Press release
New technologies to assist table grape farmers, wineries and vineyard owners are “game-changers” in the field where the devices can contribute enormously to increasing yields and profitability.
Agricultural solutions provider, Euca Technologies, recently introduced a range of new monitoring and control technologies that assist grape production from planting to harvesting and cold chain. Its range of devices now includes purpose-designed HOBO data loggers and related Onset weather stations for complete monitoring and control of individual environments.
Euca Technologies, Peter van Zyl (below), says the applications depend on the circumstances. For example our HOBO node sensors have monitoring capabilities for temperature and soil moisture conditions in addition to wirelessly collecting and transmitting the data back to a device of choice.
Through the grapevine
“We have even used the HOBO node wireless air temperature sensors to monitor frost conditions in the vineyards, when temperatures start to drop an audible alarm would go off to notify users. The data in turn would assist in informed decision making for instance turning on the frost protection system or not.
“Since we set the sensors to sample every couple of minutes, I was able to see how fast the temperature was dropping — as it was happening — and project when critical temperatures would be reached,” says Peter.
He says that because grapevines thrive in suitable climates it’s become increasingly important to monitor and control suitable temperatures. Adequate sun, heat, and water during the growing season, and enough cold during the dormancy phase, are crucial for the healthy growth of vines and the production of premium quality grapes. Grapevines thrive best in climates with long warm summers and rainy winters.
Climate change
As the climate changes it becomes a challenge to predict what the weather has in store. Different ways to monitor and manage vineyard using technology like the HOBO U30-GSM enable remote access to information such as leaf wetness of grape vines. Since grape vines are susceptible to mildew and disease, managing surface wetness is critical.
Grapes also depend highly on rain gauges to benchmark and ensure that the anti-fungus spray used on the vines is effective. The data shows how many hours it takes for the anti-fungal spray to be absorbed before a rain event. After the plants have been protected, it is crucial to know the volume of water that occurred during a rain event and how much of the residual spray is left to protect the plants in addition the data from the soil moisture sensors that also help manage irrigation schedules.
Euca Technologies also provide an array of remote and handheld sensors that enable vineyard responsibilities to be streamlined and used to optimise efforts for increased production yields. Visit https://euca.co.za/ to find solutions for every vineyard and supply chain application
Relevant Agribook pages include “Wine and wine grapes” and “Digital Agriculture“.
