AgroPages-Bayer inaugurates new greenhouse for insecticide research-Agricultural news

Ribbon-cutting for the inauguration: Adrian Percy, Head of Research and Development; Axel Trautwein, Head of Small Molecules Research; Markus Dollinger, Head of Insecticide Research; Daniel Zimmermann, Major of the City of Monheim; Project Lead Torsten Knohl and Bayer Site Manager Simone Rosche.

Bayer is aiming to consolidate its leading position in the global pest control market. To this end, the company has invested roughly EUR 45 million in the construction of an approximately 11,000 m2 greenhouse at its Monheim site with an adjoining laboratory and office building for insecticide research.

"The new building will help us overcome one of the fundamental challenges of our times: safeguarding the global supply of food," said Dr. Dirk Backhaus, head of Product Supply and member of the Executive Committee of Bayer's Crop Science Division, at the inauguration celebration on January 8 which was attended by 50 invited guests and roughly 150 employees. "This greenhouse could have been built anywhere in the world. But Germany has substantial advantages as a location: diverse, sustainable agriculture, a high level of education, and a solid knowledge base as well as being attractively situated in a dynamic European environment," noted Backhaus. As such, this investment also reflects Bayer's commitment to the innovative capacity of Europe, Germany, and specifically to the Monheim research site in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The construction of the new greenhouse is Bayer's largest single project in Monheim in an investment program that has totaled around EUR 170 million over the past six years. Aside from new investments, key elements of the growth strategy for Crop Science include the modernization and targeted expansion of the existing research infrastructure.

In his speech, Backhaus stressed the need for societal support for industrial research. “We are living in times in which populism and political polarization are endangering the acceptance of modern science,” said Backhaus, citing recent emotionally charged campaigns such as the one against important insecticidal substance classes like the neonicotinoids, the debate surrounding the reauthorization of glyphosate and the media response to reports on the decline in insect populations in some parts of Germany. “Insects are of huge significance to Bayer due to their important role as pollinators of many crops. Our task is to engage the public in an open and transparent dialog about the innovative solutions that we at Bayer are developing to improve the quality of human life and thus bridge the gap between producers and consumers.”

Top-notch research will improve Bayer’s ability to develop selective insecticides

Farmers across the world are increasingly facing new pest infestations and mounting resistance to currently available insecticides. Furthermore, tighter regulations result in higher entry barriers for new insecticidal solutions. State-of-the-art research with outstanding technological capabilities is a key factor for the successful development of crop protection innovations, especially insecticides. "The new greenhouse will improve our ability to develop new selective insecticides," noted Dr. Markus Dollinger, head of Insecticide Research at Bayer. "We are confident that the innovative products based on the active ingredients that will be developed here will meet the urgent needs of our customers while at the same time supporting sustainable agriculture." In addition to the greenhouse, an adjacent building with 1,200 m2 of laboratory space and 870 m2 of office space will also be available for insecticide research.

The greenhouse will provide 60 employees with optimal conditions for cultivating and testing over 30 different crop species and over 40 in some cases exotic pests and beneficial organisms. The highest biosafety and hygiene standards will ensure work can be carried out on these organisms as well as on transgenic plants and new breeds of plants. The greenhouse consists of 133 compartments, in which a wide variety of climate conditions can be individually replicated, such as temperature, humidity, length of day, temperature curves, and air filtration. This will allow experiments to be conducted under realistic conditions similar to those found in nature. It will be possible to conduct parallel studies on native and exotic crops using active ingredients currently in development and alternative technologies such as biological crop protection, plant breeding and beneficial-compatible combination strategies.