Precision Viticulture- A Mechanized Systems Approach

Winegrowers and winemakers have always been a special group of producers not only because of their product that can be manipulated from rootstock all the way to final bottling, but also because of their very special language. Winegrowers speak of phylloxera, Pierce's Disease, Botrytis cinerea, canopy management, veraison, anthocyanins and tannins until the average person looks askance at the speaker. Winemakers likewise talk about TA, pH, Brix, Brix/acid ratios, VA, SO2 skin contact, oaking, resveratrol, mercaptans, degree Balling, body, balance, nose and other generally inexplicable letters and phrases. And now, the large-scale grower or vintner has new, futuristic terminology and technology to add. As wine production becomes more competitive, these people are becoming conversant with GPS, GIS, PA, mass flow, load sensors, yield mapping and georeference. Global positioning systems (GPS), geographical information systems (GIS) and computers may form the foundation for efficient, profitable precision agriculture (PA) (also known as SSM or site-specific management) in the large-scale vineyard. This new technology is of value to growers when it allows production of more uniform vineyards that will produce high quality, uniform, mature fruit.