Context

The wine sector is a major consumer of water, with each bottle of wine requiring a water footprint of 720 litres of water. Catalonia is an area that suffers from drought episodes that make dryland wine growing difficult. This is why wineries choose to apply support irrigation to the vineyards to improve the quality of the grapes. The problem lies in the scarcity of water resources, so there is a need to implement technological solutions and systems that contribute to saving water in the irrigation process.
Irrigation control is essential to guarantee the quality of the fruit. Regardless of the year’s rainfall, the crops can be irrigated by means of a support irrigation system to guarantee the ripening of the grapes or to achieve the oenological objectives pre-established by the winegrower. Consequently, a good irrigation system is required and a programme that is adapted to the characteristics of the crop and the soil, since these are the two pillars that support vine production.
Digital transformation and Industry 4.0 are key factors for optimising irrigation water management in vineyards. In this regard, the automation of irrigation systems should guarantee significant savings in terms of time, water and money. This operational group aims to implement the potentially most efficient technological solutions for vineyard irrigation in order to help winegrowers in their decision making. To achieve this, the project will involve learning about the water content of the crop, understood as a whole: plant + soil + meteorology + actions of the winegrower, proposing an irrigation strategy, applying it and carrying out long-term monitoring, obtaining agronomic and oenological information.