Intelligent use of water
Weather, soil type, root growth and development status of the crops – all these factors should be taken into account for irrigation. With new online applications, such as the irrigation app from the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Landtechnik und Landwirtschaftliches Bauwesen in Bayern e. V. (ALB) (working community for rural technology and agricultural construction in Bavaria) and the Bayerische Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL) (Bavarian institute for agriculture), farmers can calculate their daily water requirements for individual crops and thus use water in accordance with actual conditions. "The future belongs to intelligent irrigation systems – not only because they are more economical, but also because they use resources sparingly and take weather extremes into account," says Dr. Martin Müller, Director of the ALB Bayern e.V. "Farmers should therefore start looking at other concepts now."
With regard to winegrowing, water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges, but can be optimally overcome with modern systems. "New drip irrigation systems are without doubt a big investment for winegrowers," says Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Schwarz, Director of the Institut für Technik der Hochschule Geisenheim (technology institute at Geisenheim University). "But winegrowers must make this investment. For only then will they be able to secure the survival of their vines in the long term and achieve the desired quality." Areas of cultivation in the proximity of rivers have the advantage that they can resort to the use of river water, which is a cost-effective means of irrigation.
Protection against climatic extremes
Climate change is increasingly the cause of heavy rainfall and strong hailstorms in many places. In order to prevent erosion caused by precipitation, which, for example, destroys grapevines, winegrowers are already experimenting with greening measures. Between the rows of vines, the demand is primarily for plants that grow slowly and need little water. Another possibility for defying weather extremes is "smart breeding". Here, for example, resistant grapevines are bred that suffer less under stress conditions such as extreme heat or water shortage. "In particular in view of water shortage and heat, new solutions are increasingly in demand," commented Prof. Schwarz. "These problems pose the greatest challenges for winegrowing."
In order to prevent hailstorm damage, hail protection nets are increasingly being used in fruit cultivation. However, for many vineyards they are not an alternative on account of their appearance. Here, hail-fighting aircraft or wind machines are used in order to cause the hail to be released prematurely.
Climatic changes are presenting new challenges to winegrowers and cultivators of special crops around the world. INTERVITIS INTERFRUCTA HORTITECHNICA 2016 will highlight technical solutions to the challenges arising from climate change.
