A newly developed specialized textile covering has demonstrated the remarkable ability to help strawberry plants produce more than three times as much fruit during rigorous tunnel field trials, all while showing zero harmful effects on overall plant health. Agricultural researchers and scientists behind the breakthrough say that this innovative technology may also offer a sustainable, highly effective method to significantly reduce water usage and curb the reliance on conventional chemical pesticides in modern commercial strawberry production.
The specialized fabric, designated as Plant Armor, is engineered to be placed directly over growing strawberry plants. Its intricate three-dimensional structure creates a robust physical barrier that effectively blocks insects and pests from reaching the vulnerable plants, while the advanced layered material is still porous enough to allow essential sunlight, rain, and fresh air to pass through seamlessly.
During comprehensive tunnel field tests conducted across multiple seasons, strawberry crops protected by the Plant Armor fabric produced yields that reached as high as 3.56 times greater than uncovered control plants grown under identical environmental conditions. Furthermore, monitoring data confirmed that the innovative fabric did not reduce light availability or negatively impact relative humidity levels within the crop canopy, striking a delicate balance between protection and optimal growth conditions.
A Fabric That Protects Without Blocking Sunlight
To successfully produce fruit, agricultural crops require reliable and abundant access to sunlight. Gabriel Olawuyi, a graduate research assistant at North Carolina State University and the lead author of a comprehensive paper detailing the research on Plant Armor, noted that the initial expectations for the material were cautious.
"To produce fruit, plants need sunlight," Olawuyi said. "We expected that Plant Armor’s seemingly opaque fabric would lead to an increase in vegetative biomass at the expense of fruiting — because reduced sunlight would trigger a ‘shade-avoidance’ response, making the plant divert energy toward stem and leaf growth rather than fruit production. However, we found the fabric did not impede access to light at all, and fruit production increased significantly."
In addition to maintaining light transmission, researchers discovered that the Plant Armor textile created a consistent and steady warming effect throughout the duration of three separate growing seasons. According to Olawuyi, this additional thermal retention helped the covered plants reach the critical fruiting stage significantly earlier than plants grown without the textile protection layer.
"Plants require a certain amount of accumulated heat, calculated as ‘growing degree-days,’ to progress through developmental stages including fruiting. Our plant cover has proven to enhance these," Olawuyi explained. "The plants were in a condition whereby the warmth they need to go through each phenological stage to their production was given to them optimally, and they produced far more than the uncovered plants."
Beyond boosting raw agricultural output and accelerating developmental milestones, the physical attributes of the fabric offer additional ecological and economic advantages. Because Plant Armor physically prevents destructive insects from landing on and feeding on the plants, Olawuyi pointed out that the technology could substantially reduce the volume of conventional chemical pesticides needed in commercial agricultural fields, paving the way for more environmentally friendly pest management strategies.
From Military Textiles to Strawberry Fields
Interestingly, the conceptual origins of Plant Armor did not stem from traditional agronomy or farming research. Instead, the underlying technology emerged from specialized scientific investigations focused on enhancing military uniforms to make them more resistant to mosquito bites and improving overall comfort for soldiers wearing heavy body armor in the field.
This unexpected pathway from military apparel research to commercial agriculture highlights the profound value of cross-disciplinary collaboration and scientific curiosity, according to co-author R. Michael Roe, the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University.
"The path to Plant Armor started with trying to make a cloth to go on a soldier’s chest to make body armor more comfortable," Roe said. "Then, through trial and error, we arrive at a product which could triple the output of strawberry farms here in North Carolina."
Reflecting on the unpredictable nature of scientific inquiry, Roe emphasized the importance of foundational research funding and institutional support. "We couldn’t have predicted that when we started. Without all these people here doing research and following the science, we wouldn’t have arrived at this product."
Study Details and Support
The comprehensive academic paper detailing these findings, titled "Knitted 3-D, Porous Textile Cover to Enhance Strawberry Fruit Production and Prevent Insect Feeding," has been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Agriculture. Alongside Olawuyi and Roe, the research team includes co-authors James Clothier, Matthew Bertone, Grayson Cave, Reuben Garshong, Andre West, Loganathan Ponnusamy, and Clyde Sorenson, all representing North Carolina State University.
The development and testing of the technology have relied on broad institutional and financial backing. The project was initially supported by a competitive grant from the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, under grant number AG00463770. Additional financial support and operational backing were provided by the Research Capacity Fund (HATCH), through project award number 02853, originating from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The specific iteration evaluated in the published study, known as Plant Armor Gen 2 fabric, has been officially patented by North Carolina State University under US Patent No. 11,582,968 B2, issued on February 21, 2023. The university holds the intellectual property rights and has licensed the technology for broader commercial development. This interdisciplinary achievement represents a successful collaborative effort spanning the NC State College of Natural Resources, the Wilson College of Textiles, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.