Plenary Speaker: Javier Tardaguila

Emerging non-invasive technologies are being developed and applied in viticulture to improve grape production and to produce quality wines in a manner that is both environmentally and economically sustainable. In this work, we describe several of these non-invasive technologies as computer vision, chlorophyll fluorescence, thermography, spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging for proximal or remote monitoring of the vineyards. The main objective of these new technologies is to obtain and supply data and information to grape growers and wine producers as a basis for improving decision-making process. The smart applications of these technologies in viticulture are discussed in relation nutrient and water status, pests and diseases, yield components and fruit composition.

Dr. Javier Tardaguila is Full Professor of Precision Viticulture at the University of La Rioja (Spain). Prof. Tardaguila works in precision viticulture, robotics and emerging technologies in agriculture. He was the Coordinator of VineRobot European project. Currently, he is working in NoPest H2020 project that develops non-destructive techniques of detecting plant diseases. He was involved in several European and national research projects in precision viticulture. He also is the author of over 90 publications in indexed journals (h index =30) and 3294 citations. He has been keynote speaker in several international conferences. Prof. Tardaguila has been actively involved in the technological transfer to the wine industry in collaboration to several national and international companies. He is Associate Editor of “Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research”. Prof. Tardaguila has been ViceChancellor of Research and Knowledge Transfer at the University of La Rioja