Phone-Based Vine Canopy Tool Cut Fungicide Use by 9.8% in Italian Vineyards

A study published Wednesday in Scientific Reports found that a smartphone-based method for measuring vine canopy size helped cut fungicide use in four commercial vineyards in northern Italy, while also reducing copper residues in both must and finished wine.

The research tested an approach based on leaf area index, or LAI, a measure of the amount of leaf surface in a crop canopy. Instead of setting spray volumes mainly by ground area, as is commonly done, the system used LAI estimates collected with a mobile phone to adjust fungicide volumes and doses to the actual size of the vines and to the limits stated on product labels.

The work was carried out during the 2024 season in four vineyards and compared LAI-guided treatments with spray volumes chosen by growers. According to the paper, the LAI-based approach reduced spray volume by an average of 9.8% and lowered fungicide dose by 9.4%. The researchers said they did not observe an obvious decline in yield or an increase in disease severity under the conditions examined.

The study focused on a practical problem in vineyard management. Traditional spraying methods often lead to overapplication, especially in earlier growth stages when the canopy is still limited. The authors said that in those situations as much as 70% of the fungicide can be dispersed into the environment instead of reaching the target.

Researchers also reported lower copper residues in grape must and wine samples when the LAI-based method was used. Average copper residues fell by 8.6% in must and by 18.1% in wine. In one application at one farm, the team also estimated a 37.3% drop in a stained-area drift index, a measure used to assess spray drift outside the canopy.

The paper said the method is already implemented in a mobile application, which could make it easier to use in everyday farming. The researchers described the trial as an exploratory on-farm demonstration designed to test whether a canopy-based method could work in operational conditions rather than only in controlled experiments.

The study comes as vineyard managers face pressure to control fungal diseases while cutting chemical inputs, limiting drift and reducing environmental losses. Downy mildew remains one of the most important threats in many wine-growing regions, and copper-based products continue to play a role in disease management, particularly where restrictions on other chemistries or production standards narrow the available options.

For wineries and other businesses tied to grape-based beverages, the findings may matter beyond field efficiency. If similar results are confirmed at larger scale and across more seasons, more precise spraying could help reduce unnecessary applications and lower copper residues entering must and wine, while supporting sustainability goals and maintaining disease control.

The authors were affiliated with the University of Milan, including its Cassandra Lab and the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The corresponding authors were Chiara Rusconi and Roberto Confalonieri. The paper listed no competing interests.

The study was partly funded by the Lombardy Region through the SMARTDEFENSE project and also received support from Agrifood TEF and the NextGenerationEU PNRR AGRITECH project.

The article was received on July 8, accepted on Sept. 7 and published on Sept. 9 by Scientific Reports, a journal in the Nature Portfolio.