Smart Fabric Helps Strawberry Plants Triple Their Fruit
A new kind of fabric could help farmers grow far more strawberries with fewer sprays. Researchers at North Carolina State University have tested a textile cover called Plant Armor, and the results were sweet.
In tunnel field trials, strawberry plants under the fabric produced as much as 3.56 times more fruit than plants left uncovered. The cover did not harm plant health, did not cut the light the plants received, and did not upset the humidity around them.
Plant Armor is laid straight over the plants. Its three-dimensional, layered structure blocks insects from reaching the leaves and fruit, while still letting sunlight, rain and air pass through. Because bugs cannot get to the plants, the team says farmers may be able to use fewer pesticides. The researchers also see a chance to save water.
The scientists were surprised at first. Lead author Gabriel Olawuyi, a graduate researcher, expected the fabric to make plants grow more leaves and stems at the expense of fruit. Instead, it did not block the light at all, and fruit production jumped. The fabric also kept the plants a little warmer through three growing seasons, which helped them reach the fruiting stage sooner.
The idea started far from any farm. It grew out of research into fabrics that would make body armor more comfortable and keep mosquitoes from biting through uniforms. Co-author R. Michael Roe said the team could never have predicted it would end up helping strawberry farms.
The study was published in the journal Agriculture, and the university has licensed the fabric for commercial development.
