Precision agriculture application in a vineyard

Abstract

Precision viticulture is an innovative way of monitoring and making decisions about vineyard practice using sensors, GPS, and the use of remote sensing. The operation of GPS and GIS systems in modern Viticulture, present great interest as those systems serve to create terrain maps and they help in the retrieval of location data. In addition, reference is attributed to modern ways of monitoring the vineyard such as observation systems, production monitoring systems, monitoring systems of soil, variable characteristics such as electrical conductivity and the application of inputs with adjustable doses depending on the needs of the vineyard. The electrical conductivity differs depending on soil’s salinity, humidity, temperature and even its clay or sand content. The production sensor WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) is also mentioned. This system allows the monitoring of vineyards in real time and the use of the NDVI vegetation sensor related to the properties of the foliage. The use of Oenoview is constantly gaining popularity in Greek viticulture. Oenoview, among other applications, helps in the mapping of vineyards and the production levels. The existence of robotic systems in vineyards, such as VineRobot, is also refered in the present assay. VineRobot allows continuous monitoring of the performance of water stress and the quality of grapes, while it is taking decisions regarding the implementation of inputs. The Wall-Ye is a robotic system that can move autonomously in the vineyard and prune each vine according to its needs. TED is a self-directed robot that helps to weed the vineyards, with great precision, even after adverse rains that may have damaged the soil. In terms of robotic systems, VINBOT is also mentioned, which has sensors for 3D reconstruction of the leaves while at the same time the vitality of the vines is monitored. Finally, some methods of precision Plant Protection with the aid of Precision Viticulture systems are mentioned. These modern methods make disease prevention easier than ever before, especially for diseases such as Powdery mildew, Downy mildew, and Esca.