Page 65 - Grapevine NovDec 2021

Around The Vineyard

Determining Which Vegetative

Index is Best for Your Vineyard

By: Michelle Podolec, Extension Suport Specialist, Cornell AgriTech

The Takeaway tional information to the vine size prediction.

• Canopy sensors are optical devices that use • More recently, affordable tractor-mounted sen-
reflectance at different wavelengths to differ- sors have provided close-range metrics of cano-
entiate between healthy, vigorous plants and py density and health.
unhealthy, stressed plants. The information • In this study of different VI, there was no clear
gathered using the sensors can help vineyard overall winner. Researchers suggested the
managers identify and address vineyard issues.
development of a multi-VI application that
would allow vineyard owners to customize to
• Optical sensors used in canopy sensing have
improved a lot over the 45+ years since the their unique vineyard traits may offer a future
introduction of normalized difference vege- potential for innovation.
tation index (NDVI). NDVI was one of the first
vegetative indexes (VI), and uses satellite-based
optical sensors. It is still the most commonly
used vegetative index in viticulture.

• Other vegetative indexes use combinations
of different wavelengths to measure canopy
attributes. This may not only indicate leaf area A NDVI sensor and GPS unit are mounted on a
“quantity” but may also identify information vehicle and used early in the grape season to
about leaf healthy or quality, and may add addi- assess the vineyard.
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