0000000000130401
AUTHOR
Catania P.
Implementation of an innovative technique to improve Sauvignon Blanc wine quality
The purpose of the study was to compare two different pressing systems of Sauvignon Blanc grapes using an innovative wine press manufactured by Puleo Srl Company (Marsala, Italy). Grape pressing is a very important step in the winemaking process as it may promote the presence and/or absence of enzyme processes on the must, leading to the creation of different products in terms of chemical composition from the same grapes. Chemical composition of must firstly and wine after, obtained from the two pressing mode, was analysed in first instance with PCA method.
Assessment of vineyard vigour and yield spatio-temporal variability based on UAV high resolution multispectral images
Accurate, timely assessment of the vineyard on a field scale is essential for successful grape yield and quality. Remote sensing can be an effective and useful monitoring tool, as data from sensors on board Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) can measure vegetative and reproductive growth and thus directly or indirectly detect variability. Through the images obtained from UAV, the Vegetation Indices (VIs) can be calculated and compared with various agronomic characteristics of the vineyard. The objective of this study was to evaluate the multispectral response of the vineyard in three specific phenological phases and to analyse the spatial distribution of vegetative vigour. A multirotor UAV equi…
Implementation of a wireless instrumented sphere for fruit processing
The aim of this study was to implement a wireless instrumented sphere to study the critical points in a citrus packing line by real-time measuring the impacts experienced by fruits. The noncommercial device was based on a MEMS (microelectro-mechanical system) sensor node with a sensing range from ±1 g to ±400 g (g = 9.8 m s-2), a ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) memory, a radio frequency (RF) transmitter, a microcontroller, and a 75 mAh lithium battery. The sensor node was placed inside an appropriate case with a total weight of 100 g to represent a 'Tardivo di Ciaculli' mandarin. An FR receiver allowed real-time transmission of the measured data. Total acceleration values, representing the stresse…
Messa in opera di un vigneto con sistema GPS e tradizionale
La progettazione del nuovo vigneto non può prescindere oggi da una attenta analisi non solo del sito ma anche dei materiali che saranno impiegati per la realizzazione della struttura portante della vegetazione. La tecnoloigia Gps applicata alla messa in opera dei pali per la preparazione di un vigneto a controspalliera ha permesso di ottenere un impianto preciso anche in presenza di terreni in pendenza, con una minore usura degli scuotitori, assenza di rottura dei pali e tempestività di intervento.
Use of a portable VIS NIR device to predict table olives quality
There is a growing interest today in high-quality and sustainable production especially in the agro-food sector where the use of automated, precise and non-destructive monitoring analytical systems is spreading more and more. In table olives consumption colour and texture are very important quality attributes deriving from ripening, size of the cell wall, middle lamella and fibrous tissues that can be compromised by bruising during harvest operations or postharvest handling. Mechanical damage also accelerates physiological processes, which lead to senescence, spoilage and loss of nutritional value. Nocellara del Belice cultivar is one of the most important table olive varieties in Italy bot…
Safety in Hazelnut Mechanical Harvesting
Hazelnut cultivation occupies an area of about 13,000 ha in Sicily, 10,000 of which are concentrated in the province of Messina, specifically in the pedo-mountain municipalities of the Nebrodi. These are heterogeneous plants by cultivar and planting time. To date, the hazelnut represents a scarcely mechanized marginal crop, with a characteristic training system as the multi stemmed bush. The harvest takes place as soon as the hazelnuts reach maturity and detach from the herbaceous dome that surrounds them falling to the ground. Before harvesting, swathing is carried out by hand using rakes, or facilitated by backpack blowers, or mechanically by means of a swather or with a tractor-mounted b…
Pneumatic press equipped with the Vortex system for white grapes processing: First results
The interaction between mechanical, computer and electronic technologies offers nowadays highly innovative solutions to be applied to the oenological machinery industry. Grapes pressing for the extraction of must from the grapes has a fundamental role for obtaining wines with high quality. The pneumatic presses commonly used work with a discontinuous cycle, taking on average about 3 hours for the extraction of the juice from the grapes. During this period, the presence of oxygen in contact with grapes can modify the qualitative characteristics of the future wine. The aim of the research was to study the “Vortex System” applied to a pneumatic press and to evaluate the quality of wines obtain…