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With the help of an AI programme, even untrained people could soon be pruning vines using the gentle pruning method. Using an app on a mobile phone, tablet or virtual reality (VR) goggles, images of the vine are uploaded to a server, which analyses its structure, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to mark the correct cuts and shows them on the user's display. Prototypes of this system are currently being tested. With the help of the image recognition programme developed by the "AI pruning" project, even inexperienced workers can quickly apply gentle pruning, which would otherwise require several courses and further training, explained Matthias Porten from the Moselle Rural Service Centre (DLR). It could even be fully automated in the future. This is necessary in times of skills and labour shortages. Stephan Krauß from the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) said that this would allow gentle pruning to be used specifically for the production of high-quality wines. He heads the team at the Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University (RPTU) that is working on the project.
However, the system currently requires too much computing time before the filmed vine is displayed as a colourful 3D model with the correct cut markings. However, the basic principle of gentle pruning can be learnt quickly and suggestions can only be made for "difficult" cases, such as vines that have grown differently. At the DLR Rheinhessen-Nahe-Hunsrück, the method has already been included in the teaching programme for prospective winegrowers.
Pruning is one of the most complicated, important and time-consuming tasks for winegrowers. It is crucial for the long-term health and yield development of a vineyard. For this reason, it is still mostly carried out manually by winegrowers or experienced specialist staff, which makes it expensive. In the "gentle (or low-sore) pruning" method developed by Marco Simonit and Pierluigi Sirch, only a few pruning wounds are made. The sap flow of the plant is maintained in one channel on the inside and one on the outside of the trunk. This contributes to plant health, but requires winegrowers to rethink their working methods.
The Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Agriculture and Viticulture has funded the project with almost 1.2 million euros from the European Innovation Partnership. The system is also to be further developed for pruning fruit trees.
(al / Source: SWR, ki-rebschnitt.de)