A fabric originally designed to stop mosquitoes biting soldiers has turned out to be very good at growing strawberries.
Researchers at North Carolina State University covered strawberry plants with a material they call Plant Armor – a thick, porous, three-dimensional knitted textile – and compared them with uncovered plants. Over three growing seasons of field trials in tunnels, the covered plants produced up to 3.56 times more fruit.
Why it works
- It keeps insects out. The layered knit acts as a physical barrier against pests.
- It still lets the good stuff in. Sunlight, rain and air pass through, and the team found no drop in available light and no harmful effect on humidity.
- It keeps plants slightly warmer. That extra heat built up consistently across all three seasons and helped plants reach the fruiting stage earlier.
The light result surprised the researchers. They expected some shading to make the plants put energy into growing taller rather than fruiting. That didn’t happen.
From uniforms to farms
The material started life in research into mosquito-resistant military clothing and more comfortable body armor. The team then tried the same textile engineering on crops.
The catch
This is one crop, grown in tunnels, in one study. Whether the same gains carry over to open fields, other fruit and vegetables, or commercial-scale farms – and what the fabric costs per acre – still needs to be shown.