Catalogue of Infrastructures and Facilities

Wielkopolska Agricultural Advisory Center in Poznań (WODR)

Poland

72 ha of fields with various soil grades: III (25 ha), IV (37 ha), V (8 ha), and VI (2 ha). The fields can be used as a place for preparation for the test environment and in case of execution of physical testing, including establishing a particular plantation; tests on permanent green areas/ground paved with paving stones/sloped area/flat area; sowing with GPS; and collection of additional data from the drone—RGB, NDVI, thermo, crop photos, weather, etc.

Facility

WODR Bridge Sprinkler

Wielkopolska Agricultural Advisory Center in Poznań (WODR)

Poland

Bridge sprinkler with a working width of 250 m equipped with a VRI system, e.g., a system of variable irrigation doses. Independent control of each of the 63 sprinklers. The sprinkler can irrigate an area of up to 20 hectares at once. The water dose is controlled manually, but it is possible to retrofit it with an automatic system based on, e.g., satellite data or a weather station system. Systems used: GPS+RTK, VRI. Specification: width 250 m; can irrigate an area of up to 20 hectares at once; possibility of irrigating only selected sectors, e.g., out of all 63 sprinklers, only a part can work at the same time, e.g., half of them, to compare the effect with and without irrigation. It is used for: - Cooperation with the soil moisture monitoring service through the possibility of increasing soil moisture - Machine tests in any soil moisture conditions - Machine tests in controlled rain conditions - Tests of the correctness of shape files with irrigation application maps in field conditions, i.e., tests of correctness and compatibility with a sprinkler equipped with the VRA system

Infrastructure

WODR Physical Infrastructure

Poland

WODR is a public organisation running directly under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Its role is to improve the level of agricultural incomes and improve the market competitiveness of farms, to support the sustainable development in rural areas, as well as to raise the level of professional skills of farmers and other inhabitants in rural areas. WODR is also responsible for promoting and disseminating the innovative services in agriculture. WODR has a good experience in implementing projects related to the development of agriculture and digitalisation. It participates in many European projects (financed by RDP, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and Digital Europe). WODR is also a leader of digitalisation of agriculture advisory in Poland. It’s a leader of a flagship ICT project called eDWIN, an established Polish advisory digital platform. WODR has its own test facility located in Sielinko (70 km from Poznań), where on the surface of over 70 ha of experimental fields, apiaries (beehives), and an animal and agricultural technology demonstration centre are situated. In particular, Sielinko is equipped with a control station for field and orchard sprayers, cold pressing of oil training and services, and collection of energy plants. There is also an area of approximately 3 ha where the latest varieties of crop plants, including those from the list of recommended varieties, are cultivated. Facilities used in the project: - WODR land facility in Sielinko - WODR bridge sprinkler

Facility

Laboratory

The 80 m² laboratory contains a spectrophotometer and a fluorometer, as well as all the equipment needed for sampling and measuring spray quality and drift parameters.

Facility

Test platform

This concrete test platform (30 m * 15 m) located on the INRAE Montpellier premises enables application techniques to be tested under controlled conditions: it features rows of artificial vines and a device for controlling wind conditions on the platform (wall of fans).

Facility

Mas Piquet

Mas Piquet is the experimental estate of the Montpellier high school (15 hectares). Located to the north of Montpellier, it is easily accessible and provides representative conditions of Southern Vineyards. The current grape varieties, covering an area of 15 hectares, are divided between Chardonnay, Marselan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Carignan, as well as two new disease-resistant grape varieties, Voltis and Floréal. The Maspiquet estate is used as a training support for the Agropolis Campus (high schools, CFA, CFPPA,...). Domaine Maspiquet's ambition is to develop the professional skills of learners and to enable them to actively contribute to the food and agroecological transitions. The estate has a duty to present modern viticulture and the latest innovations to the learners. To this end, it is in partnership with several research centres (INRAE, IFV, etc.). The experiments are mainly in connection with agroecology (reduction of inputs, preservation of the natural environment, etc.).

Infrastructure

UMT EcoTech

UMT EcoTech aims to develop methods for reducing the use of plant protection products and mitigating their impact, including assessing risks of bystanders exposure to aerial drift and reducing these risks through the implementation of optimised application techniques and/or adapted field management (hedges, drift protection nets). Increasing the use of biocontrol solutions at the field level by adapting application processes to their specific features and using precision technologies is also a major focus of the UMT EcoTech. Sprayed products are studied through the study of the impact of different doses and product distributions within the canopy in relation to the different modes of action of biocontrol specialities. These activities are conducted in close collaboration with the industrial sector (agro-equipment manufacturers, speciality product manufacturers). UMT EcoTech focuses on (i) the design of new crop protection methods through the development and integration of new technological systems, (ii) the assessment, through experimentation and simulation, of mature technologies or those under development, and the characterisation of their contribution to the agroecological transition, and (iii) the development of new methods for biological evaluation of crop protection processes in the field, using precision application techniques.

Facility

Vinification Cellar

Our experimental cellar allows vinification at different scales, depending on the needs of the experiment: from 1 L to a few hectolitres. Our most common volume is 50 L. It is equipped with rooms at different temperatures and even a device of connected tanks to monitor and record the fermentation parameters under different conditions. As part of the TEF project, we can receive different connected sensors to collect data. The interest, with AI, is to develop predictive quality models for winemaking.

Facility

Laboratory_IFV

Our laboratory allows us to carry out analyses on grapes, must, wine, but also on the soil, and even pathogens; It makes it possible to make the link between practices in the vineyard and qualitative indicators.

Facility

Workshop

The workshop can be used for storage, working on a prototype, or loading the robot’s batteries. It can be helpful to avoid multiple transportations of a robot, for example, when the field experimentations must last more than a day. It is equipped with electric plugs and has convenient tools for working on metal or wood.

Facility

Experimental Vineyard_IFV

Our experimental 15-hectare vineyard is planted with the main grape varieties of the Southwest. It also includes a plot of grape varieties with more than 300 varieties listed. Located in the direct vicinity of the farm buildings, the plots are representative of many different conditions in terms of soil (silt, sand, clay, pebbles) and at the topography level (flat, slope, side slope). Two main pruning methods are represented: the Guyot and the cordon. It is a great playground for robot manufacturers to test their products in representative conditions, whether it is for navigation, detection with AI for security, or assessment of their impact. It is also a great source of data to be collected at different scales with different sensors.

Infrastructure

Vinnopole Sud Ouest