Data from: Pollination mitigates cucumber yield gaps more than pesticide and fertilizer use in tropical smallholder gardens

1. Pollination can be an essential but often neglected ecosystem service to mitigate crop yield gaps. Pollination services are usually studied in isolation and their relative role and possible interactions with other factors, such as major management practices, is little understood. 2. We tested how pollination (insect versus wind- and self-pollination) interacts with weed control, fertilization, and insect herbivore control and how these factors as well as flower-visiting bees influence fruit set and yield of cucumber Cucumis sativus L. in 13 traditional Indonesian home gardens. 3. Although insect pollination, fertilization, and weed control additively increased crop yield, fertilization and weed control alone could not compensate for pollination loss. Pollination individually accounted for 75% of the yield and was, hence, the most important driver of yield. In contrast, herbivore control through insecticides at commonly applied levels did not increase yield. 5. Yield strongly increased with higher number of flower-visiting bee individuals, while the number of bee individuals in turn was not influenced by weed control, fertilization, or herbivore control, but increased with higher number of cucumber flowers. 6. Synthesis and applications. Although multiple management practices influence yield, they cannot compensate yield gaps from pollinator loss in cucumber smallholder production in Indonesia. Our results also show that the widespread use of insecticides without considering the impacts on pest reduction is uneconomical. Here, reducing insecticides caused no income loss and, at the same time, reduces potential risks to important pollinators, which needs to be acknowledged by policy-driven regulations for pesticide application in tropical agroecosystems. Our results stress the importance of enhancing bee populations to facilitate pollination services. Bee management practices, such as sustaining additional food resources for pollinators, need to be established.1. 授粉是缓解作物产量缺口不可或缺却常被忽视的生态系统服务（ecosystem service）。当前对授粉服务的研究多孤立开展，其与其他因素（如主要田间管理措施）的相对作用及潜在互作机制仍鲜为人知。 2. 我们在印度尼西亚的13处传统家庭菜园中开展田间试验，探究授粉（分为昆虫授粉、风媒与自花授粉两类）与杂草防控、施肥及昆虫植食者防控之间的互作关系，同时分析上述因素以及访花蜜蜂对黄瓜（Cucumis sativus L.）坐果率与产量的影响。 3. 尽管昆虫授粉、施肥与杂草防控可通过累加效应提升作物产量，但仅靠施肥与杂草防控无法弥补授粉损失引发的产量缺口。授粉单独贡献了75%的总产量，是驱动产量形成的最关键驱动因素。与之相反，按常规施用水平使用杀虫剂防控植食者并未对作物产量产生提升效果。 5. 随着访花蜜蜂个体数量增加，作物产量显著提升；而访花蜜蜂的种群数量并未受杂草防控、施肥或植食者防控措施的影响，但随黄瓜花总量的增多而增加。 6. 综合分析与实践应用：尽管多种田间管理措施会对作物产量产生影响，但它们无法弥补印度尼西亚黄瓜小农户生产中因传粉者流失带来的产量缺口。本研究结果同时表明，未评估害虫防控效益就广泛施用杀虫剂的做法并不经济。在此前提下，减少杀虫剂使用不会造成收入损失，同时还能降低对重要传粉者的潜在威胁，这一点需要热带农业生态系统的农药施用政策法规予以重视。本研究结果强调了提升蜜蜂种群数量以优化授粉服务的重要性，需建立诸如维持传粉者额外食物资源等蜜蜂管理举措。