AmpeloCADs (Ampelographic Computer Aided Digitizing System): an integrated system to digitize, file, and process biometrical data from Vitis spp. leaves

A program to digitize, file, and process biometrical data from palmate leaves was developed. This program, written in LISP (acronym for LISt Processor) programming language, has been tested since 1992 and has been operating since 1993. It can be installed on a personal computer under MS-DOS, is written in a version of standard Common LISP, related to Autocad(R) designing environment (Auto-LISP), and is user-friendly. Digitizers were chosen as input peripherals since they offer an easy way to manage overlapped surfaces, a characteristic present in the leaves of some species, and perform with high precision and a low signal/noise ratio, a feature other systems for image acquisition do not have. Several leaf parameters can be estimated, and the program can display, print, and file numerical data and graphical output. Information is stored-in delimited ASCII file format to guarantee full exchange with any standard data base management system, spreadsheet, word processor, and statistical package. This paper describes the program's usefulness in terms of the researcher's productivity and briefly analyzes the related training time. Measurements from leaves-of the varieties Ansonica, Ansonica di Arcille, Foglia Tonda, Mammolo, and Chasselas Dore, are discussed and compared. Accuracy and precision of the system are evaluated, as well as the relationship between standard ampelometric parameters and new ones. The discriminatory power of all the variables is described in addition to the differences between the cultivars involved, which are studied from the univariate as well as the multivariate point of view.