Sonoma County growers in Californai, are testing a wireless monitoring system where sensors are placed around the vineyard to report on several conditions known to be key influences on grapevine health, such as temperature, humidity and soil moisture. When a sensor post has gathered data, it travels back to a central server by hopping from one wi-fi access point to another.

The system should help grape growers find out how vines get on in different parts of the vineyard, if/when/how much water or chemicals the plants really need, etc.

During the first few weeks of the trial some of the sensor points had to be repaired after rodents chewed cables on soil moisture monitors.

From BBC News, via Wifi Networking News.