The CARTS Project (Canopy Adjusted Real Time Spraying) led by Hexastep SA (as technological partner) in a partnership consortium with the University of Évora (as scientific partner), and with the participation of the Micron Group (international manufacturer of sprayers for the agriculture) is a project of applied research in co-promotion that aims to develop a differentiated spraying equipment in real time for the specific use in vineyards.
The Scope of the Project is motivated by the necessity of the optimization of the application
fertilisers and or pesticides in vineyards. It is also driven by the need of the creation of
traceability mechanisms of the chemical use on crops, driven by international standards and
European directives concerning the quality of agriculture products.
The structural characteristics of the canopy are a key consideration for improving the efficiency
of the spray application process for tree crops. However, obtaining accurate data in an easy,
practical, and efficient way, and in-real-time, is an important problem to be solved. The main
objective of this project is to develop a sprayer prototype and the algorithms to manage it, for
vineyards.
This prototype must modify the sprayed volume application rate according to the target
geometry by using an algorithm based on the canopy volume inspired by the tree row volume
(TRV) model. Variations in canopy width along the row crop are electronically measured using
several ultrasonic sensors placed on the sprayer and used to modify the emitted flow rate from
the nozzles in real time; the objective during this process is to maintain the sprayed volume per
unit canopy volume.
Field trials already carried out at different crop stages in a vineyard indicated a good
relationship between the applied volume and canopy characteristics. The potential pesticide
savings were estimated to be at between 20% and 55% relative to the costs of a conventional
application.
