Page 61 - Grapevine July-Aug 2020

Around The Vineyard

wing eBee’s and albris multi-rotor unmanned aerial He explained, “The new Calibrated Enhanced
systems. For the agriculture industry, this technolo- Vegetation Index maps use additional light bands
gy provides current aerial imagery in a user-friendly and scientifically proven algorithms to suppress
and fast way that is translated into accurate multi- cover crops and allow map comparisons over time,
band orthomosaics. Although this company is active weaknesses that plagued older NDVI maps.”
in the agriculture industry, it does not currently
have a presence in vineyards. By switching from NDVI to EVI maps, growers can
obtain much better data and apply that data to
Benefits of Vineyard Drones their decisions. Gould added, “Also, recently com-
pleted scientific testing has resulted in drone maps
There are many benefits of using drones in vine- that now allow early detection of the devastating
yards, which is why an increasing number of vine- Leafroll disease in vines.” SkySquirrel endorsed the
yard owners are interested in learning more about comments made by its partner, Hawk Aerial, when
this technology. For the foreseeable future, drones we reached out to this company for an interview.
represent the fastest and most precise way to
obtain high-quality photos that identify distinct soil We also connected with Brad Anderson, mar-
types and observe the soil’s effects on the vines. ket development manager of the UMS Division at
Modern drones provide high image resolution that Yamaha Motor Corporation to get his thoughts on
is very valuable in this industry, especially in deter- a promising feature of drone technology that vine-
mining the ripeness of grapes for harvesting. yard owners might not know about yet. Anderson
shared, “We believe one potential benefit from
Practically speaking, they are easier to organize drone technology is a potential improvement in
and more affordable than airplanes. And since worksite conditions. We believe that there is a
drones can fly closer to the ground than planes, great deal of potential to improve working condi-
their images can be more accurate. Drones also tions by increasing the distance from the worker
provide vineyards with greater flexibility because and the spray platform as well as eliminate the
aerial data can be obtained on-demand and accord- need to carry a heavy backpack up and down steep
ing to the owner’s schedule. hillsides. We believe the use of a drone to do hill-
side spraying applications will limit the physical
In general, drones promise to promote a smarter strain currently experienced by backpack sprayers.”
and more sustainable form of agriculture. By some
estimates, vineyards may be able to reduce spray- Concerns about Drones in Vineyards
ing and watering by 30 percent, which equates to
reduced costs and a lesser environmental impact. But despite all these promising uses and benefits,
These benefits may mean greater potential for many vineyard owners and the general public have
increased production and an ability to overcome legitimate concerns about using drones as a nor-
the effects of climate change. Since vineyard mon- mal part of business. There are privacy concerns at
itoring has traditionally involved labor-intensive stake, especially since vineyard drones could poten-
work, drones may help vineyards save money on tially collect data from neighbors’ properties and
labor costs and put their labor force to better use the surrounding areas. Some vineyards have also
in other operations. In some parts of the country, expressed concern about tampering speculation
vineyards have also expressed an interest in using regarding drone usage. The Federal Aviation
infrared cameras on drones to scan for illicit activi- Administration established new regulations for
ties on or near vineyard lands. drones in August 2016 with rules for flying drones
for commercial purposes. This means that vine-
Kevin J. Gould, CEO of Hawk Aerial, LLC, told yards need to understand these laws and comply
The Grapevine Magazine that new developments with them to operate within those limitations.
in vineyard map technology have helped elimi-
nate inaccuracies that existed in older methods. Additionally, there is a significant initial cost

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