Operational since early May and officially launched on 11 June, the facility will strengthen research and demonstrations for 20 open-field crops
Rijk Zwaan has officially opened its new Trial Centre Open Field in the Netherlands.
Operational since early May, the site was officially launched on 11 June.
The facility will allow Rijk Zwaan to further strengthen both its practical research and its presentation of open-field varieties to customers and value chain partners from around the world, it said.
”The Trial Centre Open Field houses practical research and demonstrations covering 20 open-field crops, including various types of lettuce and brassicas as well as spinach and chicory,” the group stated.
”At the facility, varieties are tested and evaluated under a wide range of conditions. For example, there is a digital phenotyping lab and a darkroom for chicory trials.
”There are also other trial areas, such as for asparagus breeding and seed production,” it outlined.
The Trial Centre Open Field will now be the primary location where Rijk Zwaan showcases its open-field range and shares its knowledge and insights with customers.
Rijk Zwaan pointed out that open-field crop cultivation is changing rapidly, with mechanisation on the rise, demand for disease-resistant varieties growing, and new production regions and systems emerging.
“By combining practical research with data-driven techniques such as digital phenotyping, we can evaluate varieties faster and with ever-greater precision,” said Marco van Leeuwen, one of Rijk Zwaan’s managing directors.
“Together with growers and partners, we translate those insights into varieties that make a real difference.”
Rijk Zwaan noted that the new Trial Centre Open Field will help to futureproof research and demonstration on a site that supports the international development and presentation of open-field varieties.
The company’s former open-field demo site in Fijnaart, which had been in use for over 25 years, is being repurposed and will be used for breeding-related and field trials.
