Wine set to go wireless

An automated wireless monitoring system that uses sensors to check soil moisture, air temperature and humidity is set to give the winemaking industry the chance to improve quality, save water and reduce pesticide use without giving up age-old practices.

Commercialised by an Italian company - set up in 2005 as a spin-off from the EU-funded GoodFood project - the system allows vintners to accurately time harvesting, fight pathogenic attacks, cut water consumption and lower the cost of chemical treatments without even having to visit the vineyard.

“All the data gathered from the sensors is transmitted wirelessly via an internet gateway and can be accessed by the farmer from anywhere,” explains Gianfranco Manes, the head of the Multidisciplinary Institute for Development, Research and Applications at the University of Florence and one of the GoodFood coordinators.

Precision monitoring systems have gradually become more accepted in the wine industry in recent years, but most have relied on planting sensors in the vineyards and then traipsing through the fields to manually check each one.

In contrast, data from the sensors developed by Manes’ team are collected every 15 minutes and automatically analysed to provide winegrowers with detailed information about how well their grapes are growing, how much water they need and what risks are present from fungal infections and pests in light of the air humidity, soil moisture and temperature.

The system addresses three critical issues in particular, says Mane. First, it allows farmers to use water more efficiently - knowing that 80% of world water consumption goes on agriculture. Second, winegrowers know when they have to use pesticides, so instead of spraying chemicals on the vineyards every two weeks as is common today, they only do so when there is a risk to the vines. And third, they can monitor how well the grapes are developing in order to determine exactly the right time to harvest the wine.