Wine Grape Disease poses a major threat to vineyards, causing billions of dollars in annual crop damage. Early detection of this stealthy assailant can mean the difference between a thriving harvest and devastating losses. In a recent development, scientists have harnessed NASA’s cutting-edge technology to identify the early signs of Wine Grape Disease, offering newfound hope to growers.
Battling the Wine Grape Disease Threat
Wine Grape Disease, particularly the grapevine leafroll-associated virus complex 3 (GLRaV-3), has long plagued vineyards, leading to reduced yields and souring fruit, amounting to around $3 billion in damages annually for the U.S. wine and grape industry. Traditionally, identifying these infections required labor-intensive vine-by-vine scouting and costly molecular testing, making it a formidable challenge for growers.
As the agricultural industry faces the challenges of climate change, this innovation in remote sensing and disease detection has the potential for global applications. NASA’s Earth System Observatory and missions like the Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) are set to provide vital data for widespread agricultural decision-making, offering scalable solutions that empower growers worldwide.
NASA’s Aerial Solution
In order to transform this landscape, scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Cornell University embarked on a mission to detect Wine Grape Disease from the skies. They harnessed NASA’s Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG), initially designed for environmental monitoring, to observe vineyards in Lodi, California, a key grape-producing region.
Using machine learning and AVIRIS-NG’s optical sensor, which captures sunlight’s interaction with chemical bonds, the team developed computer models to identify infected vines. These models achieved an impressive 87% accuracy, even before visible symptoms emerged. This groundbreaking technique offers grape growers a crucial year’s warning to intervene and safeguard their crops.
Also read: NASA’s Veggie Success: Zinnia Flower Blooms in Orbit on the International Space Station
