Less than a year after the inauguration of the new high-tech greenhouses at the Bayer Research Center in Borgo Sabotino, in the province of Latina (read EFA News ), the investment takes another step forward. Completed in February 2026 and now fully operational, the facilities are already producing encouraging results in research and testing and are preparing to welcome a new strategic crop: cucumber.

The introduction of cucumber expands the Lazio site's activities, confirming its central role in international horticultural research and strengthening Bayer's ability to develop innovative solutions for increasingly sustainable, resilient, and efficient agriculture.

The €5.9 million investment doubled the area dedicated to seed production and created state-of-the-art greenhouses designed to accelerate genetic improvement programs through advanced technologies and highly efficient cultivation systems.

The Latina Research Center, a flagship of agronomic innovation, celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2022. Occupying a total area of 23 hectares, including 7.8 hectares of greenhouses and 15 hectares of fields, the Research Center is committed to improving the varietals of horticultural crops and developing increasingly high-performance, sustainable varieties that meet the needs of modern agriculture and the global market.

"The completion of the new greenhouses and the expansion of our cucumber operations demonstrate how innovation represents a concrete investment in the future of agriculture. The Latina Research Center is a strategic asset for Bayer and the entire horticultural sector, enabling us to transform scientific research into practical solutions that generate value for farmers, the supply chain, and consumers," says Mauro Ferrari , Vegetables Unit Lead, Bayer Crop Science Italia.

In the first months of operation, the new facilities hosted experimental trials on tomatoes and peppers, with positive results both agronomically and in terms of product quality. The performance recorded confirms the value of the investment and the greenhouses' ability to offer optimal conditions for varietal research. The addition of this new crop will further expand the scope of the trials, providing new opportunities to test innovative varieties, evaluate advanced cultivation strategies, and develop solutions aimed at the sustainability of greenhouse production.