On 15^th December 2020, VISCA Final Conference was held virtually to present the results of the project and the way forward. The conference attracted around 60 participants with a variety of profiles: viticulturists, wine producers, scientists, agricultural communities, software providers, entrepreneurs, media, among others who connected to the e-conference from 10 countries: Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and the UK.

The e-conference started with a welcoming statement from the project coordinator (METEOSIM) by Josep Sole Maria and the CEO of METEOSIM Oriol de Tera who opened the floor to the two guest speakers from the European Commission: Sasa Zavadlav (VISCA project Officer) and Marjan Van Meerloo, Directorate General for Research & Innovation. They both presented 'R&I contribution to the Green Deal objectives: Climate Action'.

After that, a session on VISCA presentation and results was organized. A short presentation of VISCA was made by the project Coordinator Josep Maria Solé. Then, Claudio Rossi from LINKS  Foundation made a short live demo of the VISCA Decision Support System (DSS) & its added value. The DSS is a Progressive Web Application which integrates climate and agricultural models with farmers’ management specifications to design short practices, medium- and long-term adaptation strategies to climate change. The live demo showed the integrated dashboard of the DSS with its 3 main widgets (phenology, sugar accumulation, irrigation and weather forecasts) as well as the features in relation to the map-based visualization. Later, the key results of the validation of the DSS and the climate services as well as the outcomes from the agronomic techniques: crop forcing and shoot trimming were illustrated by Omar Garcia from IRTA. VISCA solutions were demonstrated in 3 sites in Italy, Portugal and Spain . An interactive round table with end-users representing Codorniu (Xavier Bordes), Symington (Fernando Alves) and Mastroberardino (Antonio Dente) was part of this session where they shared their feedback from the implementation of VISCA solutions.

The weather conditions have an important role in the development of many social and economic activities. Forecasting of weather conditions can be useful to plan activities especially during extreme events as such information can help to react in time and, consequently, support businesses which are weather-sensitive. This is the case of the wine sector; whose production and crop quality highly depend on the weather conditions.

In this context, weather forecasting becomes of a paramount importance and provides added-value to the end-users to manage their resources and in-field activities and to anticipate potential extreme events.

On 29^th October 2020, VISCA consortium organized an e-Workshop to present the latest release of VISCA Decision Support System (DSS) & its added value through a live demo. The DSS is a Progressive Web Application which integrates climate and agricultural models with farmers’ management specifications in order to design short practices, medium- and long-term adaptation strategies to climate change. The live demo showed the integrated dashboard of the DSS with its 3 main widgets (phenology, irrigation and weather forecasts) as well as the features in relation to the map-based visualization.

Furthermore, the preliminary results and key findings were presented from the demonstration sites in Italy, Portugal and Spain in terms of the validation of the DSS as well as the results from the agronomic techniques: crop forcing and shoot trimming. In addition to that, the commercial opportunities and exploitation options were briefly discussed.

A new scientific article has been published entitled "The pitfalls of water potential for irrigation scheduling".

Abstract: The water potential (Ψp), has been widely used as an indicator of plant water status for irrigation management purposes. The simple infrastructure needed for its measurement and its direct relation to basic plant physiological processes, have contributed to the popularity of the methodology. When used for irrigation scheduling, it is commonly assumed that an unavoidable relationship exists between plant transpiration (T), soil water content and Ψp. Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that variations in Ψp are not solely related to changes in soil water content, but are also an expression of the interaction between the plant and its environment. We used a soilplant-atmosphere-continuum (SPAC) model to highlight the importance of considering such interactions through a series of in silico experiments. Our analysis shows that evaporative demand, the hydraulic architecture of the plant, and the texture and depth of the soil play key roles in the final Ψp observed. To establish irrigation programs based on Ψp, without considering the environmental and plant factors that influence it, can create the paradox of having a plant that suffers greater water stress even when high irrigation volumes are applied. The conclusions from our in silico analysis provide some warnings that should be considered when using Ψp to schedule irrigation.

Download the full article from here

VISCA DSS is integrating climate and agricultural models with farmers’ management specifications in order to design short practices, medium- and long-term adaptation strategies to climate change.

The irrigation widget included in VISCA DSS provides recommendations for weekly irrigation needs based on plant and end-user requirements. This component of the tool has supported the irrigation management across the demonstration sites in Italy, Portugal and Spain. The irrigation model takes into account the plant physiological characteristics, the end-users’ necessities, and the irrigation and weather data during the growing season, to provide accurate irrigation volume forecasts for the next week. The model uses the midterm (weekly) weather predictions which is also included in VISCA DSS.

Figure1. Example of irrigation applied by the end user (purple line and bars) and predicted by the DSS (green line and bars) on an irrigation block at CODORNIU (Spain)

The irrigation widget in VISCA DSS allows the end-users to have an easy access to the irrigation data. The irrigation widget is divided into three panels (Figure 1). The left hand panel has an interactive map which shows the irrigation block selected in the parcel. The central panel presents the accumulated irrigation predicted (green line) and applied by the end user (purple line) and the right hand panel presents the weekly irrigation applied (purple bar) and forecasted by the VISCA irrigation model (green line).

What would happened if this forecast is not available (Business as Usual scenario)?

VISCA DSS is integrating climate and agricultural models with farmers’ management specifications in order to design short practices, medium- and long-term adaptation strategies to climate change.

In the Douro Valley, where our Portuguese demonstration site is located, the combination of abundant rainfall in March and April of 2020 and a very warm winter influenced the precocity of this year’s growth cycle, with budbreak recorded three weeks earlier than average. These conditions caused recurrent and earlier than expected outbreaks of downy mildew. However, with the predictions supplied by VISCA, the Symington viticulture team was able to plan a very effective treatment schedule, which successfully contained the disease.

Flowering also advanced earlier, arriving two weeks ahead of the regional average, and in order to safeguard good fruit set and ensure a healthy crop, the team at Symington continues to rely on timely VISCA predictions to plan ahead and keep disease pressures at bay.

DSS showing that budbreak has been achieved (May 2020)

Pictures of Ataíde vineyard of first week of May 2020 showing the phenological stage of bloom

During April, VISCA DSS predicted higher rainfall than normal in Douro. This increase of precipitation would risk the spread of grape diseases causing some loss of crops. To avoid this loss, the Viticulturists of Symington have decided to make 4 treatments sprays instead of 3 with an earlier positioning than usual in the calendar, to block the downy mildew cycle.

VISCA project has been developing a Decision Support System (DSS) that integrates climate and agricultural models with farmers’ management specifications in order to design short practices, medium- and long-term adaptation strategies to climate change. After more than three years since the launch of our project, we are publishing the ‘VISCA Booklet on Preliminary Results’. The booklet gives an overview of the project, a description of the DSS and the integrated climate services, the added value of these services with testimonies from the end-users as well as the preliminary results driven from the demonstration sites in Italy, Portugal and Spain. The booklet also presents an overview of the replicability and the way forward (exploitation). You may download VISCA Booklet here.

The 3^rd VISCA Stakeholders workshop will take place on 11th December 2019 in Barcelona. The event will present VISCA DSS where participants will get a free access to the tool. The event will host interesting exchanges and roundtables with the VISCA partners, Advisory Board members and external guests about the status-quo of climate services in the agriculture sector and the replicability opportunities in other vineyards as well as in olives and cereals. Check the agenda [link] and REGISTER to join us [link] either in Barcelona or online latest by December 5^th at noon!

We look forward to welcoming you in our workshop, don’t hesitate to transfer this call for registration or send us any inquiries you may have to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.