Home Industry News Releases Willamette Valley Vineyards Deploys First UV Light Robot in Vineyards

Willamette Valley Vineyards Deploys First UV Light Robot in Vineyards

2028
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May 27, 2021 (Turner, OR)Willamette Valley Vineyards, a  leading Pinot Noir producer in Oregon, has teamed up with Saga Robotics, Cornell  University and USDA scientists at Oregon State University to introduce new ultraviolet light  technology in its vineyards to combat powdery mildew.  

Using an autonomous robot to apply a special band of ultraviolet light, UV-C, treatment to  the vines, Willamette will be the first farmer to prevent powdery mildew from damaging its  prized wine grapes by replacing its use of organic sulfur with sustainable UV-C light. 

The UV-C light treatment must be delivered in high doses at low speeds and at night to  circumvent the natural defenses of powdery mildews to UV. The low speeds and nighttime  operation, make human-controlled tractor applications inefficient and costly. Saga Robotics  developed an electric powered robot for chemical-free, autonomous protection of  grapevines. 

Powdery mildew is one of the most widespread and easily recognized plant diseases — from home gardens to just about every agriculture operation across the globe. In the U.S.  alone, more than 100 million pounds of chemical fungicides are used each year to combat  the disease. The major pathogen, powdery mildew, has developed resistance to many  modern fungicides requiring an ever-increasing rotation of chemicals. If not suppressed,  powdery mildew can reduce crop yield by up to 95% (UC Davis) and degrade wine quality  by increasing berry acidity, reducing anthocyanins, and leading to cryptic development of  off flavors. 

Last year, the winery installed UV-C light in its HVAC systems to combat the Coronavirus  with technology developed by NASA for the International Space Station. Willamette Valley  Vineyards Founder/CEO Jim Bernau’s research into the technology led him to the  innovative work at Cornell University and their collaborators at USDA-ARS, Oregon State  and Washington State Universities. He offered the winery’s resources and purchased a unit  to further develop the technology and prove its effectiveness in commercial practice. 

“The pandemic and the need to kill the coronavirus led us to study UV-C light,”  Bernau said. “We learned it can be used to kill viruses and other things like powdery  mildew — naturally, without the use of chemicals. We see this as a remarkable  opportunity for our industry to grow high quality wine grapes and do it in a very  natural, sustainable way.” 

David Markel, Research and Development Manager at Willamette Valley Vineyards and  Alex Wong, Graduate Student Oregon State University, assembled the latest model of the  robot, Thorvald, shipped from Norway by Saga Robotics to run in Willamette Valley  Vineyards’ estate vineyards. 

Last summer, two prototypes of the grape robot were deployed at vineyards near Cornell  University in the Finger Lakes region of New York. 

This new UV-C light technology could greatly reduce global agricultural use of fungicides if  farmers adopt this technology. 

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1 COMMENT

  1. I just came across this article while working on a literature review for this exact experiment that I was going to propose. What a shame that I will be unlikely to move forward with the project, but I’m very happy to see that this work is being done. I truly think this is the future of treatments for mildew and even botrytis for several reasons.

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