Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 4/6/22


North Carolina State University researchers designed a textile “Plant Armor” that forces insects to navigate a maze-like path if they try to reach a plant. The design was more effective at blocking insects from reaching cabbage plants in multiple experiments, compared with an alternative crop cover.

Based on their findings, researchers said the Plant Armor could provide a more effective, chemical-free alternative for insect protection.

“We found it’s possible to use this new technology to protect against insects we didn’t think we could protect against,” said the study’s first author Grayson Cave, a doctoral candidate at NC State. “We’ve shown we can use a mechanical barrier that will protect against tobacco thrips and possibly other insects, allowing the plant to grow and thrive underneath.”

Previously, plant covers have been designed to exclude insects based on size alone – like a window screen – researchers said. However, that strategy can be problematic for trying to keep out insects as small as tobacco thrips, which are about the size of a pencil point.

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