Smart applications and digital technologies in viticulture: A review

It is important to continuously monitor the long-term impact of viticultural management practices and assess opportunities for improving the environmental footprint of vineyard operations. This is particularly relevant to the wine industry as growers face disruptive challenges caused by climate change, shortages of labour and escalating production costs. In recent years there has been considerable development and testing of non-invasive digital technologies, some of which have already demonstrated an improvement in the way that wine grapes are grown, managed and harvested to produce quality wines in a manner that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. In this paper, we describe a number of sensing technologies including spectroscopy, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, chlorophyll fluorescence, thermography, electrical resistivity, laser imaging detection and ranging, and computer vision and the platforms where they are generally mounted or embedded for either proximal or remote monitoring. Artificial intelligence is also discussed as it is useful as a means of transforming data into different pieces of information used by the grape grower for making informed decisions. A key objective of using these technologies is to obtain and supply data and information to grape growers and wine producers as a basis for improving land and vine management through a more-informed decision-making process. The current and future application of these technologies and artificial intelligence in vineyards are discussed in relation to soil properties and topography, vegetative growth, canopy architecture, nutrient and water status, pests and diseases, crop forecasting, yield and fruit composition, vineyard sampling, targeted management and selective harvesting. The principles behind how these technologies operate are also described. While the technologies have enormous potential for growers, their adoption and use will depend on user-friendly software and devices, together with affordable costs, at the field scale.