The modern facility will focus on breeding activities, screening of diseases, evaluation and selection of breeding materials, in-bred development and crossing in vegetable crops like cabbage, onion, tomato, hot peppers, cucumber, okra, etc.
Spread over 8.5 acres, the high-tech breeding station will be equipped with all aspects of R&D infrastructure in the same location, a statement issued here said.
The facility also has polyhouses, phyto pathology lab and plots for breeding, seed cleaning and seed preparation laboratories, cold room for germplasm storage and adequate space for future expansion of activities are also part of the plan.
The new facility will also have a cultivable area of 5 acres for field experimentation and 2 acres for polyhouses.
More From This Section
"The R&D station will enable us to drive the development of Indian agriculture by investing into locally-bred, highly productive and nutritious vegetable varieties for the benefit of our farmers, the consumers and Indian agriculture as a whole," head of the company's vegetable seed business Joachim Schneider said.
"The opening of the R&D station provides a stronger footprint in the country. Research and breeding activities will be boosted especially in crops like onion which hold a huge potential for the country," Head of Bayer CropScience, Indian Subcontinent, Joerg Rehbein said.
"This facility will enable us to further consolidate our leadership position in the country and give a big boost to our output in all important crops like onion, cabbage, tomato, okra, melons and hot pepper," Head of Bayer CropScience Vegetable Seeds, India, Hema Abichandani said.
Bayer CropScience is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control.