Vegetable growers and chain partners from all over the world are welcomed each year at the Bejo Open Days in Warmenhuizen. This year, the event will take place from Tuesday 24 September to Saturday 28 September. During these days, visitors will have the chance to get acquainted with the latest Bejo varieties and there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss the prospects and challenges within their field.

Discover new varieties

Together with customers and partners, Bejo is continually researching changing field conditions and evolving market and consumer trends. These insights form the basis for the development of new and improved vegetable varieties that enable growers to harvest healthy and tasty vegetables worldwide. At the demo fields, varieties are shown that have been bred for traits such as disease resistance, storage quality, yield, appearance and taste. Promising new varieties to discover during the Open Days include the following:

A new generation of carrot varieties:
Natuna, a reliable variety worldwide. This continental Nantes type thrives in warm and dry conditions. The variety is popular with both conventional and organic growers because it is strong against traditional diseases such as alternaria and cercospora.
Nagasaki, a beautiful cylindrical variety suitable for early sowing. This variety gives productive, smooth B-sized carrots with excellent foliage and has good field keeping ability.
Nagoya, a variety suitable for second early harvest to cultivation under straw cover, for medium-early storage.

New fennel varieties:
Positano, an autumn variety with a beautiful white colour and very good uniformity and productivity.
Velino, produces a nice round tuber with healthy foliage in summer and early autumn. 

Quality broccoli:
Salinas (Bejo 3175), is a productive broccoli in different climatic conditions. The variety produces a nice consistent quality broccoli with an open plant structure. 

Development within leafy crops:
Iceberg Cherice, a new variety for northern Europe suitable for spring cultivation, with high resistance to Bremia (Bl:29-41EU). 
With the new Bejo varieties in leafy crops such as Miniatis (Bejo 36-220), Bejo's first mini-romaine Cologne (Bejo 51-227) and endive Kimolos (Bejo 3581), Krokos (Bejo 3582) and Savalia (Bejo 3222), Bejo is showing that they have everything they need in this field; 'All you need for salad, we have it'.

Crop in the spotlight, beetroot

Bejo is a knowledge and discussion partner in the field of beetroot for growers, industry and supermarket, and offers an extensive range of products. Ranging from early varieties to varieties suitable for long storage, varieties with and without Rhizomania resistance, varieties with a nice internal colour, but also with good contents such as brix and betanin. A selection from the range: Rhizu (Bejo 3557), Pablo, Boro and Manzu

Bejo is organising an exclusive red beet symposium 'Rooted in success: innovations in breeding, production and marketing of red beet' during this year's Open Days. Here, several internal and external speakers, each from their own specialism, will give interesting presentations. Participation in the symposium is by invitation only.

Guided tours and demonstrations

A strong variety starts with good genetics. During the Research Tour, visitors will learn how breeding for resistance works. The Seed Quality Tour shows the process of testing, cleaning, upgrading and enriching seed before it is sent as Bejo high-quality seed to growers around the world. 

New this year is the Seed Research Expo, where extensive information will be given on various topics within seed research and how they contribute to Bejo seed quality. Bejo beekeepers will also talk about bee health and bee research activities.

Innovative vegetable concepts and greenhouses

Innovative vegetable concepts will also be presented during the Bejo Open Days. In the development of these concepts, taste, health and ease of use are key. An example is the purple sprouting broccoli Redi®.

Bejo's extensive range of new pointed cabbage varieties also offers growers and chain partners inspiration for new applications of this versatile vegetable. The savoy pointed cabbage Samantha in particular is a great addition to the current pointed cabbage range. 
There is also a focus on snack carrots and fennel as driven by increasing consumer demand.

In the greenhouse for fruit crops, Bejo will display a variety of varieties of tomatoes, peppers and gherkins.

Demo fields and demonstrations

Both conventional and organic varieties can be seen on the vast demo fields. Various sowing, fertigation and harvesting demonstrations will take place here daily in cooperation with Bejo partners. 

This includes a fertigation trial in pointed cabbage, showing the differences between fertigation, irrigation with drip hose and the conventional approach. There is also a beetroot harvesting demonstration and in crops such as leeks, courgettes, celeriac and lettuce, the possibilities of using natural enemies, beneficial fungi and smooth pollinators are shown. 

This year, more than 25 mechanisation companies are taking part in the Bejo Open Days. This will introduce visitors to the latest innovations for sustainable solutions within the sector.

Find out how it works at Bejo

Especially for jobseekers, Bejo will open the doors of the 'discover how it works' pavilion during Open Days. An excellent opportunity to discover the career possibilities within the various working areas, Cultivation & Agribusiness, Research & Breeding, Operations & Supply Chain and Staff & Support Services. Interested parties will get to know Bejo during an informal meeting and can sample Bejo atmosphere on the Open Days grounds. You can apply via werkenbijbejo.nl.

Download the Bejo Experience app

The Bejo Experience app contains useful information for visitors to the Open Days, such as the location of the different varieties in the demo fields. The app is available in the Apple and Android stores.

Visit information 

The Bejo Open Days are open exclusively to business clients and relations from Tuesday 24 September to Friday 27 September. On Saturday 28 September, family and neighbours are also welcome to visit and discover Bejo. As usual, the location is Trambaan 2 in Warmenhuizen. 

About Bejo 

Bejo is active in breeding, production, processing and sales of quality vegetable seeds. With a range of around 40 crops and more than 1,000 varieties, Bejo offers a full assortment for a wide variety of markets and diverse climates. Bejo seed finds its way to more than 100 countries through the global network of Bejo companies and dedicated distributors. Over 2,200 employees are committed to providing optimal service and quality. With a focus on sustainability, health and innovation, Bejo supports growers worldwide to harvest healthy and tasty vegetables.