Efeitos do solo e clima numa vinha de uva de mesa com cultura de cobertura. Gestão da rega utilizando redes de sensores

[ENG] TThe use of mulches in vineyards and orchards is a traditional agricultural practice used with the aim of saving moisture, reducing weed growth and improving organic matter content in the soil. In table grape vineyards trained to overhead system in Puglia region (Southeastern Italy), plastic sheets covering the canopy are often used to either advance ripening or delay harvest. In this environment, the living mulches could contribute to the modification of the microclimate around the canopy below the plastic sheets. This condition has an influence on the climatic demand and on both the vegetative and productive activities, mainly in stages with a high evapotranspiration. However, the presence of living mulches could increase the demand of available water and nutrient resources and this could cause a lower yield. The aim of this study was to acquire a suitable knowledge to manage irrigation and verify the influences of living mulches on the vine by using wireless sensor networks to measure the vapor pressure deficit, soil water potential and content.[POR] A utilização de coberturas do solo em vinhas e pomares é uma prática agrícola tradicional, utilizada com o objetivo de preservar a humidade do solo, reduzir o crescimento de infestantes e melhorar o teor de matéria orgânica no solo. Em vinhas de uva de mesa, conduzidas em sistema de pérgula na região de Puglia (sudeste da Itália), são frequentemente usadas coberturas de plástico para promover o avanço da maturação ou o atraso da colheita. Neste ambiente a utilização de enrelvamentos pode contribuir para a modificação do microclima do copado. Esta condição pode influenciar a demanda atmosférica, bem como a atividade vegetativa e reprodutiva da videira, principalmente em períodos de elevada evapotranspiração. No entanto, a presença do enrelvamento pode originar um aumento da demanda dos recursos disponíveis, nomeadamente água e nutrientes, o que poderá provocar uma quebra de produção. O objetivo deste estudo foi adquirir conhecimento para a gestão da rega e, simultaneamente, verificar a influência dos enrelvamentos na atividade da videira, usando para o efeito redes de sensores “sem fio” para medir o déficit de pressão de vapor, o potencial e o conteúdo de água no solo.The development of this work was supported by: The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the project RIDEFRUT (ref. AGL2013-49047-C2-1-R), the “Fundacion Seneca, Agencia de Ciencia y Tecnologia” of the Region of Murcia under the “Excelence Group Program”, and the Technical University of Cartagena under the PMPDI Program

Not All Wireless Sensor Networks Are Created Equal: A Comparative Study On Tunnels

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are envisioned for a number of application scenarios. Nevertheless, the few in-the-field experiences typically focus on the features of a specific system, and rarely report about the characteristics of the target environment, especially w.r.t. the behavior and performance of low-power wireless communication. The TRITon project, funded by our local administration, aims to improve safety and reduce maintenance costs of road tunnels, using a WSN-based control infrastructure. The access to real tunnels within TRITon gives us the opportunity to experimentally assess the peculiarities of this environment, hitherto not investigated in the WSN field. We report about three deployments: i) an operational road tunnel, enabling us to assess the impact of vehicular traffic; ii) a non-operational tunnel, providing insights into analogous scenarios (e.g., underground mines) without vehicles; iii) a vineyard, serving as a baseline representative of the existing literature. Our setup, replicated in each deployment, uses mainstream WSN hardware, and popular MAC and routing protocols. We analyze and compare the deployments w.r.t. reliability, stability, and asymmetry of links, the accuracy of link quality estimators, and the impact of these aspects on MAC and routing layers. Our analysis shows that a number of criteria commonly used in the design of WSN protocols do not hold in tunnels. Therefore, our results are useful for designing networking solutions operating efficiently in similar environments

Modular sensor nodes for environmental data monitoring

A framework for modular wireless sensor networks (WSN) designed to capture and monitor micro-climates in a crop field. WSN is rapidly improving in automotive industry, agricultural, industrial and environmental monitoring and many other areas. Moulder architecture minimises the software upgrade down time and enables hardware reusability. Recent developments and advances in wireless technology as well as affordability give rise to this emerging field in the realm of Precision Agriculture (PA). Vineyard monitoring is an emerging application field in PA

Development of an open sensorized platform in a smart agriculture context: A vineyard support system for monitoring mildew disease

In recent years, some official reports, to produce best products regarding quality, quantity and economic conditions, recommend that the farming sector should benefit with new tools and techniques coming from Information and Communications Technology (ICT) realm. In this way, during last decade the deployment of sensing devices has increased considerably in the field of agriculture. This fact has led to a new concept called smart agriculture, and it contemplates activities such as field monitoring, which offer support to make decisions or perform actions, such as irrigation or fertilization. Apart from sensing devices, which use the Internet protocol to transfer data (Internet of Things), there are the so-called crop models, which are able to provide added value over the data provided by the sensors, with the aim of providing recommendations to farmers in decision-making and thus, increase the quality and quantity of their production. In this scenario, the current work uses a low-cost sensorized platform, capable of monitoring meteorological phenomena following the Internet of Things paradigm, with the goal to apply an alert disease model on the cultivation of the vine. The edge computing paradigm is used to achieve this objective; also our work follows some advances from GIScience to increase interoperability. An example of this platform has been deployed in a vineyard parcel located in the municipality of Vilafamés (Castelló Spain)

Development of an open sensorized platform in a smart agriculture context: A vineyard support system for monitoring mildew disease

In recent years, some offcial reports, to produce best products regarding quality, quantity and economic conditions, recommend that the farming sector should benefit with new tools and techniques coming from Information and Communications Technology (ICT) realm. In this way, during last decade the deployment of sensing devices has increased considerably in the field of agriculture. This fact has led to a new concept called smart agriculture, and it contemplates activities such as field monitoring, which offer support to make decisions or perform actions, such as irrigation or fertilization. Apart from sensing devices, which use the Internet protocol to transfer data (Internet of Things), there are the so-called crop models, which are able to provide added value over the data provided by the sensors, with the aim of providing recommendations to farmers in decision-making and thus, increase the quality and quantity of their production. In this scenario, the current work uses a low-cost sensorized platform, capable of monitoring meteorological phenomena following the Internet of Things paradigm, with the goal to apply an alert disease model on the cultivation of the vine. The edge computing paradigm is used to achieve this objective; also our work follows some advances from GIScience to increase interoperability. An example of this platform has been deployed in a vineyard parcel located in the municipality of Vilafamés (Castelló, Spain)

VineSens: An Eco-Smart Decision-Support Viticulture System

[Abstract] This article presents VineSens, a hardware and software platform for supporting the decision-making of the vine grower. VineSens is based on a wireless sensor network system composed by autonomous and self-powered nodes that are deployed throughout a vineyard. Such nodes include sensors that allow us to obtain detailed knowledge on different viticulture processes. Thanks to the use of epidemiological models, VineSens is able to propose a custom control plan to prevent diseases like one of the most feared by vine growers: downy mildew. VineSens generates alerts that warn farmers about the measures that have to be taken and stores the historical weather data collected from different spots of the vineyard. Such data can then be accessed through a user-friendly web-based interface that can be accessed through the Internet by using desktop or mobile devices. VineSens was deployed at the beginning in 2016 in a vineyard in the Ribeira Sacra area (Galicia, Spain) and, since then, its hardware and software have been tested to prevent the development of downy mildew, showing during its first season that the system can led to substantial savings, to decrease the amount of phytosanitary products applied, and, as a consequence, to obtain a more ecologically sustainable and healthy wine.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; TEC2013-47141-C4-1-RMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad; TEC2016-75067-C4-1-R

The impact of agricultural activities on water quality: a case for collaborative catchment-scale management using integrated wireless sensor networks

The challenge of improving water quality is a growing global concern, typified by the European Commission Water Framework Directive and the United States Clean Water Act. The main drivers of poor water quality are economics, poor water management, agricultural practices and urban development. This paper reviews the extensive role of non-point sources, in particular the outdated agricultural practices, with respect to nutrient and contaminant contributions. Water quality monitoring (WQM) is currently undertaken through a number of data acquisition methods from grab sampling to satellite based remote sensing of water bodies. Based on the surveyed sampling methods and their numerous limitations, it is proposed that wireless sensor networks (WSNs), despite their own limitations, are still very attractive and effective for real-time spatio-temporal data collection for WQM applications. WSNs have been employed for WQM of surface and ground water and catchments, and have been fundamental in advancing the knowledge of contaminants trends through their high resolution observations. However, these applications have yet to explore the implementation and impact of this technology for management and control decisions, to minimize and prevent individual stakeholder’s contributions, in an autonomous and dynamic manner. Here, the potential of WSN-controlled agricultural activities and different environmental compartments for integrated water quality management is presented and limitations of WSN in agriculture and WQM are identified. Finally, a case for collaborative networks at catchment scale is proposed for enabling cooperation among individually networked activities/stakeholders (farming activities, water bodies) for integrated water quality monitoring, control and management