Macrowine 2021

Smartphone application use as a tool for water supply management

Abstract

Uruguay had an average annual rainfall of 1200 mm characterized by a high monthly variability, which generates periods of water deficit and excess. The rational water management, in the moments of deficit becomes more and more necessary in a viticulture that for this region is not used to irrigation. Therefore, permanent and real-time monitoring of the water status of the vineyard is important to avoid negative consequences on the yield and composition of the grapes. The availability of numerous smartphone applications allows the winegrower to use his own Smartphone as a tool for monitoring the vineyard. The objective of this work was to provide a reasonable water supply to the vineyard using digital tools that facilitate the management of the vineyard at a productive level. The experiment was carried out in a commercial vineyard of the red variety Tannat during the 2020 season. An irrigation treatment (70% ETP) was compared with a control without irrigation. Leaf water potential, leaf area, yield, grape composition (acidity, sugars, anthocyanins) were determined. The used smartphone applications were Viticanopy and ApexVigne. The data provided by the apps were correlated with the variables obtained in the field. It was possible to estimate the evolution of Kc in a quick and simple way, which allowed to made adjustments of the irrigation dose almost in real-time. During the season, 140 mm of water were applied leading to an enhancement in the response of the plant. The yield was increased by 35% while sugar and phenolic compounds concentrations were improved in the grape in comparison with the control sample. The use of smartphone applications proven to be a useful tool for the winegrower to manage the use of water resources.

DOI:

Publication date: September 2, 2021

Issue: Macrowine 2021

Type: Article

Authors

Gustavo Pereyra, Bruno Tisseyre, Milka FERRER

Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de la República, Av. E. Garzón 780, CP 12900 Montevideo, Uruguay,

ITAP, Univ. of Montpellier, Institut Agro Montpellier, INRAE, Montpellier, France

Plant Production Department Universidad de la República, Av. E. Garzón 780, CP 12900 Montevideo, Uruguay

Contact the author

Keywords

water management; canopy vigor; lai; smartphone; precision viticulture; Vitis vinifera

Citation

Related articles…

Veraison as determinant for wine quality and its potential for climate adapted breeding

The evaluation of new grapevine genotypes regarding their potential to produce high quality wines is the time limiting factor in the process of grapevine breeding. Hence, the development of quality-related markers useable in marker-assisted selection (MAS) as well as in prediction models for this bottleneck trait will tremendously enhance breeding efficiency. In extensive studies a training set of a segregating white wine F1 population (150 F1 genotypes = POP150; `Calardis Musqué´ x `Villard Blanc´) was deeply phenotyped and genotyped for model development and QTL analysis.

Impact of seaweeds extracts applied to grapevine cv Tempranillo

Grapevine is one of the most-frequently phytosanitary treated crop systems. Consequently, restrictions have been applied by the European Commission on the number of pesticide treatments and the maximum quantity of copper fungicides allowed per year. Moreover, there is a need and an increasing demand for more ecological-sustainable agricultural products.
Seaweeds are currently used as fertilizers in viticulture, as they have been proven to be beneficial in several ways related to growth and nutrition.

Exploring the plasticity of the grapevine drought physiology

Grapevine response to water deficit has been extensively studied. Nevertheless, debate still exists regarding some physiology adoption under drought

Valorisation of nutraceutical and health-related properties of wine-grapes of Emilia-Romagna Italian region

In this work, results about the composition in polyphenols and polyamines in important wine-grape cultivars from the Emilia-Romagna region are presented. Spectrophotometric and HPLC analyses suggest that especially coloured berries are particularly rich of antioxidant species (stilbenes and catechins). Potential allergenic capability of biogenic amines was also characterized.

Simulated climate change in a Mediterranean organic vineyard altered the plant physiology and decreased the vine production

This study focuses on investigating the effects of climate change on the plant physiology and berries of Vitis vinifera cv “Monastrell” in a commercial vineyard managed organically in Southeastern Spain (Jumilla, Murcia). For this purpose, open top chambers and rainout shelters were employed to simulate warming (~2-7 ºC, W) and rainfall reduction (~30%, RR) respectively. Additionally, a combination of both treatments (W+RR) was employed. Vines without either top chambers or rainout shelters were considered as control (C). The experiment was established in February of 2023. Predawn leaf water potential (measured using a pressure chamber), stomatal conductance (assessed with a porometer at mid-morning) and leaf chlorophyll and flavonoid content (measured using the Dualex® leaf clip sensor) were analyzed at veraison (5 months after the installation of structures).