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Winegrowers now have the ability to read water and nutrient levels, which can be used to detect when vines are in need of attention.
It takes 109 litres of water to produce one 125 millilitre glass of wine, according to statistics from Water Footprint Network – a nonprofit collaboration that aims to tackle the global water crisis – however, winegrowers are becoming increasingly nervous about climate change limiting rainfall and how it will affect their livelihoods.
Croptide, a New Zealand-based agritech startup, has developed sensors that can increase water efficiency by 30-50%. They also make nutrient information available to growers via their smartphone using internet-enabled sensors. These sensors can transmit data in seconds.
The technology highlights the exact amount of water each vine needs to thrive. It is designed to aid growers and help them take steps to increase water efficiency. Croptide says that this technology will become more important as climate change is causing water scarcity all over the world.
Croptide co-founder Hamish Penny Detailed explanation: “Many regions around the world are facing dire water scarcity and growers are expressing the need for a quick and reliable method of gathering the critical data needed around water use and plant health.”
The startup has recently raised USD$1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Icehouse Ventures and this will be used to progress trials of Croptide’s technology with winemakers including: Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Cloudy Bay New Zealand, T&G Global and Indevin.
