"Flexible, user-friendly and effective"
The CRCV's VineLOGIC Virtual Vineyard computer simulation package will enhance the current curriculum offered to Australian students studying viticulture at universities, TAFEs and secondary schools.
According to the University of Adelaide's Lecturer in Viticulture, Bob Barrett, VineLOGIC Virtual Vineyard is an extremely useful tool for expanding the skills of students and encouraging them to think about managing vineyards in a holistic manner.
"Viticultural students tend to be taught one thing at a time about vineyard management because this is the logical way of teaching all the various subjects. The VineLOGIC Virtual Vineyard software will help students conceptualise how these different areas of management interact in a real situation," he said.
"While students have a lot of exposure to actual vineyards during their degree, this allows them to experiment with all kinds of management scenarios and compare the best practice for various regions in Australia which react differently due to things like climate, soil and irrigation water salinity."
Along with teaching staff from Charles Sturt University and LaTrobe University, Bob was involved in developing the package and then testing the software prior to its recent release. He said a primary aim had been to ensure the package was user-friendly and flexible.
"While it is mostly university students studying viticulture using this package at the moment, I think it can also be used by high school students and TAFE students. At a university level we are also planning to use the package with Wine Marketing students and Oenology students who both need an understanding of viticultural management," he said.
Bob said the package allows students to extend their knowledge of these topics by running a range of what-if scenarios. It takes students through a range of choices including: weather, soil type, pruning system, trellis system, variety, rootstock, irrigation water salinity, irrigation schedule, water table depth and soil salinity.
Once these steps have been chosen, the simulation is run and a range of outputs are shown for the particular scenario. These outputs include time of dormancy, time of bud burst, time of veraison, time of ripening, potential yield, periods of stress and the severity of the stress and a summary of the weather patterns.
"One of the best parts of the package is that the both the outputs and the scenario are both shown, allowing students to directly see how particular conditions have led to the outcome. The results are also available as a textual description or as a graph, providing students with a lot of information," he said.
"The manual that comes with VineLOGIC Virtual Vineyard is also a useful teaching resource, not only because it explains how to use the software and how the simulation works. It also contains example scenarios for students and asks them questions like 'What effect might irrigation have on berry weight and yield in this vineyard?'
"It allows students to conceptualise the outcomes of management decisions which is an incredibly important part of learning."
Testimonial supplied: Bob Barrett, Lecturer, Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, The University of Adelaide
Sales and marketing enquiries can be referred to Bridget Ransome, CRCV Marketing and Commercial Consultant on (08) 8303 9663 or 0403 008 331.
