By Blake Jackson
At Cornell's Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory (CLEREL), a new "living laboratory" is helping New York's grape industry embrace precision agriculture.
Director Terry Bates notes that farming used to be a "one-size-fits-all" approach, but now, his team uses sensors to map and manage the environmental variations within a vineyard. The heart of this effort is the free web platform, Efficient Vineyard (MyEV).
Developed by Bates and Nick Gunner, MyEV allows growers to turn complex sensor data into actionable maps. Farmers can use it to pinpoint areas that need more or less fertilizer or to determine pruning needs with surgical precision.
"MyEV does five things," Bates said. "It imports data, cleans it up, interpolates it and makes a map, translates the map into a viticulture information map and then uses that in a prescription for vineyard management. I’m building tools for growers."
The platform has already proven its value, as Bates used it to map freeze damage and guide variable-rate thinning after a late-April freeze.
Cornell's precision agriculture vision extends beyond MyEV. Yu Jiang, an assistant professor, is integrating robotics and AI, envisioning a "swarm" of autonomous robots that gather data.
Katie Gold, another assistant professor, is using hyperspectral imaging to detect diseases and monitor vine health. Meanwhile, Lynn Sosnoskie is exploring robot-mounted electric weeders that reduce the need for chemicals.
Bates believes these tools will eventually become the norm. "Ag technology is developing very quickly and has huge potential to transform vineyard operations across New York and the country," Bates said.
"However, choosing which tech is right for an operation can be overwhelming and expensive. Resources like the new CLEREL Tech vineyard and MyEV are intended to evaluate solutions under real production conditions."
Photo Credit: istock-jhvephoto
Categories: New York, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables, Education