Jidvei, excellency in viticulture

Jidvei, the great Romanian wine producer, in collaboration with Orange and Teraseya, have found the solution for smart, sustainable agriculture, and have started implementing a complex program for integrating artificial intelligence in agriculture 4.0

Jidvei is the only wine producer that realizes its entire portfolio of products from the harvest obtained from the 2,500 hectares of its own plantations, the most important aspect for a rigorous quality control.

Since 1958, the wines produced by Jidvei have been awarded gold medals at international competitions, although the Tarnavelor area has been known for viticulture since the time of Herodotus. From here began the growth of the company and the international recognition, year after year, at the big wine competitions.

Superbrands, which celebrates successful brands and rewards its reputation in over 88 countries, awarded this title to Jidvei in 2017, reconfirming the brand’s position on the Romanian and international market.

The British edition of Time magazine, one of the most prestigious publications in the world, published in 2019 a special article dedicated to the stories of Jidvei, the charm of Transylvania and the tradition of Romanian wine throughout history.

Two of Jidvei’s wines, Owner’s Choice Ana Sauvignon Blanc 2018 and Jidvei Feteasca Regala 2009 were the only wines in Romania awarded the Grand Gold Medal at the 2019 Brussels World Competitions.

With these two extremely important distinctions, Jidvei becomes the first Romanian wine producer to obtain this outstanding performance in one of the most prestigious and rigorous international wine competitions.

Teraseya solution for smart agriculture

As a result of a growing business and the special attention for quality and details, Jidvei started the implementation of a high precision sustainable agriculture system, a project whose budget is approximately 600,000 euro. The project, carried out together with Orange and Teraseya, includes a series of technologies and equipment such as the LoRa WAN network, Live Objects solution and different types of high quality sensors.

Any successful business should take into account the cost-benefit analysis of each investment. Jidvei decided that for medium and long term investing in technological solutions that have incorporated artificial intelligence, is the best decision for sustainable development of the company, optimizing management and minimizing costs. .

On digital, Jidvei has placed 11 weather stations on the 2,500 hectares, which capture, with the help of high-precision sensors, information on temperature, soil humidity and precipitation. These informations are stored on the Orange cloud. From there all the information gathered from the plantation reaches the Teraseya platform, which analyzes and stores all the data, where patterns are created as a great help system for decision support in the management of vine crop protection.

Teraseya’s solution for smart agriculture goes beyond that.

The Teraseya platform designs variable application maps for areas or plots with risks of disease or frost, determines the type of soil and the most suitable grape variety for it. It also shows exactly where fertilizer should be used and where irrigation is needed, for maximum crop yield.

The implementation of the project started from a much more precise tracking, up to 2 cm, using GPS-based geolocations that analyze the vegetative productive parameters, pathogens and pests but also the nutritional status.

Implementation of Teraseya solution on Jidvei plantations

“The latest technology we are considering in the short and medium term is a system that will help us manage easier and more efficiently all the data collected and devices in the field – from sensors to equipment and personnel. This is where the discussions with Orange started to make an integrated system of precision agriculture.

A year ago we did a proof of concept with them, because it is a system based on precision tracking, a LoRaWAN type radio wave system, and considering the type of relief from Jidvei. Here are only hills, so it is complicated with radio waves, so a more complex proof of concept was needed. Now the project is being implemented.

In the short term would be the real-time tracking of equipment, people and annexes with RTK technology – Real Time Kinetics, which means an accuracy of up to 2 cm, control of activities and processes, real time overview, efficiency of equipment operation and highlighting the costs on fuel, water, etc.

In the long run we have a disease management plan, spectral maps, irrigation and treatment management. We will be able to make variable treatments and fertilizations in the future depending on these maps, reactive operations and efficient planning.

The benefits are multiple, from minimizing costs and streamlining processes to better management of all components, “said Tiberiu Gaman, Technology Development Manager, Jidvei, during the ZF Tech Day show.

Climate change is changing the way agriculture evolves globally, not only in Romania, and for precise evolution we need precise technology, and Teraseya keeps pace with the technologies of the future and artificial intelligence, by creating devices accessible to every farmer.

In the coming decades, high-precision agriculture will be more sustainable than ever due to the creation of IoT sensors, which will improve agricultural performance and significantly reduce costs in agriculture fields.

The UN estimates that the world’s population will reach 9.7 billion by 2050. This population growth will also increase world agricultural production by 69% between 2010 and 2050.

To meet this demand, farmers and agricultural companies are turning to the Internet of Things for greater analysis and production capacity and results of surgical precision.

Technological innovation in agriculture is nothing new. Portable tools were the standard hundreds of years ago, and then the Industrial Revolution significantly changed the way each industry was run.

In the 19th century, grain harvesting equipment, chemical fertilizers and the first motorized tractor were invented.

At the end of the twentieth century farmers were already using satellite accuracy to plan their agricultural operations.

IoT is set to take the future of agriculture to the next level. Smart farming is already becoming more common among farmers, and high-tech farming is fast becoming the standard thanks to agricultural drones and sensors.

Below, we present IoT applications in agriculture and how the “Internet of Agricultural Objects” will help farmers meet the world’s food demands in the coming years.

High precision agriculture

Farmers have been using some advanced farming techniques and technologies for several years to improve the efficiency of day-to-day farming operations.

The sensors located on the agricultural plantations allow farmers to obtain detailed maps of both the topography and resources in the area, as well as variables such as acidity, temperature and soil conditions. They can also access detailed weather forecasts to forecast weather conditions in the coming days and even weeks.

Farmers can use their smartphones to remotely monitor equipment, crops and even animal farms. They can use this technology to make predictions, statistical data, both for field crops, horticulture and vineyards, and for the environmental conditions of animal farms.

In this technology revolution for high-precision sustainable agriculture, drones have become an invaluable tool for farmers to monitor their land and generate accurate crop data.

John Deere, one of the biggest names in the agricultural equipment industry, began connecting his tractors to the internet and sending farmers accurate data on the state of the crops.

Similar to smart cars, the company is a pioneer in self-driving tractors, which would free up farmers to perform other tasks and further increase efficiency.

All of these techniques use IoT sensors to build high-precision, intelligent agriculture that uses satellite imagery and data provided by IoT sensors to observe and record data to improve agricultural production while reducing costs and saving resources. .

The future of agriculture: IoT, sensors and agricultural drones

The evolution of blockchain technology is making its way to IoT and could become an important part of the agricultural sector due to its ability to provide companies with accurate crop data.

Farmers can use sensors to collect crop data, which are written on the blockchain and include identification factors, as well as nutrient content and pH levels.

Business Insider Intelligence estimates that 12 million agricultural sensors will be installed globally by 2023. In addition, technology giant IBM estimates that the average farm can generate half a million data points a day – helping farmers improve yields and grow profits.

Given all the potential benefits of these IoT applications in agriculture, it is understandable that farmers are increasingly turning to agricultural drones and satellites for the future of sustainable agriculture.

Drones allow farmers to monitor how advanced their crops are during their growing season.

In addition, farmers can accurately spray diseased crops with drones exactly where they are needed and exactly when they are needed.

DroneFly estimates that drones can spray fertilizer 40 to 60 times faster and feel more effective than manual or ground equipment spraying.

It is obvious that the future in agriculture is strongly connected to IoT and things will evolve in a sustainable and precise direction, for the conservation and protection of the environment.

The impact of climate change on sustainable agriculture makes farmers aware of the importance of monitoring the weather and soil nutrition in increasing crop yields. It is thus desired to avoid total losses, more and more frequent in recent years for outdoor agriculture.

Unlike other industries, the weather is the most important element that affects the yield of agricultural crops. It can influence the growth of crops, the total yield, the appearance of pests, the need for water and fertilizers and all agricultural activities carried out during the growing season.

In other words, outdoor agriculture depends to a large extent on weather and is subject to its unpredictable conditions, beyond human control, necessary or greater involved in sustainable agriculture.

How climate change influences agricultural production

A farmer cannot fight the weather and cannot control it. However, he must accept the given situation and use intelligent, advanced technology, as well as the Teraseya Base device. Thus, it can anticipate possible problems, minimize losses and increase the yield of agricultural crops.

Therefore, accurate weather information is vital for agricultural activities and their informed planning, thus avoiding unforeseen events.

Having real-time weather information, such as air temperature, rainfall and humidity, is the best way to protect crops and ensure a high and healthy yield.

Extreme weather, such as drought, floods, hail or frost can cause instantaneous plant stress, leading to failed production, catastrophic losses and a considerable increase in costs.

The only way to manage and ensure the profitable production of crops is the exact weather forecast and the knowledge of the soil conditions, the most important aspects for a sustainable, efficient agriculture.

Weather monitoring – the success in sustainable agriculture

Crop growth is closely linked to the weather. Some crops require certain high or low temperatures to begin germination and further development.

On the other hand, temperatures in combination with humidity are often used to predict various occurrences of pests and diseases. Based on this information, farmers can plan periods of sowing, protection, harvesting and other field activities to avoid adverse weather effects, rising costs and losses.

Weather monitoring devices, increasingly advanced in recent years, offer a set of measurement options to provide useful information about soil and crop conditions, some of which are:

• Air and soil temperature
• Relative humidity
• Soil moisture
• Precipitation
• Wind speed / direction
• Evapotranspiration

All measured parameters can be used for specific field operations, such as a planned irrigation program, pest alert models, and determining the right time for fertilization and crop protection.

Agriculture based on accurate meteorological data is crucial for the successful management of the farm and a Teraseya Base device can ensure quantifiable successes in field crops, horticulture and vineyards. More importantly, it ensures sustainable agriculture, thus protecting the environment.

Farmers today use systems to accurately measure environmental conditions called weather stations. Different types are also available depending on a number of measured parameters, working accuracy and working range.

Although it is affected by the many consequences of climate change, agriculture must be more productive and sustainable than ever, this being possible only in collaboration with artificial intelligence. This is why the Teraseya Base device was created. In this way, accurate weather monitoring is essential for healthy plant growth, but especially to increase productivity and profitability.

The importance of soil nutrition in sustainable agriculture

Climate change is affecting the way we grow food, but you may not know that the way food is grown has a significant effect on the environment.

This interaction is at the heart of the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) research called “Soil and Air,” a concerted effort to feed Earth’s 7.5 billion people while protecting the planet’s human footprint. Farmers produce food at the intersection of soil and air, which significantly affects soil and air quality.

For example, warmer air creates a warmer soil, leading to different compositions of bacteria and other microbes in the ecosystem and increased moisture loss through evaporation. Soils can act as a “sink” by storing excess carbon in the atmosphere and, in turn, improving the soil’s ability to retain moisture and nutrients.

The same goes for air. When a farmer adds nutrients to field crops, some of these nutrients are oxidized and lost to the air, increasing the level of greenhouse gases. More greenhouse gases mean a warmer overall climate, more variable weather and an increased likelihood of extreme weather.

In the Agricultural Research Service, scientists are working to improve the relationship between agriculture and natural resources and optimize the application of nitrogen fertilizers to several types of crops. When applied to the soil, nitrogen is a crucial additive that promotes plant growth.

When the same nitrogen escapes from the soil, it becomes nitrogen oxide, a greenhouse gas. Smart devices for sustainable agriculture, such as Teraseya Base, monitor soil conditions and nutrition with unparalleled accuracy.

Although naturally present in the atmosphere, nitrogen oxide absorbs heat from the sun. Too much nitrogen oxide raises the global temperature. Although technology and human development have brought the planet into this situation, technology also makes available to farmers, at more than affordable prices, devices with integrated artificial intelligence, which determines with the utmost precision the optimal time for nitrogen application and the right amount, thus avoiding increase of greenhouse gases. Scientists have developed smart devices that allow farmers to determine how much and when to add nitrogen to the soil, devices like Teraseya Base.

Irrigation and monitoring devices

Irrigation is necessary for any field crop, in horticulture and vineyards and the precise establishment of the amount of water needed for each field crop, for each type of soil, leads to an incredible water saving, but especially to increase profitability and of yields.

From now on, more and more emphasis will be placed on sustainable agriculture and the combination of scientific studies with the precision of artificial intelligence will be inevitable.

Due to climate change, sustainable and efficient agriculture without the help of technology and artificial intelligence will be a total failure, in this area where success depends on temperature, precipitation and accurate data.

There are countless devices on the market, taken together or separately, depending on the needs, which are a real help for profitability in agriculture.