Vineyard mechanization, many new features for farmers
Investments in machinery built specifically for operations in vineyards can turn out to be very advantageous for speeding up the timeliness of work and lowering manpower costs. A wide range of mechanized equipment is now marketed by manufacturers, some of which came away from EIMA International in November with New Techniques and Special Mention awards
Referring to investments in mechanization may appear doubtful in a season like the one of 2014 which featured persistent rain and little sunshine when, according to Coldiretti estimates, production fell 7% compared to the most recent five years and by 14% against the previous year. However, the positive results brought in by the intelligent mechanization of vineyards can be experienced in a more decisive way precisely in difficult times when timeliness becomes a key factor for operations. Production gains along with lower manpower costs have already driven winemakers over the years to take advantage of mechanization to stay competitive not only on the national market but internationally – mechanization which is not limited to harvesting and the distribution of plant treatment products alone but also covers the most important operations typical of vineyard management.
Sprayers
As described in an earlier article (see C. Baldoin, Technical Evolution of Sprayers, Mondo Macchina/Machinery World, July-September 2014), a number of manufacturers have been pushed by EU Directive 2009/128 towards solutions which limit the phenomenon of drift for actively safeguarding the environment. The main factor in their systems is the dynamics between the sprayer air and the vegetation for which recent developments have been focused on the ventilation systems and the diffusion of air. Especially the development of tunnel sprayers, inter-row machines which allow the recovery of the product which does not treat the vegetation, have been speeded up.
Among the the New Techniques prizes awarded during EIMA International is the interesting 3P model Whirlwind M612 Duo-Wing-Jet – Hill electrostatic mist blower by Martignani, a low pressure pneumatic sprayer with a single air cushion protective screen for the electrostatic recovery of pesticide treatment products with no recycling but with 95% anti-drift and anti-residue effect. The semi-mounted machine is designed for operations on sloping terrain. Drift Recovery 2000 from Agricolmeccanica in the Maschio Gaspardo Group came away from Enovitis in the Field with a New Technology 2014 Special Mention for a Computer Spray Control enabling electronic management of the main parameters in operations, including quantity of the product in the tank, speed of transit, liters sprayed, temperature of the environment and others, as well as control of the opening and closing of the nozzles.
These are relatively new machines on the market but the choice is great, beginning with the range by Bertoni which, ten years after the launch of the Arcobaleno, was the first to propose a series of eight models which meet all the many requirements for various models of livestock raising, the layout of vineyard plants and the land. Other newly conceived models have been presented by Ideal Srl, Caffini SpA, Ricosma Snc and other manufacturers.
Electronics can make the difference also for traditional machines. An example is a pneumatic mist blower with variable VRT (integrated circuits) dosage cited at EIMA International for ultrasound sensors which make it possible to manage spraying proportionally in relation to speed of transit and the density of the vegetation.
Management of the canopy and trunk
Pruning after harvesting the grapes is the production cycle which requires the greatest deployment of manpower. At present the most widespread pruning method is with the use of a cutting bar with single or overlapping discs. The simplest machines are equipped with sensors, using the Pellenc vision system, capable of making cuts as close as possible to the cordon, and the Tanesini Technology for detaching shoots from support structure with inter-row bars activated by photocells. There remains, however, the need for the correct mechanization of pruning in that mechanical operations alone are not yet widespread. For pre-pruning, cutting bars with rotating discs can be used.
Both pieces of mounted equipment, inter-row and not, are installed to the rear or laterally to provide the driver of the tractor with maximum control. The pruning machine with a cutting bar is complicated in construction as well as for maintenance but is suitable for dry pruning as well as summer pruning. The machine can be mounted and located in the correct way for the cutting bars and such equipment as rubber mulching blades and inter-row bars to make this machine suitable for all the major vineyard layouts. The disc cutting system for pruning ensures high quality work if the rotation of the rate of the discs is correctly coordinated with the speed of transit of the tractor. This work also requires careful management of the layout to avoid damage to the trellising wire.
Various innovations based on photocells and other types of sensors have been perfected for both pruning technologies aimed mainly at improving the regularity of shoot cutting of the spurs and working propertly around posts and other structures supporting the row.
The operation following cutting is the removal of the shooting canes from the previous year, the branch on which the spurs were formed and excess shooting canes. The dry vine branches are left in the middle of the row to be picked up and mulched on the spot. This operation is costly in terms of money and labor, especially when the work is performed on a vigorous variety requiring prolonged pruning where there is a large load of buds on the vine. In this case, fatiguing work can compromise the precision of the operation and cause accidents. Financial damage can result from the slowness of the operation.
In this connection the ERO pre-pruning machine is of interest for winter work in trellised vineyards and especially spur, Casarsa or simple Guyot trained vines. This front mounted dual-blade machine cuts branches at the desired height which can be regulated by a T frame and removed by long and fine beating cylinders. Lateral shifting and inclination is controlled by hydraulics directly from the cab.
There is a wide variety of machinery types for the management of the crown for topping the canopy, leaf stripping and desuckering operations and improving the ability to control pruning with methods which incorporate the significant progressive steps made by these machines. Attention is always trained on increasing the precision of performance and progressively increasing operational capabilities with an eye on minimizing damage done to the vines. This is made possible by various types of machinery equipped with intelligent sensors and designed for great flexibility in movement.
Topping, the removal of the shoot tip and leaves, can be done with a cutting bar with blades rotating at high speed at work on one or two rows simultaneously on one or both walls of vegetation. What is new, independently of the type of machine, is the ability to regulate the position of the cutting implements to provide control over the profile of the canopy. Examples are the FA.MA front mounted lopping machines, giving special mention at EIMA International 2014, equipped with four cutting bars which can be regulated for position and the depth of the pruning operation selected. Other examples are ERO Elite Profi Line Simple Cordon trimmers which provide the regulation of the angles of the various cutting bars, up to 45° for the bottom bar, on free cordon layouts.
There are also new features for leaf strippers for machines which are totally mechanical as well as for pneumatic and thermal machines. The tendency is always to aim for greater precision and flexibility in prolonged use and improvements in the quality of results. Working in this direction are contact sensors equipping leaf strippers with automatic regulation. A Technovit machine with an automatic working head with a screen sensor makes it possible to operate in the vegetation and change the trajectory to avoid damage to the fruit. This solution, tapped for a Technical Innovation award at EIMA International 2014, makes it possible to extend the use of the machine in the vineyard by allowing pre-harvest leaf stripping.
Pellenc has come up with another interesting solution which consists of a stainless steel net which enables the drums to adapt to the shape of the vineyard without causing abrasions on the grapes while sensors inside the drums provide ongoing regulation of the height.
Sensors have also found their way to desuckering machines. Many machines are equipped with contact sensors which work mainly by exploiting the mechanical features of plant treatment and weeding, as is the case for the machines from Clemens and Braun. As recently as two years ago, EIMA International cited Tecnovict as the manufacturer of the first machine equipped with electronic devices for the exclusive spraying of cane shoots resulting in savings of the product and environmental sustainability compared to past methods.
Also of interest are horizontal blades for inter-stump operations which ensure great savings of chemical products. These are small machines built for cutting and removing the soil from between one trunk and another with light work down to a few centimeters. The tool is a horizontal blade of 50 to 60 cm in diameter mounted on a comb which lifts the crust cut, breaks it up and leaves it on the surface for drying out the cut weeds. The operation relies on especially sensitive contact sensors enabling quick relocation and thus good speed for major work of up to 7-10 km/hr even though the operations are between the plants.
Harvesting
A great deal of interest revolves around the mechanization of harvesting, as testified to by the continuous arrival of new features on the market. What is not new is the idea of the selective collection of the grapes on the basis of their quality, beginning with a specific map of the site. This is now possible and becoming more accessible thanks to the availability of optic sensors such as for Braud’s Multiplex capable of detecting in real time the phenolic, or physiologically ripe grapes, that is according to the content of the grapes’ anthocyanins and flavonoidi.
A better selection of the grapes to be harvested but not only that. Also on the market are systems which ensure greater efficiency in dealing with non-grape materials during harvesting. Pellenc’s Selectiv Process on the market for some years has been joined by the Cleantech and Vario by Gregorie and Opti Grape by Braud with systems for sorting grapes during the harvest to limit the quantities of discards of green as well as botrytized grapes.
On the side of harvesters for precision and flexibility is the Bargam towed and tippable grape harvesters with V-Train cited at EIMA International 2014. This is a flexible machine with a harvesting device which can be removed and replaced with other implements and with a leveling system which allows operations in vineyards on hilly and sloping terrain which are off-limits for self-propelled harvesters.
Driving control
The important arrival of sensors and systems for the approach of the machine to the vines is justified by the need for precision provided for work in vineyards in which driving is often made difficult by a number of factors, such as sloping terrain, narrow rows and the length of the worksite. For this reason, assisted driving has taken on more and more interest. Thanks to GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) with real time corrections (with RTK, Real Time Kinematic systems) the tractor and machine can be positioned with precision of up to a couple of centimeters. This is of importance not only for planting cuttings and setting posts but also for making and using the prescribed maps and assisting and facilitating the work of the driver, especially when driving is complicated by combined operations. In this area, an Enovitis in the Field Technological Innovation Award was given to Spektra-Agri which, in collaboration with Fendt, came up with an AutoCombiGuide drive system which automatically controls operational sequences in the field and provides the possibility of controlling the equipment while running. These features enable work to be performed for carrying out various combined operations to reduce time and labor and entries to the field to lower stress on the operator and the soil.
There are now so many technologies and solutions for improving the quality of operations. Though the spread of agricultural mechanization in the vineyard involves in various ways nearly 30% of these vineyards for grape harvesting alone, for a total of some 2,600 machines at work on nearly 15,000 hectares harvested, it is important for manufacturers’ research to continue in this direction to provide increasingly competitive and convincing solutions for agriculture.
