Vineyard Remote Sensing

Author: Colin Hinze

Early and pre harvest remote sensing are being applied at Taylors as tools for improving vineyard productivity. Taylors Wines was established in the Clare Valley, South Australia, in 1969, when the first Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted on the original 123 hectare property, near Auburn. In 2007, the vineyard operation has expanded to an Estate of over 500 hectares of established plantings. Many of the original vineyards are in the process of being removed and replanted. Since 2005, we have introduced precision viticulture (PV) applications into our work practices, to help improve our factual knowledge of the vineyards. One tool that we have found particularly helpful is aerial remote sensing, in the form or digital multi-spectral imagery (DMSI). We purchase this from a precision agriculture service provider for approximately $27 per hectare. DMSI is essentially a digital photograph of the blue, green, red and infra-red light reflected from the vine canopy. This data can be data from the PCD maps has helped to improve vineyard outputs expressed as either NDVI (normalised difference vegetation index) or PCD (plant cell density). For vineyards, this ‘snapshot’ is typically taken at veraison, the growth stage when the berries turn soft and begin to ripen. This is usually taken in January or February one to two months prior to harvest. PCD data is delivered to us via the internet, and loaded into a free software package called Viewpoint. This software allows us to view the imagery and analyse one or more data layers (www.deltadatasystems.com). Our data from the PCD maps has helped to improve vineyard outputs. Based on the maps we have started to divide blocks into differential management zones, in an attempt to reduce the inherent variability, or to exploit differences to maximise returns in quantity and/or quality. Figure 1 illustrates how we can take advantage of different zones. Our pre-harvest 2006 PCD image of this block indicated higher plant vigour on the western half of the rows; this was confirmed by inspecting the vines prior to pruning in winter. Therefore, the block was divided into two zones (indicated by the red line) and the high vigour zone was pruned more lightly than the low vigour zone. The expected outcome of this change is that the high vigour zone will have a larger number of buds from which the 2007 crop can grow, thus potentially increasing the production level in the higher potential zone. In other blocks, we are investigating options to improve under-performing areas and reduce the degree of variability. Download the article to read more.

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