Artificial intelligence has long since reached agriculture and with it viticulture. The use of new technologies can enable vineyards to be cultivated with higher yields and in a way that conserves resources. A pioneering project for the detection and treatment of downy mildew is now using AI-based forecasts to optimize and reduce the application of plant protection products in viticulture – also in Schaffhausen.

Viticulture faces numerous challenges. Unfavorable weather conditions, pests, diseases and weeds reduce yields and lead to planning uncertainties. At the same time, there are calls for resource-conserving cultivation and a reduction in the use of plant protection products. Viticulture is challenged to develop solutions to the challenges ahead. Advanced technologies can help make data-driven and fact-based decisions in favor of healthy vines and sustainable viticulture.

An AI-based forecasting model aims to remedy the situation and help detect and treat the fungal disease downy mildew. A new collaborative research project with Schaffhausen participation is being launched for this purpose. For three years, data will be continuously collected, models developed and algorithms optimized under the name «AI-based downy mildew forecasting». The project is being carried out in a collaboration between the Wädenswil Viticulture Center and the IT company Databaum, and with the help of committed winegrowers. Also represented in the project team is the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope, which tests and develops smart technologies for agriculture in Schaffhausen.

The project is another application example of future-oriented technologies being implemented in the canton of Schaffhausen in the field of «smart farming».