Evaluation of a Fixed Spraying System for Phytosanitary Treatments in Heroic Viticulture in North-Eastern Italy

Gaetano Imperatore, Aurora Ghirardelli, Luca Strinna, Cristiano Baldoin, Alberto Pozzebon, Giuseppe Zanin and Stefan Otto
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Gaetano Imperatore: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Aurora Ghirardelli: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Luca Strinna: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Cristiano Baldoin: Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, TESAF, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Alberto Pozzebon: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Giuseppe Zanin: Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, DAFNAE, University of Padua, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Stefan Otto: Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP-CNR), National Research Council of Italy, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: Modern viticulture cannot be practiced without the use of plant protection products to control diseases like downy mildew, powdery mildew, and pests. In severely sloping vineyards, where mechanization is not possible, pesticide application is realized using spray guns, which is a laborious, expensive, and dangerous application technique. In these vineyards, where viticulture is defined as “heroic viticulture,” vine-growers could seriously take advantage of innovation in spray-technique applications. For this reason, several prototypes of a fixed spraying system (FSS) were realized in recent years. Two prototypes of a fixed spraying system were built in 2019 in two different vineyards in the Veneto region (north-eastern Italy). In both vineyards, the fixed spraying systems were used to perform pesticide application during the 2020 season to control downy mildew, powdery mildew, and pests. With this solution, both vineyards were successfully protected, resulting in comparable infection degrees and yields as the ones protected with airblast sprayers and spray guns. This study contributes to assert fixed spraying systems as an innovation that could improve working conditions, safety, timing, and performances of plant protection products’ application in heroic viticulture areas.

Keywords: fixed spraying system; steep-slope viticulture; pesticide application; downy mildew; organic viticulture; solid set canopy distribution system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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