LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase II: 8.13

Description

Luna Innovations has developed next generation textiles for the control of agricultural insects that maximize plant growth, provide insect control, and minimize or eliminate the need for insecticides. These spacer fabrics have a unique geometry that provides additional separation between the insect and the plant, rendering the plant effectively invisible. It is expected that these textiles would satisfy a growing need for chemical-free insect control in the organic farming market.Luna's spacer textile has the following advantages:Provided a 97% reduction in budworm penetration vs. controlsProvided 100% protection against moth penetration vs. controlsDemonstrates excellent air and water transmission, adequate light transmissionDoes not interfere with plant growth or developmentDoes not require toxic chemical agentsLuna, in collaborationwith NCSU,will validate the insect control fabric against numerous insect threats and refine the design to provide the optimal level of protection for the targeted leafy green vegetables. Luna will engage local organic farmers in Virginia to provide third party evaluation of the textiles with their farming techniques.The final outcome of this project will be a reusabletextile product that can provide chemical free insect control for leafy green vegetables that improves the economic value/viability of US farming whileeliminating millions of pounds of pesticides per year.