Terroir 2020 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 International Terroir Conferences 9 Terroir 2020 9 History and innovation of terroir 9 DOSAVIÑA® A new app for a more sustainable use of plant protection products in vineyard

DOSAVIÑA® A new app for a more sustainable use of plant protection products in vineyard

Abstract

Aims: DOSAVIÑA® was developed with the aim of helping farmers to determine optimal volume rates for spray applications in vineyards. The final developed tool is a good example of bringing research to end users. 

Methods and Results: DOSAVIÑA® is based on a modified method of Leaf Wall Area (LWA) and includes a tool for sprayer calibration support. Calibration process is highlighted in the APP, as one of the conditions for a good success of the entire process. DOSAVIÑA® also calculates the optimal parameters for working pressure, forward speed, and number and type of nozzles. DOSAVIÑA® was developed by the Unit of Agricultural Machinery at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and is available for iOS and Android, and also web (https://dosavina.upc.edu). The system, based on a modified version of the leaf wall area (LWA) method, calculates the optimal volume rate for vineyards considering leaf density, canopy width, and sprayer type. Results indicated that water and pesticide use could be reduced by more than 20% while still meeting economic, environmental, and food quality requirements. The design of the tool is aligned with European requirements concerning pesticide use, as established in the European Directive for the sustainable use of pesticides. In the majority of cases, the recommended volumes obtained after using DOSAVIÑA® are lower than those commonly selected by the farmers. This fact, coupled with a dose expression method based on concentration, leads to a consequent reduction in pesticide amounts, in line with the main objective established in Europe after the official publication of the Sustainable Use Directive (EU, 2009). The sprayer adjustment tool included in DOSAVIÑA® represents a convenient complement to the establishment of the optimal volume rate. The automated calculation process allows selection of the most suitable values for the most important parameters, particularly working pressure. Results of field trials demonstrated that an accurate calibration process allows similar levels of coverage to be obtained, even with low spray volumes. 

Conclusion: 

The APP, has been shown to reduce fungicide use by up to 20%. This fact translates not only into significant time savings and higher working capacity, aspects highly valued by the producer, but also an economic benefit and a reduction in the risk of environmental contamination, not only due to the reduction in fungicide used, but also due to the use of the equipment in optimal conditions. 

Significance and Impact of the Study: The social impact generated by the application, especially in the productive sector has been demonstrated. DOSAVIÑA® is also a tool included in the training programs that is especially for the European Commission through CHAFEA, in the BTSF – Best Training for Safer Food.

DOI:

Publication date: March 23, 2021

Issue: Terroir 2020

Type: Video

Authors

Emilio Gil*, Javier Campos, Jordi Llop

Department of Agri-Food Engineering and Biotechnology
Esteve Terradas, 8 – 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya

Contact the author

Keywords

DOSAVIÑA®, optimal vineyard spray rates, plant protection products

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2020

Citation

Related articles…

Anthocyanin profile is differentially affected by high temperature, elevated CO2 and water deficit in Tempranillo (Vitis vinifera L.) clones

Anthocyanin potential of grape berries is an important quality factor in wine production. Anthocyanin concentration and profile differ among varieties but it also depends on the environmental conditions, which are expected to be greatly modified by climate change in the future. These modifications may significantly modify the biochemical composition of berries at harvest, and thus wine typicity. Among the diverse approaches proposed to reduce the potential negative effects that climate change may have on grape quality, genetic diversity among clones can represent a source of potential candidates to select better adapted plant material for future climatic conditions. The effects of individual and combined factors associated to climate change (increase of temperature, rise of air CO2 concentration and water deficit) on the anthocyanin profile of different clones of Tempranillo that differ in the length of their reproductive cycle were studied. The aim was to highlight those clones more adapted to maintain specific Tempranillo typicity in the future. Fruit-bearing cuttings were grown in controlled conditions under two temperatures (ambient temperature versus ambient temperature + 4ºC), two CO2 levels (400 ppm versus 700 ppm) and two water regimes (well-watered versus water deficit), both in combination or independently, in order to simulate future climate change scenarios. Elevated temperature increased anthocyanin acylation, whereas elevated CO2 and water deficit favoured the accumulation of malvidin derivatives, as well as the acylation and tri-hydroxylation level of anthocyanins. Although the changes in anthocyanin profile observed followed a common pattern among clones, such impact of environmental conditions was especially noticeable in one of the most widely distributed Tempranillo clones, the accession RJ43.

Climate and the evolving mix of grape varieties in Australia’s wine regions

The purpose of this study is to examine the changing mix of winegrape varieties in Australia so as to address the question: In the light of key climate indicators and predictions of further climate change, how appropriate are the grape varieties currently planted in Australia’s wine regions? To achieve this, regions are classified into zones according to each region’s climate variables, particularly average growing season temperature (GST), leaving aside within-region variations in climates. Five different climatic classifications are reported. Using projections of GSTs for the mid- and late 21st century, the extent to which each region is projected to move from its current zone classification to a warmer one is reported. Also shown is the changing proportion of each of 21 key varieties grown in a GST zone considered to be optimal for premium winegrape production. Together these indicators strengthen earlier suggestions that the mix of varieties may be currently less than ideal in many Australian wine regions, and would become even less so in coming decades if that mix was not altered in the anticipation of climate change. That is, grape varieties in many (especially the warmest) regions will have to keep changing, or wineries will have to seek fruit from higher latitudes or elevations if they wish to retain their current mix of varieties and wine styles.

Downscaling of remote sensing time series: thermal zone classification approach in Gironde region

In viticulture, the challenges of local climate modelling are multiple: taking into account the local environment, fine temporal and spatial scales, reliable time series of climate data, ease of implementation and reproducibility of the method. At the local scale, recent studies have demonstrated the contribution of spatialization methods for ground-based climate observation data considering topographic factors such as altitude, slope, aspect, and geographic coordinates (Le Roux et al, 2017; De Rességuier et al, 2020). However, these studies have shown questions in terms of the reproducibility and sustainability of this type of climate study. In this context, we evaluated the potential of MODIS thermal satellite images validated with ground-based climate data (Morin et al, 2020). Previous studies have been encouraging, but questions remain to be explored at the regional scale, particularly in the dynamics of the massive use of bioclimatic indices to classify the climate of wine regions. The results at the local scale were encouraging, but this approach was tested in the current study at the regional scale. Several objectives were set: 1) to evaluate the downscaling method for land surface temperature time series, 2) to identify regional thermal structure variations. We used weekly minimum and maximum surface temperature time series acquired by MODIS satellites at a spatial resolution of 1000 m and downscaled at 500 m using topographical variables. Two types of analyses were performed:

Impact of climate change on the viticultural climate of the Protected Designation of Origin “Jumilla” (SE Spain)

Protected Designation of Origin “Jumilla” (PDO Jumilla) is located in the Spanish provinces of Albacete and Murcia, in the South-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, where most of the models predict a severe impact of climate change in next decades. PDO Jumilla covers an area of 247,054 hectares, of which more than 22,000 hectares

Analysis of some environmental factors and cultural practices that affect the production and quality of the Manto Negro, Callet and Prensal Blanc varieties

45 non irrigated vineyards distributed in the DO (Denomination) Pla i Llevant de Mallorca and the DO Binissalem Mallorca were used to investigate the characteristics of production and quality and their relationships certain environmental factors and cultural practices. The grape varieties investigated are autochthonous to the island of Mallorca, Manto Negro and Callet as red and Prensal Blanc as white. All plants were measured for four consecutive years in the main production and quality parameters. Among the environmental factors, the type of soil has been studied, more specifically its water retention capacity, the planting density, the age of the vineyard and the level of viral infection. The presence or absence of virus seems to have no effect on any component studied in the varieties studied. For the white variety Prensal Blanc age is negatively correlated with production and the number of bunches, nevertheless it does not cause any effect on the required quality parameters. However, for the red varieties Callet and Manto Negro, the age of the plantation is the variable that best correlates with the quality parameters, therefore the old vines should be the object of preservation by the viticulturists and winemakers in order to guarantee its contribution to the quality of the wines made with these varieties.