Remote sensing technologies for the Grape and Wine Industry

Abstract

In response to an increasingly competitive consumer market, winemakers are becoming proactive in demanding grapes within certain quality specifications with which to make wine. However, grape growers are faced with the fact that their vineyards will have spatial variations in both grape quality and yield due to spatial variations in soil and topography and the incidence of pests and diseases . Two consequences of this are the uncertainty in the prediction of yield, and delivery of grapes of inconsistent quality to the winery. In order to better match their fruit to winemaker requirements, grape growers must understand the nature, magnitude and cause of spatial variations in grape yield and quality in their vineyards. Global Positioning system (GPS) technologies allow grape growers to accurately locate themselves within their vineyard when sampling for vine growth, development and productivity. These data, when incorporated into maps give new interpretative power to measurements that may otherwise have been used to generate simple vineyard or regional averages. Maps of yield and various quality parameter s identify potential zones for segmenting harvest, areas requiring fertilization or differential irrigation management. Emerging technologies involving airborne or space born e remote sensing are attracting interest because of their potential for rapidly generating data of appropriate spatial resolution. Airborne or spaceborne digital imaging systems can delineate different levels of vine canopy vigour in an entire vineyard, providing up to date information on canopy development, and may aid in identifying the incidence of pests or diseases and in forecasting yield or fruit quality. This presentation will provide an up to date of research in progress to evaluate the use of airborne remote sensing as a viticulture management tool in Australia.