I heard it on the grapevine

Ruggero Mazzilli, project leader at Panzano, says, "We can use remote monitoring thanks to wireless sensors in the vineyard to effectively reduce the way we use pesticides."

Panzano winemaker Luca Orsini and his family make Chianti Classico in their Le Cinciole organic vineyard. Taking care of the environment in the winemaking process is vital for the Orsinis, who now utilise a mobile technology solution. "For me, it is important how I produce the wine," Luca says. "It's an important aspect of my life. This year, we decided to introduce this new technology, VineSense, in our vineyard to control many factors. This system is very important to us because it allows us to control the vines in real time."

Vine data online

VineSense is a wireless monitoring system with sensors in the vines that send information through a GPRS system. Vine growers can access the data online. The mobile technology solution can help them to save water and reduce the use of pesticides. Davide Di Palma, product manager at Netsens, the company that developed VineSense, says, "The system gives farmers a tool to help them decide when, and how often, to intervene with chemicals or pesticides. It also allows farmers to control water, soil moisture and irrigation. This is done with great accuracy because you take measurements exactly where you need to."

"Agriculture is just one of the sectors in which mobile broadband and machine-to-machine communication can increase productivity, while delivering environmental benefits," says Magnus Mchunguzi, VP sales operations and Ericsson South Africa MD.