Vines strike a pose for the new VitiCanopy app

Roberta De Bei

Dr Roberta De Bei from the 成人大片鈥檚 School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

The ability to analyse multiple images at once, GPS capability to create maps of the spatial variability of canopy size, and Cloud storage, are just some of the new upgrades to VitiCanopy, the 成人大片-developed mobile app that helps grapegrowers manage their vineyards more effectively.

Funded by Wine Australia and the 成人大片, VitiCanopy provides users with a quick and simple way to measure grapevine canopy from images uploaded to the app for analysis. 听

Co-developer, Dr Roberta De Bei from the 成人大片鈥檚 School of Agriculture, Food and Wine said, 鈥淕rapevine canopy size is known to play a role in yield, grape quality and the potential productivity of future seasons.鈥

鈥淢onitoring the differences in canopy size within vineyards is a useful way to identify problems that could be related to pests and disease, water status and nutrient status,鈥 Dr De Bei said.

鈥淥nce grapevine canopy measurements are known, they can be compared against previous seasons to identify optimal traits for grape quality and maximum yield.鈥Dr Roberta De Bei from the 成人大片's School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

鈥淥nce grapevine canopy measurements are known, they can be compared against previous seasons to identify optimal traits for grape quality and maximum yield.鈥

The creators of VitiCanopy say the new features make visualising a lot of data even easier, with reports produced not only as CSV files but also in map format, providing visual oversight of canopy size across the entire vineyard.

Co-developer, Associate Professor Cassandra Collins from the 成人大片鈥檚 School of Agriculture, Food and Wine said, 鈥渢he app has also moved into the Cloud environment, which means images are uploaded directly to the Cloud, saving on phone battery and storage.

鈥淰itiCanopy鈥檚 upgrade also includes a user-friendly and intuitive website providing additional information on how to get the most value from the app鈥檚 analysis and reporting tools,鈥 Associate Professor Collins said.

Wine Australia General Manager Research, Development and Adoption Dr Liz Waters said the app is a strong addition to the diagnostic toolbox available to growers.

鈥淢easurement of grapevine canopy size is critical to assess growth, vigour and vine water requirements,鈥 Dr Waters said.

鈥淰itiCanopy is a valuable tool to help monitor vineyard differences in canopy size, which can help to identify problems early so that strategies and resources can be put in place to maximise vineyard productivity and profitability.鈥

Visit viticanopy.com.au or download the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Viticanopy app screenshots

VitiCanopy app screenshots.

Tagged in featured story, viticulture, agtech, School of Agriculture, wine, agrifood and wine