RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Assessment of Vineyard Canopy Porosity Using Machine Vision JF American Journal of Enology and Viticulture JO Am. J. Enol. Vitic. FD American Society for Enology and Viticulture SP ajev.2015.15037 DO 10.5344/ajev.2015.15037 A1 Maria P. Diago A1 Mark Krasnow A1 Marijan Bubola A1 Borja Millan A1 Javier Tardaguila YR 2016 UL http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2015/12/23/ajev.2015.15037.abstract AB Canopy porosity is a key viticultural factor, as canopy gaps favor fruit exposure and air circulation, both benefits to fruit quality and health. Point Quadrat Analysis (PQA), as a standard method to assess canopy gaps, is laborious and time consuming, and therefore has limited utility. A new, objective, non-invasive, image-based method was developed and compared with PQA, to assess the percent of canopy gaps in vineyards of different viticultural conditions, and planted with diverse varieties, in New Zealand, Croatia and Spain. The determination coefficient (R2) of the regressions between the percent of gaps, using both methods, exceeded 0.90 (p<0.05) in each site, and R2 of the global regression was 0.93 (p<0.05). The time of the day and side of the canopy to be photographed did not significantly affect the algorithm’s performance. Using this new diagnostic method, canopy management could be optimized to configure a desired amount of canopy gaps with the aim of improving the fruit quality and health.