Botrytis is een schimmel die de wijngaard goed- of kwaadaardig gezind kan zijn. In het eerste geval spreken we van botrytis cinerea, de edele rotting, die een zoete oogst oplevert waaruit de mooiste dessertwijnen voortkomen. Wie zulke wijnen wil maken moet nauwlettend in de gaten houden hoe het rottingsproces verloopt. Dat vereist tot heden in de wijngaard geoefende waarneming met het blote oog. Met de kans op over- of onderschatting van de botrytis. Het risico op een niet optimale oogst kan nu aanzienlijk worden verminderd door een nieuw wetenschappelijk tot stand gekomen hulpmiddel: de Bunch Rot Assessment Trainer (BRAT). Maar het kan ook helpen kwaadaardig rot tijdig een halt toe te roepen. Lees hier hoe het systeem werkt:
A new tool is set to help the wine industry more accurately train staff to make visual estimates about the severity of bunch rot among the vines. The Bunch Rot Assessment Trainer or BRAT is a Visual Estimation Tool (VET) developed by research staff in our Disease Risk Management Team, part of the Pathology & Applied Mycology Group.
“Visual estimates are an important function in the vineyard” says BRAT developer Gareth Hill. “Vineyard staff are routinely making estimates about parameters such as bunch exposure, bunch compactness and leaf colour; parameters that would be difficult or costly to do by other methods”.
However, human error is a major factor in these assessments with different people likely to consistently under or overestimate. The BRAT tool trains assessors to estimate percentage bunch rot severity in grapes accurately using digital images. Their estimates are compared with actual percentages and the tool indicates the degree of under or overestimation. Results are permanently stored, allowing trainees to track their improvement after subsequent training sessions.
Published research has shown use of this and other visual estimation training software does improve the accuracy of visual estimates. The use of VETs, such as BRAT, will allow vineyard staff to improve the assessment accuracy of parameters that are crucial for crop productivity and quality.
The new web-based BRAT tool is the result of a joint effort between researcher’s in the Disease Risk Management Team, our Graphic Designers and Hawke’s Bay-based HortPlus, a company specialising in horticultural management software and decision support tools.
Bron: www.wijnwijs.eu
