Drape Some of This ‘Plant Armor’ Fabric Over a Strawberry Patch to Triple Yields with Less Pesticides.
Researchers at North Carolina State University report that a 3-D knitted fabric cover called Plant Armor raised strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times in tunnel field tests while keeping insects off the plants.
Researchers at North Carolina State University report that a textile cover called Plant Armor increased strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times in tunnel field tests. According to the university, the covered plants showed no negative effects on health, and the study found no differences in vegetative plant biomass between covered and uncovered plants.
The fabric is draped over the plants. Its three-dimensional, multilayer structure keeps insects from reaching the strawberries beneath, while sunlight, rain and airflow still pass through. In laboratory tests, the fabric completely excluded aphids. Relative humidity did not differ between covered and uncovered plots.
Lead author Gabriel Olawuyi, a graduate research assistant, said the team had expected the dense-looking fabric to cause problems. "To produce fruit, plants need sunlight," he said, and the researchers anticipated that reduced light would push plants to grow stems and leaves instead of fruit. That did not happen. The fabric did not trigger a shade-avoidance response, and both the number and the weight of fruit were significantly higher under the cover.
The cover also raised temperatures consistently across the three seasons in which strawberries grow, from fall to spring. Olawuyi said the added warmth helped plants accumulate the heat they need to move through developmental stages, so covered bushes reached fruiting earlier. He also said that by deterring insects, the cover could reduce the need for conventional pesticides. The university adds that the technology could cut water use as well.
Plant Armor began as a spinoff of work on military uniforms that resist mosquito bites and make body armor more comfortable, according to co-author R. Michael Roe. Earlier work from the same laboratory found that a 3-D spacer fabric increased cabbage vegetative growth 2.93-fold. The strawberry study appeared in the journal Agriculture on September 24, 2026. NC State holds a patent on the Gen 2 fabric and has licensed it for commercial development.
The authors note limits. Preliminary tests of soil bacteria found no significant difference between covered and uncovered plots, and they say on-farm testing is still needed across different crops and locations.
Note: The headline presents tripled yields and reduced pesticide use as established. The page reports yields up to 3.56 times higher in tunnel field tests, says the cover could reduce pesticide use, and notes that on-farm testing is still needed.
At a Glance
- Plant Armor raised harvestable strawberry yields by up to 3.56 times in tunnel field tests at North Carolina State University.
- The fabric completely excluded aphids in laboratory bioassays, according to the paper's abstract.
- The study was published September 24, 2026, in the journal Agriculture.
- NC State patented the Plant Armor Gen 2 fabric (US Patent No. 11,582,968 B2) and licensed it for commercial development.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.