Spotlight Shines Bright in Italy on the Latest Vineyard Equipment

By David Eddy|January 10, 2023

Perhaps nowhere has the move to becoming more environmentally aware been on display than at EIMA, officially the “International Agricultural and Gardening Machinery Exhibition,” held in Bologna, Italy in mid-November.

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Talk about an environmentally friendly name, Cima named its newest sprayer the Green Hug. Company representative Valeria Repetti says the sprayer wastes virtually zero inputs and was so named because it allows hydraulic adjustment of the arms in width, height, and closing. It covers two rows, with an inter-row width from 1.8 to 3.3 meters. Drift is controlled by the opposite airflow of the adjustable diffusers, optimizing time and cost of inputs for more sustainable agriculture. “It follows you like a shadow,” she says.
Photo by David Eddy
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Free Green Nature shows off the ICARO X4, a robot the company says was created to preserve vineyards from attacks by fungi and microorganisms, avoiding such diseases as downy mildew, powdery mildew, and botrytis. It is not a curative system, but an active prevention system using ultraviolet light, and it may have potential in two-dimensional orchards as well. Like much of the equipment displayed at EIMA, the Free Green Nature Robot emphasizes that growers who use the robot can be proud of having contributed to the reduction of pesticides.
Photo by David Eddy
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Martignani’s new electrostatic sprayer, the Whirlwind Turbo 3, is a multi-row sprayer designed to treat three rows simultaneously. Export Manager Jacopo Appolloni says the sprayer can treat an astounding 50 hectares daily. What’s new on the system is a “tele-air-fan” anti-sucking system with remote-controlled air intake. It prevents the suction of leaves and other debris, decreases the noise level, and ensures maximum efficiency of the electrostatic charge.
Photo by David Eddy

Virtually all the exhibitors at the show, one of the largest of its kind in Europe, highlighted how their products were kind to the environment, whether lowering pesticide use, saving water, or anything else widely considered “green.”

The 2022 edition of EIMA had record attendance, with 327,100 visitors. International Fruit Tree Association attendees were hardly alone among foreign visitors. According to the trade show’s organizer, FederUnacoma, nearly 20% of those who attended, 57,300 total, came from abroad during the five-day exhibition.

FederUnacoma President Alessandro Malavolti says the attendance demonstrates that EIMA has an important mission for years to come.

“The success of EIMA confirms the growing interest in new-generation agricultural technologies to meet the food needs of a global population that will grow by almost a billion within the next 10 years,” he says, “and confirms how in every region of the world, work is being done to innovate cultivation methods, seeking to make scientific and sustainable use of water resources and soil fertility.”