Wine grape producers in Washington state will gather Friday, July 21 for a field day featuring research on irrigation scheduling, grapevine plant models and heat stress mitigation.

The 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. event will be held at Washington State University’s Roza Farm in Prosser. The research is funded by the AgAID Institute and the Washington wine industry.

Discussions and demonstrations will focus on best management practices to balance vine growth and deficit irrigation with data from soil moisture sensors, understanding the uses and limitations of soil moisture sensors and how to integrate sensor technology with machinery operations and mobile networks, according to a release.

Two technologies to help reduce the impact of heat stress on grapevines—mist evaporative cooling system and solid set canopy delivery system—will be demonstrated, including how to set up such systems and considerations for their use.

The research is conducted through AgAID, an agricultural artificial intelligence Institute for transforming workforce and decision support, which is led by WSU. The institute’s mission is to build and foster partnerships between AI and agricultural communities and create a transdisciplinary ecosystem for technology innovation and knowledge transfer.

It is funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Institute members include WSU, Oregon State University, University of California, Merced, Carnegie Mellon University, Heritage University, Wenatchee Valley College, Kansas State University, IBM Research and InnovateAg.

The Washington State Wine Commission has provided supplemental funds to the institute to evaluate promising soil moisture sensors for application in Washington wine grape vineyards.

Registration and a $10 fee are required to attend the field day. Register at SmartVineyardFieldDay.eventbrite.com.

For additional information, contact Melissa Hansen, Research Program Director at [email protected].

Source: Washington State Wine Commission