VitiCanopy: A smartphone application to assist with grapevine canopy management

Abstract

VitiCanopy is a free application (App) for smartphones and tablet PCs that can be used as a simple and free alternative to traditional methods to measure canopy architecture parameters. Using digital image analysis, VitiCanopy calculates geo-referenced parameters such as Leaf Ara Index (LAI) and canopy porosity, amongst others. During the in-field calibration and validation procedures, VitiCanopy has rendered highly comparable results to traditional direct and indirect methods. Grapevine canopy management involves numerous techniques applied to alter the amount and distribution of shoots, leaves and fruit to obtain a desirable yield/quality ratio. There are several techniques that can be applied to assess canopy architecture and to gather information for management decision making; however, their use is not widespread since they are expensive and laborious and they can only be performed on a few plants. VitiCanopy is a free tool and it only requires a photo of a grapevine canopy to produce geo-referenced results. This App can be used as a tool to assess canopy architecture at different phenological stages, assess the outcome of canopy interventions or spatial differences in canopy architecture within a vineyard. Both canopy images and associated results can be stored and revisited within the same season or in following years and this will help create a history of a site that can ultimately be used as a decision-making tool for vineyard management.