Development of a smartphone application to characterise grapevine canopy architecture

Abstract

In grapevine, monitoring canopy architecture is important for the assessment of growth, vigour and light transmission to the flowers and fruit zone. Parameters that reflect canopy development can be correlated to yield, grape quality and productivity. One of the most important of these parameters is the leaf area index (LAI), which is the measurement of leaf area in a given section of ground area.  This parameter is difficult to measure since it requires either labour-intensive direct techniques, such as allometry, or expensive instrumentation for indirect estimates. This paper describes an application (App) for smartphones and tablet PCs, which is a low cost, effective and accurate tool to assess canopy vigour and architectural parameters for grapevine. The App works using cover digital photography and automated analysis using gap size assessment algorithms (Fuentes et al., 2008). The App will allow growers and scientists to acquire canopy architecture data with a simple snapshot. The GPS capability of the devices will also allow storing geo-referenced canopy architecture data, which can be then transmitted via e-mail, wireless networks or saved to be later mapped to identify zones of high or low vigour or water demands. This app will be available in late 2013, when beta testing will finish.