With 'Plant Armor' crop cover, insects have to navigate textile maze:
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.
[...] 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.
[...] To that end, the researchers designed a three-layer, 3D cover knitted using clear yarn in the outermost and innermost layers. The yarn, which can be made from recycled plastic, still allows sunlight to pass through but restricts insects from reaching plants. A knitted inner layer is sandwiched perpendicular to the two surrounding layers, creating a maze-like structure within the Plant Armor.
[...] When researchers tested how well they could protect potted cabbage plants inside a cage with unfed caterpillars, uncovered plants were infested and almost completely eaten, while plants covered and sealed with Plant Armor were not. They did not find a single caterpillar on the covered plants after 10 days.
[...] "Part of what we're doing is finding new, smart textiles," said study co-author Andre West, associate professor of textile, apparel and technology management at NC State and director of Zeis Textiles Extension. "We think this design could help farmers in extreme environments or where crop production is limited in certain areas. It could also be an alternative for organic farmers. Not only is the product itself made with some recycled materials, but it could also be recycled again."
Journal Reference:
Grayson L. Cave, Andre J. West, Marian G. McCord, et al. Novel 3-D Spacer Textiles to Protect Crops from Insect Infestation and That Enhance Plant Growth [open], Agriculture (DOI: 10.3390/agriculture12040498)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by HiThere on Sunday April 10 2022, @07:32AM (8 children)
That sounds like an excellent way to increase the release of micro-sized particles of plastic. That armor need to be made of compostable plastics to be a good idea. Recycled isn't sufficient.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @08:46AM (7 children)
Anyone care to estimate the trade off? It's either some micro plastics, or more insecticides/pesticides...
Personally, I'd go for the micro plastics, since it mentions the fabric can be reused.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @10:58AM (1 child)
>> It's either some micro plastics, or more insecticides/pesticides...
False dichotomy. Consumers could learn to live with fruit and veggies that aren't spotless. It'll be an easy sell to Democrats since they like to eat bugs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @05:35PM
If it were so easy the "organic" bunch wouldn't be bothering with "organic" pesticides or physically removing pests.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 10 2022, @01:32PM (4 children)
Organic gardening uses none of the above. Organic is more work, and more costly, and you get some blemishes, but the food is more wholesome and healthy, all the same. Sustainable gardening and farming, we really ought to try it.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @01:41PM (2 children)
"Organic gardening" involves putting a different label on regular produce and charging millennials 25% more for it.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 10 2022, @02:05PM (1 child)
That is nonsense. Organic gardening involves zero pesticides, no GMO, it involves crop rotation and companion planting, and often involves heritage strains of crops. As I suggested above, it involves hands-on labor, rather than a diesel powered tractor to do all the work.
I'll point out that hobbyists can and do produce more fruits and vegetables than they can possibly eat, and the give food away so that it doesn't go to rot.
The ages old "three sisters", corn beans and squash, are the most well known examples of companion planting. Instead of planting an acre of corn, an acre of beans, and an acre of squash, the Native Americans were smart enough to figure out that planting them together produced healthier plants, that coexisted beautifully. The corn provides a trellis for the beans to climb, the beans provide nitrogen for the corn and the squash, and the squash provides ground cover that prevents weeds taking over the patch.
As you might imagine, no tractor is going to harvest the crop. Assuming you planted sweet corn, the corn will be ripe first, so you have to reach through the beans to harvest the corn. The beans will be ready for harvest next, and you have to navigate through the lush ground cover to get to the beans. The squash (or pumpkins or melons) finally ripens, so you have a third harvest, and you still have to pick your way through the garden patch.
Of course, the three sisters aren't restricted to those three crops. Planting various flowers around the borders, or even in the middle of your garden, attracts beneficial insects, and repels pests.
Other themes involve tomatoes - you want to plant carrots and herbs among your tomatoes.
There is science involved in organic gardening. You can spend days, weeks, and even years, studying which crops benefit each other. The primary goal of all organic gardening is to preserve the environment. Organic gardeners do not flush tons of fertilizers and pesticides into the ocean each year.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @05:39PM
Maybe so for some gardens but organic farming often involves pesticides: https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/environment/organic-does-not-mean-pesticide-free.html [k-state.edu]
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~lhom/organictext.html [berkeley.edu]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @11:01PM
> we really ought to try it.
Speak for yourself, I've been partly organic-fed for most of my life and I'm a couple of years older than Runaway.
A family friend never put pesticides and related chemicals on his fields. When the chemicals became available after WWII he didn't like the idea and just never started. A little later, he was one of the founders of the organic farming movement in the 1950s and following. Through the 60s and 70s, we would buy half a steer from him, have it butchered and keep in a freezer until needed. Since they were out to pasture, the meat was a little tough, but really tasty.
My mother started an organic home garden for summer veges in the early 1960s and maintained it (with some help) until she was in her early 80s.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @11:13AM
that congress critters and twits have to maze through before they can eat our cabbage, (tax dollars).
(Score: 4, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Sunday April 10 2022, @02:08PM (6 children)
There' something crucial missing: How did conventional covers fare? After all, that's what really counts, if those new covers are more effective than conventional ones.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 10 2022, @02:29PM (4 children)
FWIW, out here in flyover country, I've never seen crops covered with anything. The only covering, is early in the season, when plants are started in a green house, so they don't freeze. What's more, if you erect covers that are effective against pests, you're probably also blocking access to pollinators and other beneficial insects.
And, finally, I don't think that I can afford to erect the framework that would support any protective covers over my garden. Building a cover over a rose bush or a cabbage plant wouldn't cost much at all, but protecting 1/4 acre garden would get costly. Farms with hundreds of acres? Be prepared for food costs to quadruple, at least!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday April 10 2022, @04:27PM (2 children)
Not to mention the proliferation of the very hungry caterpillars that manage to survive. Also the labyrinth-proficient ones.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Sunday April 10 2022, @04:28PM (1 child)
Hell, just the few that can chew through plastic.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 11 2022, @12:36AM
Plastic eating insects? Perfect! Boy do we have an ocean and thousands of garbage dumps for them to tackle! Sign them up ASAP
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @08:15PM
Exactly one quarter acre garden on the Runaway homestead,eh? More data.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 10 2022, @04:42PM
It's in the linked story. You mean you don't read the stories??????
(Score: 2) by progo on Tuesday April 12 2022, @01:32PM
So goes an old Fark saying.
FYI, the actual link to the paper is free access and the PDF contains pics. The alleged journalism piece does not.