GOPHYTOVID has presented the results achieved following two years of work centred on optimizing the use of plant health products in viticulture based on maps that show the vigour of the plants’ growth. Viñas del Vero and Bodega Las Copas are two of the wineries that have taken part in the project, which has achieved a proven reduction in the consumption of phytosanitary products in conventional viticulture.
Bodega Las Copas’ participation in the GOPHYTOVID project has been hugely satisfactory and very useful, as it has enabled the winery to develop a prototype for a treatment machine and assess its performance in the vineyard. The prototype is a distinct improvement on conventional equipment in terms of efficiency and of the level of penetration the phytosanitary products achieve in the specific conditions of high density and vigour of vine growth. The project also included a trial of zonal dosage setting based on maps, created by satellite imagery, that show the vigour of the vines – this system will produce 15-20% savings in the use of water and plant-health products whilst also enabling us to be more sustainable. Equally, we managed to successfully control the Yellow Spider plague by implementing the UdL protocol in our vineyard.
All of these achievements were made possible thanks to synergies generated within this Operating Group and the significant work carried out in partnership with UdL-Agrotecnio, FMC and Giviti, which delivered a clear improvement in our production system and considerable learning points for the workers at Bodega Las Copas thanks to the University sharing knowledge with the winery.
One notable aspect of the successes achieved by Viñas del Vero in partnership with spraying specialists Fede and Agromapping and the Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña UPC (Polytechnic University of Catalonia), is the development of a variable, industrial phytosanitary products spraying system, still in its experimental (beta) phase, that works off satellite and drone readings of the vigour of the growth of the vines in the winery’s plots in Finca Almunietas in Barbastro (Huesca).
More about GOPHYTOVID
The project, whose full title is “Optimization in the Use of Phytosanitary Product in Viticulture Based on Vigour Maps”, had a budget of 613,000€ and was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) through its programme for the development of projects centred on innovation led by Operating Groups. It was part-funded by the EU through the European Association for Innovation in Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (AEI-Agri)
GOPHYTOVID has been led by the Torres family who have for years work collaboratively with Raventós Codorníu, Bodega Las Copas, Viñas del Vero, Bodegas Martín Códax, FMC Agricultural Solutions, the Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña and the Universidad de Lleida (University of Lleida).
The group has had support from entities such as the Plataforma Tecnológica del Vino (PTV, or Wine Technology Platform), the Associació AEI INNOVI, the Instituto de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentarias (IRTA, or Institute for Agri-food Research and Technology), Pulverizadores Fede and the Asociación de Defensa Vegetal Raïmat (ADV Raïmat/Raïmat Association for the Protection of Vegetation). Other collaborators include GIVITI). The project, the Federación Española del Vino (FEV/Spanish Wine Federation), the Unión de Pequeños Agricultores (UPA/Small Agricultural and Livestock Farmers Union) and the Asociación Empresarial para la Protección de las Plantas (AEPLA/Business Association for the Protection of Plants).
To find out more:
Project website: https://www.gophytovid.es/
Project technical specifications: https://www.gophytovid.es/portfolio-items/ficha-tecnica/
