Sun Jiazhao, Ran Yuao, Mark Goh, Jin Yabo, Ding Wei
School of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400000, China.
Logistics Institute Asia Pacific, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117597, Singapore.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 4;15(1):28368. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-09501-1.
Intercropping is widely recognized for its suppression of crop pests and enhancement of economic benefits. However, there is a scarcity of studies that quantify the mechanisms of community ecology underlying these effects. To address this, we conducted a study on the intercropping of tobacco with Amorphophallus konjac, soybean, and sweet potato. The relationship between the numbers of natural enemies and pests under different cropping systems was analyzed using linear regression and partial least squares regression. The spatial relationships between natural enemies and pests were analyzed using Levins' spatial niche overlap index and generalized additive models. The economic benefits of different cropping methods were evaluated based on crop yield, the proportion of high-quality products, average price, and land use equivalency ratio. Results showed that the numerical relationships between natural enemies and pests were not significantly correlated with whether intercropping was practiced or the type of intercropped crop. Significant differences in the spatial relationships between natural enemies and pests were observed among different crops, as determined by generalized additive mixed models (P < 0.05). The proportion of high-quality products and average price were more strongly influenced by the spatial relationships between natural enemies and pests than by their numerical relationships. Based on the results, it is recommended that intercropping tobacco with sweet potatoes can bring greater positive economic benefits.
间作因其对农作物害虫的抑制作用和经济效益的提高而得到广泛认可。然而，量化这些效应背后的群落生态学机制的研究却很匮乏。为了解决这一问题，我们开展了一项关于烟草与魔芋、大豆和甘薯间作的研究。使用线性回归和偏最小二乘回归分析了不同种植系统下天敌数量与害虫数量之间的关系。使用莱文斯空间生态位重叠指数和广义相加模型分析了天敌与害虫之间的空间关系。基于作物产量、优质产品比例、平均价格和土地利用当量比评估了不同种植方式的经济效益。结果表明，天敌与害虫之间的数量关系与是否采用间作或间作作物的类型没有显著相关性。通过广义相加混合模型确定，不同作物之间天敌与害虫的空间关系存在显著差异（P < 0.05）。优质产品比例和平均价格受天敌与害虫空间关系的影响比受其数量关系的影响更大。基于这些结果，建议烟草与甘薯间作可带来更大的积极经济效益。
