEDs in this greenhouse, we could only do one round of crops in the winter, which took 12 to 13 weeks. Now we can cut that growing time in half."

For more information:
Philips
www.philips.com/horti