Castoro Cellars is scaling UV-C light tech from ag robotics specialist Saga Robotics to 600+ acres of certified organic vineyards across California’s Central Coast to tackle powdery mildew.
Saga Robotics, which recently hired O’Neill Vintners & Distillers general manager Caine Thompson to lead its US operations, has been working with Castoro for three years, deploying a fleet of autonomous ‘bots to treat its vines at night.
Rather than applying oils and sulfur—the current tool set for organic winegrowers—Saga’s Thorvald bots deliver a UV-C light directly to the vine canopy, disrupting the reproductive cycle of powdery mildew, botrytis, and sour rot without leaving residues, soil disruption, compaction or ecological side effects in its wake.
“After three years with the [Saga Robotics] Thorvald platform, the results were clear and the right move was to scale,” said Castoro cofounder Niels Udsen. “We believe it is the beginning of a much larger shift for growers across California and beyond.”
Chemical-free winegrowing: the ‘holy grail’
Given existing fungicides to tackle powdery mildew are becoming less effective, growers often see a return on their investment through higher yields (as UV-C is more effective) as well as reduced labor costs.
But they can also help winegrowers move away from synthetic chemicals, says Thompson, who describes chemical free winegrowing as “the holy grail” with UV-C lowering the barrier to entry into sustainable, organic and regenerative winegrowing by eliminating the need for synthetic chemicals.
Saga Robotics, which recently announced a pilot with organic winegrower Bonterra Organic Estates in Mendocino County with six robots over 200 acres, has been steadily increasing acreage in the Golden State, Thompson told AgFunderNews.
“Growers want to move away from chemicals across all regions and countries. There is also a desire to more away from heavy tractors that are a massive carbon emitter and drivers of soil compaction.”
He added: “All chemicals including sulfur, oils, copper and synthetics have a detrimental impact on the vineyard as they persist for significant periods. Conventional chemicals used in viticulture have a far greater impact on ecology than the organic permitted products, but all of them have some impact. Out of all of these products, low dose UV-C has by far the lowest impact on ecosystem health as it’s non residual and non-persistent.”
“Most growers are using UV-C to replace 60-90% of chemicals. Over time it is possible to get to zero as the system gets into better balance, with good canopy management and vine health.”
Beyond mildew control, partners are also using UV-C to tackle botryits and sour rot, he said. “We have some very good commercial examples of good control of these disease when the UV-C program is run all the way through to harvest.”
Tabletop strawberries in the UK, vineyards in California
Founded in Norway in 2016 by Pål Johan From, PhD, and Lars Grimstad, PhD, Saga Robotics’ Thorvald autonomous platform has built significant traction in the UK tabletop strawberry market and is now ramping up operations in California’s vineyards, where powdery mildew is a growing problem.
While other players using UV-C for crop protection such as TRIC Robotics have developed larger machines designed for spanning multiple rows of strawberries in open fields, Saga Robotics is focusing on applications requiring smaller machines with significant precision.
According to Thompson: “There is significant interest in wine regions all over the world. We are in discussions with numerous regions about trials and full commercial roll outs.”
In general, he claimed, “We underestimate the impact of chemicals, diesel/carbon and compaction from tractors/sprayers on soil health and wine quality.”
Significantly lighter than a traditional tractor and spray rig at 800lbs vs 10-15,000lbs, Saga’s electric ‘bots “represent a shift away from heavy, disruptive machinery toward precision systems that protect soil health and the local ecosystem,” said Thompson.
The business model
Saga operates a Robots as a Service (RaaS) model, whereby growers pay a fee per acre to treat their crops, said Thompson.
“This model gives growers an opportunity to use our robots on a rental basis for a season so they can determine if it is right for them before purchasing. This is effectively an operating cost which is offset or significantly offset by reductions in chemical, labor, tractor and diesel costs.”
Saga’s latest machines are also kitted out with cameras to collect data for “yield prediction, identifying missing vines, and leaf roll virus/ red blotch detection,” he said.
“We are undertaking trials this season with a select number of growers to build this application out further.”
Further reading:
🎥‘Like a Roomba for vineyards…’ Bien Nacido puts Saga Robotics’ UV-C robots to the test
From bulky bulbs to tiny chips: Uviquity emerges from stealth with far-UVC disinfection breakthrough
Armed with fresh funds, TRIC Robotics plans aggressive fleet expansion across CA’s strawberry fields
Watch our recent video with Bien Nacido Estate vineyard manager Greg Gonzalez in Santa Maria and Saga Robotics cofounder Pål Johan From:
