Anne Williams, head of protected crops at Bayer Vegetable Seeds, has joined the Zayndu board as a non-executive director. The announcement follows recent senior appointments to Zayndu's sales and engineering teams, as the firm is making significant strides in expanding sales of its ActivatedAir cold-plasma seed treatment and priming system.
Anne Williams brings a wealth of industry experience. Her career started in crop protection before she moved to Monsanto, which has seen her work in the horticultural seed industry for the past ten years. She was the tomato global product manager at Monsanto and has been the head of protected crops at Bayer Vegetable Seeds since the acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer in 2018.
As the industry increasingly focuses on genetics to solve its agronomic challenges and increase yields, Anne believes that seed quality will also play a critical role. "If you have good genetics, reaching the grower in great condition, then you get the best possible start for the crop," says Anne. "There has been a lot of change in the demands of growers and what their crop cycles and management looks like. Healthy seeds with good vigor and germination get the whole process moving for a grower.
"ActivatedAir is a super interesting technology. It's easy to use and green tech, which makes it very practical for operators to manage with no risk of exposure to harmful substances. It is also very adaptable to different crop species and varieties. "It is clean, green and fast."
Getting faster early growth and establishment is particularly helpful for leafy crops on a short growing cycle, explains Anne. Cutting a few days off each growing cycle could potentially mean fitting in an additional crop in a year, spreading a grower's fixed costs and increasing profitability.
"A more even emergence also means it is easier to predict harvest times because you don't have the frustration of waiting for the final percentage of the crop to be ready. "For growers sowing into open fields, faster emergence means the crop is able to outcompete weeds better. You get better ground cover, which means you are much more efficient in terms of fertilizer, nutrient and water utilization," adds Anne.
Zayndu's CEO, Ralph Weir, welcomes Anne to the board and is already witnessing the value she brings to the team. "We are building a great depth of experience in the horticulture industry, plant science, seed technology and engineering to ensure that Zayndu is known for its knowledge and service as well as ActivatedAir," says Ralph.
"Anne is a huge asset to the business. She is acutely aware of the challenges growers face and how enhancing seed quality can play an important part in solving them. We are delighted to be working with her as Zayndu enters an exciting chapter in its growth."
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