Frost events in vineyards can cause significant damage to both plants and harvests, directly affecting grape yield and quality and, consequently, wine quality. Damage may range from partial loss of shoots to plant death, depending on the intensity of the frost event and the phenological stage of the vine at the time it occurs.
Spring frosts are the most frequent and damaging, particularly during the budburst stage, when buds begin to develop into new shoots that are essential for cluster formation. Although the increase in temperatures associated with climate change might suggest a reduction in frost risk, this warming can also advance budburst and extend the period during which the vine is vulnerable to late frost events.
In this context, prevention and continuous crop monitoring are essential for agronomic decision-making, enabling the application of mitigation and adaptation strategies to frost events under real field conditions.
To evaluate how the timing of budburst influences the damage caused by spring frosts during the 2025 and 2026 seasons, and to analyse its impact on crop development, vineyard yield and grape quality.
To this end, continuous monitoring of the energy balance, soil moisture and crop evapotranspiration is carried out under both rainfed and controlled irrigation conditions, using the Bowen ratio method.
The trial is carried out at the experimental farm Hacienda Nueva, belonging to IMIDA, located in a warm area of the Region of Murcia, in El Chaparral, municipality of Cehegín. This location allows the analysis of vineyard behaviour in response to frost events under climatic conditions representative of south-eastern Spain.
The main activities of the pilot include:
agronomic and climatic characterisation of the experimental plot,
installation of sensors for continuous monitoring of the energy balance, soil moisture and crop evapotranspiration,
application of the Bowen ratio methodology for the analysis of energy fluxes during frost events,
monitoring of spring frost episodes and analysis of their impact on the crop,
integration of the collected data into the IMIDA IoT platform for management and analysis.
The experimental design consists of three randomised blocks with two irrigation conditions: rainfed and controlled irrigation, supplying between 40% and 60% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc).
Six grapevine genotypes differing in budburst timing are studied, including three hybrids developed within the IMIDA breeding programme and the parental varieties Monastrell, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Soil moisture is monitored using specific probes, and a Bowen meteorological station is used to measure energy balances within the plot.
During the 2025 and 2026 seasons, agronomic and agrometeorological measurements are carried out, including monitoring of the main phenological stages (budburst, flowering, veraison and ripening), plant water status, vineyard yield and grape quality parameters at harvest.
In addition, drone flights equipped with thermal cameras are conducted to assess frost damage, generating high-resolution thermal maps that allow the identification of areas with greater impact and support vineyard management decision-making.
