New app to measure water stress of grapevines
A new smartphone app that helps grapegrowers measure the water status of their vines is being trialled across Australia.
The portable viticultural tool has the potential to help grapegrowers make improved water management decisions for their vineyards.
Grapegrowers use a thermal camera attached to their smartphone to take images of the canopy of the grapevine. The image is analysed by the app, which calculates the vine water status.
The technology is being tested by 15 vineyards in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania for the rest of the growing season.
The Wine Australia-funded project is being led by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), a division of Primary Industries and Regions SA, in close collaboration with The University of New South Wales (UNSW).
Dr Kathy Ophel-Keller, Acting Executive Director of SARDI said, ‘Water and associated pumping costs can be a significant component of the production costs for grapegrowers.
‘Uncontrolled water stress has the potential to reduce the yield and quality of grapes and the resulting wine, which in turn reduces the return to growers.
‘The management of vine water status is a key tool for grapegrowers to regulate yield and optimise fruit quality and style.
‘This new app offers grapegrowers instant feedback on the water status of their vines, and provides them with the flexibility to assess multiple blocks or sections of blocks, and to make irrigation decisions in real time.’
Dr Liz Waters, General Manager of Research, Development and Extension at Wine Australia said, ‘Irrigating effectively and efficiently helps to optimise vineyard production to produce high-quality winegrapes for fine Australian wines.
‘Through many years of extensive research, methods have been developed to assess grapevine water status. This new app provides a portable solution to measure water status quickly and easily in the vineyard.
‘The app allows growers to make informed irrigation decisions that support the production of high-quality fruit grown to specification.’
Background
The 18 month project aimed to evaluate a range of smartphone-based sensing systems to develop a cheap, easy-to-use vine water status monitoring app, to assist growers to manage irrigation.
Initial trial results found the thermal camera was the easiest to use and provided accurate information.
The app was developed by UNSW and the tool is now being tested by a variety of wineries, with their feedback helping to inform the further development of the innovative technology.
The aim is to release the final version of the app later in 2017.