Meat-free pet food is already available. But insects aren’t so popular with fruit and veg.
Now, a team from NC State University has developed a fabric that protects plants from small insects without using pesticides.
Key to their approach: time. If insects don’t find food quickly enough, they either give up or die.
The team sandwiched a structured, knitted layer upright between two layers of clear netting, creating a maze-like path for insects to navigate.
Potted cabbage plants housed within the cover were completely protected from hungry, young caterpillars. Open-air plants grew almost three times heavier.
Yarn from recycled plastic could make the water- and sunlight-permeable cover even more sustainable.
This paper is a natural protection for potatoes.
