Influence of sensor calibration on forecasting models for vineyard disease detection

The evolution of vineyard diseases, such as Downy Mildew, are depending by temperature, humidity and rain. The pathologies are controlled with the use of fungicides, which has considerable economic costs, negative effects on environment, human health and wine quality. In order to identify fungicide sprays periods, several forecasting models were proposed. These tools require accurate knowledge of meteorological variables. Nevertheless, these models do not consider the quality of the input data in terms of evaluation of measurement uncertainty and traceability to the reference sensors. There is a need for testing various types of sensors, their calibration, and to evaluate the measurement uncertainty related the meteorological quantities in order to improve vineyard disease predictions and reduce the use of chemicals in agriculture.