In the media

Understanding the water needs of crops – 01|05|23

Australian company Athena IR-Tech has launched a new technology that offers farmers an in-depth understanding of the water needs of their crops.

View article on Future Farming

NSW vineyard installs water-sensing technology to save waste and improve quality – 01|12|22

Check out this article to see how Duxton Vineyards, one of the largest vineyard landholders in Australia, is using the Athena IR-Tech Traps-IR solution to save water and improve the quality of their grapes.

View article on ABC Australia

Wine Australia plant-based sensing 4 year study report results – 31|08|22

In a multi-year study funded by Wine Australia and lead by Athena’s Chief Science Officer and senior researcher at Adelaide University, Dr Vinay Pagay, it was determined that plant-based sensing technologies for irrigation scheduling in vineyards offer operational, financial and user experience benefits compared to conventional methods of managing irrigation, for example, through the use of soil moisture probes.

In the four-year study, plant-based proximal thermal sensors (Athena IR-Tech Transp-IR) were compared with crop evapotranspiration (ETc), soil moisture probes, and non-data driven approaches to schedule irrigation in premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz vineyards.

In one season, where irrigation on Shiraz grapevines was scheduled using the Transp-IR solution, the vines received only 40-60% of the total irrigation compared to the conventional method, but they still had similar yield and quality outcomes.

The study concluded that using plant-based sensors and ET, which has the drawback of requiring precise crop coefficients, are superior approaches for maximising water use efficiency. Additionally, the use of the Athena Transp-IR solution added the user interface layer that notified the user of when the plant requires irrigation and made it easy for the user to manage their irrigation as well as being able to integrate this information to the soil moisture data to provide a more holistic approach to irrigation scheduling.

Download Report (pdf 24.6mb)

ABC Radio | South West Victoria – 01|12|22

Hear Duxon Vineyards Environmental Manager Dylan Klingbiel and Athena IR-Tech CEO Jay Holata discuss how Duxton Vineyards has deployed the Athena IR-Tech Traps-IR solution and some of the details of the solution itself.

Forbes Australia – 14|11|22

In this Forbes Australia article see how Athena IR-Tech is partnering with Duxton Vineyards to improve the water use efficiency and sustainability of their vineyards.
View Article

Jay Holata ABC SA Country Hour Interview

Jay Holata, Athena IR-Tech CEO, introduces Athena IR-Tech and the current Transp-IR 2.0 solution.

Dr Vinay Pagay ASVO Interview

If you’re wondering whether you should be using soil moisture probes, plant sensors, weather forecasts, or all of the above to keep your vines healthy throughout the season then listen to this ASVO interview with Dr Vinay Pagay. Dr Pagay is a senior lecturer in viticulture at the University of Adelaide and is also one of the founders of Athena IR-Tech.

Vinay answers the following questions:

• What is the least expensive tool the grower can use to manage their irrigation?
• What technologies can growers apply to be more accurate in determining when to irrigate?
• How can we understand how much water is optimal for yield and quality in grape vines and what technology strategy is the best to get this optimal range and can give you the ability to irrigate your vineyards in a “lights out”, automated scenario?