As a vegetable breeding company, Bayer is committed to improving crops every day. In the breeding process, we cross different plants with desirable traits and screen the results for the best characteristics. Hybrid varieties are often selected as they offer higher yields and are more resilient to diseases and climate stress compared to non-hybrids. These hybrids are the offspring of two parent plants that complement each other perfectly. To obtain suitable parent plants, they must first be made genetically uniform (homozygous) through self-pollination. However, hybrid crops used in screening for further breeding cannot be reused and are destroyed.

Are you ready to think globally and act locally? At Bayer's Dutch campus in Bergschenhoek, you can directly contribute to their R&D efforts. If you and your team develop thé solution, there's a good chance it will be implemented worldwide! We invite students to explore sustainable ways to repurpose hybrid crops that would otherwise go to waste

A way to repurpose hybrid crops that are no longer usable after the screening process