An early Christmas gift! Bayer's De Ruiter Experience Center (DEC) and partner Brazander have extended and expanded their collaboration, signing a new five‑year agreement. The partnership now expands from showcasing and testing tomato and cucumber varieties to include bell peppers. "We now test and demonstrate all major glasshouse crops under one roof," the team says.
© De Ruiter Vegetable Seeds
Since opening in December 2017, the DEC has welcomed thousands of customers and stakeholders from around the world to see how the Bayer varieties perform in real‑life conditions. Last year alone, the center welcomed around 3.000 visitors from over 40 countries. "The centre showcases our many varieties for growers and consumers around the world in realistic grower conditions. It also serves to demonstrate and test innovative, sustainable technologies and practices — from harvest robots and digital tools to biological crop protection", says Ethan Luth, Commercial Lead EMEA ASIA
The success began with Bayer partnering with Brazander, a leading grower of tomatoes and cucumbers in Bleiswijk, in the heart of an area globally famous for horticulture. With the renewed five‑year contract, that fruitful collaboration now enters a new phase that adds bell peppers to the portfolio. "This is a unique place where our business and our customers come together. It is more than just a demo facility; it's an environment where growers and stakeholders meet, and collaboration truly comes to life."
© De Ruiter Vegetable Seeds
Continuous investments
"To stay ahead we've kept upgrading the DEC to ensure it remains a top‑tier facility where visitors gain fresh insights year after year", Ethan continues. This includes early adoption of advanced HPS artificial lighting for tomatoes, and, in 2022, the construction of a new 7,200 m² greenhouse dedicated to cucumbers, as well as the installation of a hybrid LED + HPS lighting system and double screens for energy saving. In 2024, full LED conversion took place for tomatoes and cucumber crops, and insect netting was installed to reduce pest and disease risk.
"Those investments are delivering results: in 2025 we achieved new yield records — exceeding 110 kg/m² for the LED‑driven large‑truss tomato crop and 450 pieces/m² for Long Dutch cucumbers."
With the addition of bell pepper, customers and stakeholders can experience the full potential of Bayer's De Ruiter portfolio. Ricardo Pereira (R&D Lead EMEA ASIA); "This location is essential for our customers. They have access to our newest portfolio and pipeline, where we showcase innovations and share knowledge. Furthermore, we collect valuable crop data here and share this expertise globally with our partners."
"We're looking forward to the next five years with Brazander — continuing to innovate, share knowledge and build resilient, sustainable crop production systems, now across even more crops."
Paul Zantman, owner Brazander: "Our journey started 8 years ago, and this is a new chapter. With new constructions and inspiring meetings, we aim to keep growing and add more episodes."
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Voor meer informatie:Bayer
https://www.vegetables.bayer.com
