Sustainability of precision viticulture: An economic assessment of the adoption of UAV technology in vineyard management

Precision viticulture is an innovative approach aimed to support the management of vineyards, raising the efficiency and quality of production and reducing the environmental impact (Whelan and McBratney, 2000; Rouse et al., 1973). Over the last years, precision viticulture is implementing improved instruments and methodologies for remote monitoring and data acquisition and analysis, such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) (Matese e Di Gennaro, 2015). This approach enables the optimization of Decision Support System (DSS) through the production of prescription maps for variable-rate applications and allowing the implementation of rapid and specific intervention strategies. The aim of this study is to assess the economic sustainability of the UAV technology on the wine-growing sector of Apulia.