Bayer Crop Sciences does its vegetable research and development right here in Wisconsin – DeForest, to be specific. Site lead Ben Stonewall says the research station looks at sweet corn, onions, beans, peas, and more across 160 acres. Wisconsin ranks highly in the nation for producing these vegetable crops.
Researchers look at the early stages of these vegetables to ensure a quality seed gets to producers. Stonewall explains that quality seeds are high-yielding and can handle the pressures from Mother Nature, such as disease or drought.
“We’re looking for the next great product that’s going to provide more yield to the growers,” Stonewall says. “And then it varies by crop a little bit based on if there’s some insect resistance or if there’s disease resistance. Some of that is genetically inherent in the plant, and we try to breed for greater resistance.”
He says the onions are a unique crop to grow.
“Onions are a two-year crop. So, you plant seed to grow bulbs, and then you grow bulbs to create seed the following year,” Stonewall explains. “We use honeybees for pollination. We maintain our own beehives throughout the summer.”
He says the challenges in a growing season, such as the wet conditions this year, actually allowed them some unique research opportunities.
“Peas and green beans, in particular, we were able to see which ones were more susceptible to root rot,” Stonewall says. “So that was some really good data for us to collect and make selections on which products would advance into the next phase of our pipeline.”