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Press Release
January 20, 2005
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Related Contact:
Bruce Lewis
1-707-964-3844
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Greenseeker Optical Scanner To Map Napa Valley Vineyards
Sensor Scans Canopy or Vine To Determine Vine Health, Vigor
Jack Neal & Son, Inc. (JNS) has reported "encouraging results" as it became the first vineyard management company in the U.S. to use proven ground-based optical scanning technology to assist with decision making for precision farming practices.
"We used GreenSeeker in four Napa Valley vineyards last spring to evaluate its potential," explained JNS Geographical Information Systems Manager Walden Grindle. "It can be mounted to a tractor and used in conjunction with other farming activities to dramatically reduce cost (vs. that of aerial imagery), it isn't impeded by clouds, fog or sunlight and it produces superior, real-time data."
GreenSeeker, manufactured by NTech Industries in Ukiah, California, has been used throughout the world for weed control, including controlling weeds in vineyards, and for fertilizing crops. The vineyard-mapping version of GreenSeeker came to market late in 2004.
The GreenSeeker optical sensor, attached to an ATV or tractor, scans the canopy or vine and determines the vine's health and vigor in the form of NDVI data. The data is collected automatically, in real time, while the tractor operator conducts routine vineyard maintenance operations such as disking, mowing, or spraying. Since GreenSeeker uses its own light source, it can operate day or night. The sensor can view the canopy from either the top or side. Horizontal or side scanning allows for the image to only contain information about the vine canopy and eliminate the soil or cover crop from being included in the image.
Because of the costs associated with aerial vineyard photos, images are usually taken only once or twice a year and vineyard management plan adjustments made based on results from several months earlier. Jack Neal and Son will use GreenSeeker up to six times per season to "produce ultra premium wine grapes by reacting to the changes in vigor as the season progresses," said Sander Scheer, JNS Viticulturist.
He says he will use GreenSeeker to produce a more site specific vineyard management plan because "we can view subtle changes in vigor and break up treatments we apply into blocks and sub-blocks. It should save on spraying and irrigation and help us to more completely balance vines and ultimately lead to more even fruit maturity."
Easy to Operate
GreenSeeker is surprisingly easy to operate, according to Grindle. "I can give the tractor operator simple start-up steps, he can forget about it and then I can come back later and collect the data. We can put the NDVI data over block boundaries and get a good idea about sub sections where different areas of vigor exist, then custom tailor our farm practices."
NTech Industries Chief Operating Officer Ted Mayfield said future uses of GreenSeeker in veinyards includes:
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Real-time decision making on variable rate application of fertilizer or crop protection products.
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Real time data collection to adjust leaf thinning, pre-pruning, or other canopy management practices.
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NDVI maps could be included as an input to irrigation scheduling software to optimize canopy management.
About NTech
NTech Industries, with an office in Stillwater, Oklahoma and headquartered in Ukiah, California, is the world leader in optical sensors for, precision fertilizer applications, crop mapping, and weed and pest control for agricultural, military and civilian uses. In 2002, USDA Secretary Ann M. Veneman hailed GreenSeeker "the most revolutionary method for fertilizing crops in a century."
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