S&dB

S&dB is a Dutch company that enhances agricultural efficiency through seed enhancement biotech, increasing crop yield with less input, optimized water use, and minimal agrochemicals.

S&dB’s patented technology, Seed-embedding Technology (SET), provides ideal seed placement, germination, and establishment to improve crops. The technology combines the crop seeds with bio-based materials to support early plant growth, enabling better control over weeds and diseases, and supporting strong root foundations. S&dB’s SET has three cultivation methods, which are gSET for grass, vSET for open fields, and hSET for hydroponics. 

The gSET cultivation is sold under the brands SowEasy and John&Co. It provides grass seeds on a roll of non-woven sheet, nestled in a seed bed and enveloped in a “germination micro-climate” that protects seeds and contains biological growth stimulants. The gSET can germinate all grass seeds and prevent weed growth.

S&dB’s vSET cultivation includes the Seed Tape Planting Tool, which precisely plants the vegetable seeds into the soil. The vSET can overcome problems including climate change, crop productivity, pesticides, and land degradation without requiring land tillage. The vSET is currently undergoing a two-year trial with some of the company’s partners. 

The hSET cultivation for hydroponics is developed for greenhouse applications, as an alternative to hydroponics crops being typically grown on peat, which reduces mineralized nutrients in the soil and increases greenhouse gases including CO2 and nitrous oxide. The hSET cultivation can increase crop yield in intensive indoor infrastructures due to a faster, uniform, and consistent germination process.

Key customers and partnerships 

In October 2022, S&dB collaborated with ECOstyle to distribute the gSET grass cultivation in selected countries. 

The company partnered with the Netherlands-based machine manufacturer Mechanisatiebedrijf Nanne Kooiman to develop its Seed Tape Planting Tool and with various other companies including Sensus, G'Fresh, and BASF for large-scale trials of its vSET cultivation method.