Location: Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory
Project Number: 8042-13610-030-093-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Apr 1, 2025
End Date: Aug 1, 2026
Objective:
This project aims to extend the initial success of the GRAPEX project using drone+AI to map leaf water potential (LWP) and stem water potential (SWP) for water stress management in commercial vineyards across the California Central Valley to other wine growing regions in Chile, Italy and Israel, with different climate, vine varieties and management practices.
Approach:
Local collaborators are collecting drone and ground truth data, similar to the California sites. USDA and university collaborators are ready to expand the application of the drone+AI algorithm. The funds ($25,000) will be used for salary and benefits ($22,500) to mainly support a PhD student who will train and validate the drone+AI algorithm and $2,500 for travel to study sites to work with collaborators. The Innovation funding will allow us to test and refine the algorithm’s performance over a much greater variety of vineyard systems with the goal to extend its utility to major wine growing regions and facilitate its adoption for commercial and research applications.