Zayndu launches S-Prime ahead of GreenTech 2025

Zayndu is announcing the launch of S-Prime, a package of priming protocols for its ActivatedAir plasma seed priming system dedicated to spinach crops. S-Prime is the first of a range of crop-optimized protocols set to be rolled out by the company. They are designed to bring the benefits of on-site priming to a broader market, says Ralph Weir, Zayndu CEO.

© ZaynduRalph Weir

"Our rapid growth over the last 12 months has given our plant science team vast exposure to various CEA growing systems and varieties," explains Ralph. "In each case, we optimized ActivatedAir priming to suit the customer's varieties and growing system.

"This has created a large library of treatments that cover most crops and growing systems, which we can now deploy as pre-optimized packages, giving customers a quick start."

Spinach is the first crop to receive this focus, with the S-Prime package for on-site priming. The initial version of S-Prime includes treatments for spinach varieties. The complete list spans over a dozen of the most popular genetics, making it extremely easy to add additional varieties as they become available. Ralph says these can be uploaded to a grower's machine using Zayndu's award-winning SeedCloud system.

Ralph adds: "Zayndu increases grower profitability through bigger yields and shorter crop cycles with its plasma seed priming. The cold plasma system deployed to a grower's facility is only part of this; the treatment protocols extract the maximum value out of the seeds for a grower."

Zayndu's head of science, Dr Alberto Campanaro, explains that spinach was the logical first crop to adopt this approach because of the extremely high demand from growers trying to satisfy the increasing market requirement.

© ZaynduDr Alberto Campanaro

"Spinach is a challenging crop to germinate evenly, so it's often one of the first crops we are asked to improve for a new customer," says Alberto. "Each variety responds slightly differently to ActivatedAir priming due to physiological differences between varieties.

"For each variety, we have fine-tuned the plasma priming process to alter the composition of the ActivatedAir applied to cater to these differences.

"Zayndu now has a catalog of specific pre-programmed settings for different spinach varieties, which we have packaged together as S-Prime. Future packages are likely to include multiple crops. For example, to address baby-leaf salad, we will include multiple crops and varieties."

"Growers don't need to continue struggling with spinach germination - we've cracked it with S-Prime. Many customers report a 15% - 24% yield increase for ActivatedAir-treated spinach crops."

How 80 Acres Farms has increased spinach germination with ActivatedAir
80 Acres engaged in a 3-month deployment optimization process with ActivatedAir. During that time, Zayndu and 80 Acres worked together to create treatment protocols suited to their specific crop varieties and growing systems.

© Zayndu

80 Acres Farms head grower Megan Gambrill explains: "In CEA you need consistent germination to fill every square inch. So, we need to make sure all the crops are viable and growing at the same rate.

"A lot of spinach has different germination rates, so you might have one batch that comes in with 80% germination or one with 90% germination. You might have one with a 60% germination rate. We want all of them to achieve 90% or above. With ActivatedAir, spinach germination is now consistently over 90%, while sorrel germination rates doubled."

"I also like that ActivatedAir can be used on other seeds. I want to improve growth rates on all crops and the published research showed I could achieve that," concludes Megan.