OPTIMA Project: development of a smart sprayer for vineyards

In the ambit of H2020-project OPTIMA (OPTimised Integrated Pest Management for precise detection and control of plant diseases in perennial crops and open-field vegetables) it is foreseen to develop a smart sprayer enabling to optimise spray application in vineyards using either conventional PPP or novel bio-PPPs. The smart sprayer will be developed on the basis of a Caffini Synthesis air-assisted sprayer, envisaging the implementation of new components and devices enabling to precisely adapt the spray volume, spray pattern and air flow according to the characteristics of the target and to the presence of the disease, namely downy mildew, in the different areas of the vineyard, thus minimising PPP use, spray losses and drift risks. A top control GPS based unit, developed by AUA, will translate the information deriving from prescription maps - generated with the use of early detection disease sensors in the field – to the control unit of the sprayer so that actuators will be activated accordingly. Ultrasonic sensors mounted on the sprayer will provide real time information on the target presence and density in front of the nozzles, so their activation will be modulated accordingly. The sprayer is intended to be equipped with a variable rate system, possibly exploiting PWM nozzles, with an electric fan allowing a precise and continuous adjustment of the air flow rate in function of the canopy density, and with nozzles adjustable at difference distances along the vertical booms in order to better achieve the optimal spray pattern matching the canopy target shape. During 2019 a set of laboratory tests aimed at evaluating the air velocity profiles generated with different air settings and the vertical spray patterns resulting from different nozzle configurations were carried out in order to select the most adequate sprayer configurations to test in the field.