RALEIGH, N.C. — A knitted three-dimensional textile cover developed at North Carolina State University raised strawberry yields by as much as 3.56 times in tunnel field tests, according to results published September 29, 2026 in the journal Agriculture. The fabric, branded Plant Armor, left plant health unharmed and pointed to material reductions in water and pesticide use.

The product sits at the technical textiles tier of the supply chain rather than apparel, but its commercial path is concrete: NC State holds US Patent No. 11,582,968 B2, granted 21 February 2023, and has already licensed the Gen 2 fabric for commercial development.

Plant Armor is a multi-layer fabric draped directly over strawberry plants. Its 3-D structure blocks insects from reaching the plants beneath, while its porosity lets sunlight, rain and airflow pass through. The tunnel tests found the cover did not depress relative humidity or light access — the two agronomic variables most likely to fail under a physical barrier.

"To produce fruit, plants need sunlight," said Gabriel Olawuyi, a graduate research assistant at NC State and lead author of the paper. "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."

The cover also delivered a consistent warming effect across all three growing seasons. Olawuyi said the added heat helped covered bushes reach the fruiting stage ahead of uncovered plants.

"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 said. "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."

Defense research detour

Plant Armor did not start as an agricultural product. Co-author R. Michael Roe, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor at NC State, said the program began as an attempt to make military uniforms resistant to mosquito bites and more comfortable under body armor.

"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," said Roe. "Then, through trial and error, we arrive at a product which could triple the output of strawberry farms here in North Carolina."

"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," he added.

The paper, "Knitted 3-D, Porous Textile Cover to Enhance Strawberry Fruit Production and Prevent Insect Feeding," lists co-authors James Clothier, Matthew Bertone, Grayson Cave, Reuben Garshong, Andre West, Loganathan Ponnusamy and Clyde Sorenson, all of NC State. The project spans the university's College of Natural Resources, Wilson College of Textiles and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Funding came from a grant by the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation (grant number AG00463770) and from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Research Capacity Fund (HATCH), project award no. 02853.

What it means for buyers

Two compliance-relevant claims attach to the technology. First, insect exclusion: because the fabric physically prevents insects from reaching plants, Olawuyi said it could reduce reliance on conventional pesticides — a direct line to agri-chemical input reduction for growers. Second, water reduction: the university reports potential savings, though the trial data published so far quantifies yields, humidity and light rather than pesticide or water volumes.

For technical textiles producers and knitters, the development is a signal that agricultural crop covers are becoming a patent-protected, yield-verified product category rather than a commodity spun-bonded commodity — and one where performance is documented in peer-reviewed field trials. For produce growers, the licensing status means commercial supply could follow without waiting on further R&D.

The sourcing decision the news forces: agritech buyers and technical textile suppliers should track NC State's licensing partners for Plant Armor Gen 2 now, before the product scales into berry-growing regions, and verify any pesticide-reduction claims against field data rather than university press language.