PRECISION VITICOLTURE
The VI.P. aims to study, develop and experimentally verify the use of a system of diagnosis, prescription and then implementation of the interventions to be carried out on viticulture according to the real need, by applying the concept of Precision Agriculture, with the declared goal of improving productivity and allowing, at the same time, a reduction in the resources used. The focus will be on water stress, nutritional deficiencies and diseases. Multispectral analysis will be used to obtain thematic maps, then translated into prescription maps of the targeted interventions to be applied; these interventions will be carried out using low environmental impact machinery.
The project VI.P. provides for the creation of a model that will allow precise diagnosis of the vineyard through remote sensing and multispectral analysis systems to identify the different causes of stress and diseases present in the farming. The project will allow to obtain geo-referenced descriptive maps of the vineyard and geo-referenced prescription maps of the specific interventions to be carried out. Then, through an innovative variable rate electrical machine, the planned interventions will be carried out automatically. The machine will be recharged through a special photovoltaic system equipped with an accumulation system.
One of the main challenges facing agriculture in the future is to cope with the effects of climate change, guaranteeing ever better quality of agricultural production while safeguarding environmental and economic sustainability.
One of the most important agricultural sectors on the regional territory is certainly the wine sector. There is therefore the need to provide the winemaker all the support possible in the management of the vineyard, including through the use of technology, allowing precise knowledge of the farming.
Introduction, in the management of defense strategies, of decision support tools (DSS) that provide an assessment of the risk of diseases appearance, allow to rationalize the intervention times and to choose, in case of low risk, non-chemical alternatives to plant protection products , reduce the quantity of copper distributed and reduce the number of passages of the maccchine, improving the quality of the soils.
To integrate the information provided by the DSS, we will analyse the possibility of introducing new methodologies for assessing the risk of disease occurrence, and their real presence in the vineyard and the location of plants with primary infections, by mapping with detection tools applied on drones, increasing the precision and timeliness of the treatments, treating only the areas at risk by reducing the amount of pesticides distributed and the number of machines passing.
The need of reduce the quantities of copper used in the vineyard to remain within the limits required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1981 and to improve the overall sustainability of the defense of the vine requires the introduction of innovative strategies that make use of products of natural origin and / or antagonistic microorganisms or microorganisms that have a reduced environmental impact compared to those currently used in organic and integrated viticulture.
Introduction of a photovoltaic system equipped with a storage system to optimize and make efficient the recharge of innovative agricultural vehicles used throughout the project, in particular to power an electric machine.
Development of an innovative remote piloting aerial platform in terms of autonomy, payload, robustness and stability suitable for monitoring and diagnosis of the causes of stress in viticulture.
Aerial monitoring system based on simultaneous acquisition of images in the visible, near infrared and thermal electromagnetic spectral domains.
Development of a decision support system based on the generation of georefenced maps of the vineyard with high resolution (centimeter) and accuracy of location (thanks to the use of GPS / RTK stations) able to represent at the level of the single plant the presence of phytosanitary (diseases), nutritional and water stress.
Introduction of new systems for storing and disseminating data connected to the farm.
The innovation involves the construction of a tracked vehicle capable of operating in particular soil conditions, like vineyards, in complete safety and with zero emissions. The zero-emissions system will be equipped with an energy storage system suitable for the mission to and its development will be based on both electrical technology and optimization of consumption. Then, in addition to the vehicle, the electrification and optimization of a field-targeted treatment equipment will be carried out. The whole machine and equipment will be then integrated with the targeted treatments analysis system in order to be able to carry out its mission.