Assessing the value of cover crops in vineyards using proximal sensing approaches

International audienceService of the interest of On-Farm Experimentation : Illustration of how a grower has engaged to test innovations on-farm using agri-tech Innovations in Agri-tech and in cover cropping were introduced into the juice grape industry in NY in the early 2010s. To test the effectiveness of cover crops in a grower's commercial vineyard, a stratified design was implemented to minimise the effort needed and the potential effect of the experiment on production. Agri-tech was used to assess the impact of the presence or absence of a cover crop on yield and vine size. The yield sensor and canopy sensors indicated that over four years there was no impact on production from the cover crops, but the grower did notice that the cover crops provided soil and management benefits. The results reinforced the grower's desire to increase the use of cover cropping in vineyard management