Agroecological farming, flowering phenology and the pollinator-herbivore-parasitoid nexus regulate non-crop plant reproduction

Agroecological farming uses crop and non-crop plant biodiversity to promote beneficial insects supplying pollination and biocontrol services to crops. Non-crop plants (sown or weeds) are integral to supporting these beneficial insect species interactions. How the uplift of biotic complexity by agroecological management (crop diversification, ecological infrastructure) influences mutualistic and antagonistic insect interactions regulating the reproduction of non-crop plants remains less understood. 
Using a pesticide-free farm-scale (125 ha) agroecological experiment, we tested how the individual reproduction of pollinator-dependent, non-crop plant species with different flowering phenology (Cyanus segetum, Centaurea jacea) and their mutualistic (pollinator) and antagonistic (seed herbivore–parasitoid) insect interactions were affected by agroecological practices. 
Seed set and species interactions of replicate C. segetum and C. jacea randomly introduced to field margins was correlated w...