<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/3103054/French-wine-growers-use-satellites-to-harvest-grapes.html>French wine growers use satellites to harvest <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/3103054/French-wine-growers-use-satellites-to-harvest-grapes.html>grapes
Wine growers in France are turning to the skies for help in deciding when to harvest their grapes, using new satellite technology to garner information about vines that would take "decades" to build up from the ground. By Henry Samuel in Paris Last Updated: 7:16PM BST 29 Sep 2008 Faced with declining sales in recent year, French vintners – particularly smaller producers – hope the home-grown satellite system, called Oenoview, will give them a competitive edge over their New World rivals and immediate neighbours Italy and Spain. The technology, which combines satellite imaging and aerial photographs, can show detailed, near-infrared images of the water level of soil, the amount of leaf canopy surface area, the size of grape clusters, and the presence of certain minerals. It can also track the spread of disease and help pinpoint vine vigour. Wine growers can home in on a small parcel of vines or have an overview of a vast domain at a glance. "We compare what we see from up in the sky to an ideal growth model of the plant based on various biophysical parameters, such as the number of leaves per square metre or the fraction of canopy per surface unit," said Henri Douche, head of development for Oenoview, which was developed by Infoterra a Toulouse-based geological information provider and French viticultural consultants ICV. "Satellite (imagery) allows us to quickly access information that it would normally take 20 or 30 years to acquire in an empirical way," said Stephen Carrier, who runs the chateau de Fieuzal in the Pessac-Léognan vineyards of the Bordeaux region. "This amazing tool will enable us to harvest the grapes at optimal maturity according to grape variety and to select bunches that correspond exactly to the quality of wine we are seeking to obtain," he told Le Figaro. "It's high-precision gardening, if you like." Tests on vineyards by a co-operative in the Aude region, southwestern France, allowed wine growers to divide up plots for harvest according to maturity and other factors – whereas in the past the whole lot were mixed together – with a noticeable rise in quality. With the service still relatively expensive, Oenoview has promised to cap the price at 30 euros per hectare, with rates destined to fall as more producers sign up. The new tool will complement a vineyard satellite imagery programme developed by the European Space Agency and European Commission, currently being tested on Italian grapes. In the 1990s, the Californian Robert Mondavi Winery used satellite imagery to fight an attack of phylloxera aphids, and the results were effective. <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage ~ Share your faith <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.flickr.com/groups/holypostage/>Holy Postage on <http://www.flickr.com/groups/holypostage/>Flickr <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://holypostage.mofuse.mobi/>Holy Postage on your Mobile <*}}}>< Holy Postage ~ Share your faith <http://holypostage.mofuse.mobi/> Lord, may everything we do begin with Your inspiration and continue with Your help, so that all our prayers and works may begin in You and by You be happily ended. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. <*}}}>< <http://www.holypostage.com/>Holy Postage ~ Share your faith <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://www.flickr.com/groups/holypostage/>Holy Postage on <http://www.flickr.com/groups/holypostage/>Flickr <*}}}>< <*}}}>< <http://holypostage.mofuse.mobi/>Holy Postage on your Mobile <*}}}>< Holy Postage ~ Share your faith --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Please note that I do not send or open attachments sent to this list. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Catholics on Fire" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Catholics-on-Fire May the blessing of Jesus and our Blessed Mother be with you -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
