Variable Rate Shoot Thinning Demonstration

May 24, 2019


The Efficient Vineyard project, led by Terry Bates from the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Lab in Portland NY, has been focused on improving the overall efficiency of grape production through the use of sensors and digital technologies to help growers manage their vineyards based on the inherent variation in the vineyard, rather than managing it as one uniform block. One of the ways that this technology is being translated into practice is the use of NDVI sensors to map the early shoot growth in a vineyard, and then using that sensor data to guide a mechanical shoot thinning machine to remove shoots at different rates depending on the density of the early canopy.

Terry Bates will be in Branchport NY this Friday, May 24, to demonstrate this variable rate shoot thinning system based on NDVI sensor data. This work is being done in preparation for the Shaulis Symposium Field Tour this summer, which will feature several new and emerging vineyard technologies (yield monitor, anyone?) during the tour. Visit www.asev-es.org for more information about the Shaulis Symposium and the ASEV-ES annual meeting in Geneva this summer.

There is no cost to attend this meeting, or to register ahead of time. Just come and see where vineyard management is heading.