Empirical tests in the vineyard for the Noviagri project, commissioned by the Barbera d'Asti and Vini del Monferrato Consortium and aimed at the creation of a mechanical atomizer prototype to be used in the vineyard . A machine that will serve to limit the dispersion of plant protection product during the treatment of the vineyards, with a sophisticated technological system that meets work optimization and low environmental impact.
The work has started and watching the rows flown over by drones and traced by developed technologies suggests the impression that the future of viticulture is really around the corner. Professor Paolo Gay of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences of the University of Turin , a central institution among Noviagri's partners, commented on the work in progress which sanctions the full operation of the entire project. The results of the surveys carried out will be subject, in the coming weeks, to comparative analyzes that can fix the preliminary terms of the operations. " We began to work between the rows, making a passage in the field with positioning of signals on the ground that allow recognition from above thanks to drones - says Paolo Gay - These signals are georeferenced with a precision of less than a centimeter, so as to locate the he plants in a meticulous way ».
Subsequently, with the collaboration of the technicians, we proceeded to identify the plants showing signs of disease. The ground surveys carried out with a spectroradiometer and multispectral cameras, aimed at seeing the spectral imprint of the leaves identified as diseased, will serve to compose the picture of the information which, once analyzed, will have to be compared with those detected by drones, to evaluate the coincidences. .
In short, the objective, in addition to the mapping of the vineyard, is to ensure the correlation between the measurements on the ground and the measurements in the sky, so that one day everything can be managed through the aerial survey system . This is because a flight, in about ten minutes, can cover an entire vineyard with a resolution of the order of 1 cm, combining great spatiality and great resolution together, exponentially more meticulous than that offered by the satellite. " We are finally starting with the field operations of the project - comments Filippo Mobrici , President of the Barbera d'Asti and Vini del Monferrato Consortium - A rewarded wait that allows us to look more concretely at the viticulture of the future, which must be precise, effective and sustainable ".
With over 66 million bottles and more than 11 thousand hectares of vines, equal to about 30% of the DOC and DOCG area of Piedmont, the Consortium protects 13 denominations, 4 Docg (Barbera d'Asti, Nizza, Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato and Terre Alfieri) and 9 Doc (Albugnano, Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato, Dolcetto d'Asti, Freisa d'Asti, Grignolino d'Asti, Loazzolo, Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Monferrato and Piedmont).
