Object & Objectives

Stafilos is a funded project under Action 2 of Submeasure 16.1-6.2 that aims to exploit cutting-edge technologies for the development and application of intelligent agriculture solutions in viticulture. The main objective of Stafilos is to reduce production costs and simultaneously improve the quality of the produced product. In addition, the proposed solutions signal the minimization of inputs and, consequently, pesticide residues in the produced product. At the same time, they contribute to the reduction of the environmental footprint of the crop. Thus, the harmonization of the applied cultivation technique with the requirements of the international markets is achieved, contributing at the same time to dealing with climate change. The aim of the project is the design and development of an intelligent agriculture system using state-of-the-art technologies to promote the best agricultural practices, with the goal of reducing production costs per acre of cultivation and simultaneously improving the quality of table and wine grapes.

Methodology

The methodology for the implementation of the Stafilos project is based on the complementary involvement of partners directly related to the cultivation of grapes – both table and wine – ensuring the necessary synergies between researchers, businesses and producers. The project will last 30 months and will follow a phased implementation methodology that includes five (5) work units (WWs): EE1: Requirements Analysis & Collection EE1 includes the preparatory actions of the requirements analysis and the work plan, as well as the analysis of the climatic/territorial data for the optimal siting of the stations. EE2: Configuration of Data Collection Infrastructure EE2 aims to install stations and equipment, collect/dispose of heterogeneous data, as well as design and develop intelligent agriculture system, leveraging data analysis to optimize models. EE3: Intelligent Agriculture Services EE3 gathers the development actions of EG services/models (forecasting, irrigation, crop protection and nutrition), in total for 2 growing seasons, development (EE3) and application (EE4). EE4: Implementing, Monitoring & Optimizing Advice EE4 concerns the implementation, monitoring and optimization of advice to the agronomist and/or producer, by training users, issuing advice and recording their implementation (verification). EE5: Evaluation, Dissemination & Exploitation of Results EE5 gathers the results by calculating the benefits, on which the sustainability plan is based, as well as all promotional actions. The implementation framework of the project is defined by three (3) separate steps, as can be seen in the diagram below:

1. Analysis of soil and climate parameters to be prepared for the optimal positioning of the equipment and data collection.
2. Installing the equipment in the selected pilot plots, collecting and analyzing heterogeneous data, and adjusting irrigation, fertilization and plant protection models, while developing the intelligent agriculture advisory system.
3. Implementation of intelligent agriculture services, combined with necessary user training, and further optimization through data feedback.

The individual activities of the project include:

• Design-development of a spatial and geoclimatic data acquisition system.
• Collection and analysis of data from the pilot plots to create algorithms for predicting lubricant, crop protection and irrigation needs.
• Adaptation, debugging and evaluation of irrigation, fertilization and crop protection models.
• Use of enhanced precision weather stations to adjust extreme weather forecasting models.

During the entire duration of the project, evaluation, dissemination and exploitation of the resulting results will be planned. It is worth mentioning that the pilot phase includes experimental plots in two regions – at least one in each cooperative and each corresponding region – where the corresponding work will be recorded by the expert field agronomists.

Expected results

The results expected from the implementation of the project concern the main cultivation operations in the vineyard, such as fertilization, plant protection and irrigation. By creating, implementing and disseminating evaluated smart agriculture models/services, Stafilos aims to achieve the following results:

1. Provision of evaluated intelligent agriculture services to a network of dozens of producers – members of the two (2) cooperatives and potentially to hundreds of Greek grape producers.
2. Reduction of production costs by reducing the use of fertilizers, pesticides and water.
3. Improving product quality due to reduced pesticide residues and increasing its competitiveness.
4. Reduction of nutrient leaching due to over-irrigation and incorrect oil treatment, which have a significant economic impact.
5. Promoting sustainable agriculture and reducing the environmental footprint in the viticulture sector.

Joint venture

The NEUROPUBLIC company is the coordinator of the project as well as responsible for the installation of the special equipment, the analysis of all the heterogeneous data and the adaptation of the intelligent agriculture models (fertilization / crop protection). It also coordinates the availability for use of cultivation work recording systems and training for the producer and the agronomist of the cooperatives. The EFP contributes to the creation, development, evaluation and debugging of an irrigation model adapted to the given conditions, through specialized measurements of hydrodynamic and ecophysiological parameters and study of the kinetics of nutrients in the soil and water in the continuous soil-plant-atmosphere system. EASK and ASEPA Agricultural Cooperatives contribute through the creation and support of the necessary pilot plots to the development and implementation of innovative services, as well as to the dissemination of results by organizing events (training/results dissemination day), to the use of the tools that will be made available (recording/executing actions in the pilot) and purchasing equipment and consumables. Finally, GAIA EPICHEIREIN is the agency responsible for promotion and diffusion actions, having the role of innovation mediator and facilitating communication between partners. The total public expenditure for the Stafilos project amounts to €294,987.65 and will lead to the support of the participating agencies as follows: