The McLaren Vale is a region renowned for its world class wines and vibrant agriculture landscape. Beneath the surface, a crucial story unfolds – the story of water.
Sentek in collaboration with McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association, embarked on an agtech trial from September 2024 to March 2025. The goal of the trial was to test different agricultural technologies in different rows of the same vineyard. The ultimate goal was to optimise the use of agtech to improve wine grape quality, especially the Shiraz that the region is renowned for. Sentek served as an independent control on all sites to monitor soil moisture data over the course of the trial. Sentek used 5 Drill & Drop probes (1 per row including a control row) with Compact telemetry units. The probes were calibrated using Sentek’s IrriMAX Live ‘Drill & Drop Heavy Clay Sentek’ calibration to optimise the readings for the McLaren Vale soil.
The rows were managed by:
– GreenBrain
– Athena
– Swan Systems
– Integrated Precision Viticulture
– Control (irrigated as per normal viticulture management)
The trial demonstrated varying irrigation methods for this site, resulting in varying yield and quality of grapes, as well as differing water usage.
Sentek also installed 12 Drill & Drop Bluetooth® probes with 2 Nexus Blue telemetry units in the Integrated Precision Viticulture row to get a much deeper understanding of the water movement in the soil using 2D data in IrriMAX Live. The 2D array highlights how irrigation was distributed through the drip system in the profile and thus affected the plant growth. The set-up of probes were across 2 arrays – 1 in the row and 1 between the rows.
By working together, Sentek and McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association are empowering growers with the tools they need to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for McLaren Vale wine producers. This trial is more than just local data, it is about growing knowledge and strengthening the wine industry to better understand soil moisture and produce premium quality wine grapes.
