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. 授粉作为可缓解作物产量缺口的关键生态系统服务，往往至关重要却常被忽视。当前授粉服务的研究多孤立开展，其相对作用以及与主要田间管理措施等其他因素的潜在互作机制，目前仍鲜为人知。
2. 我们以印度尼西亚的13处传统家庭菜园为研究对象，探究了授粉（昆虫授粉、风媒授粉与自花授粉）与杂草防控、施肥及昆虫植食者防控之间的互作关系，同时分析了上述因素以及访花蜜蜂如何影响黄瓜（Cucumis sativus L.）的坐果率与产量。
3. 尽管昆虫授粉、施肥与杂草防控均可通过独立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带来的产量缺口。授粉单独贡献了75%的产量，因此是影响产量的最关键驱动因子。与之形成对比的是，采用常规施用水平的杀虫剂进行植食者防控，并未对产量产生提升效果。
5. 产量随访花蜜蜂个体数量的增加而显著提升，而蜜蜂个体数量则不受杂草防控、施肥或植食者防控的影响，仅随黄瓜花数量的增多而增加。
6. 综合与应用：尽管多种田间管理措施均可影响产量，但在印度尼西亚的小农黄瓜种植体系中，这些措施无法弥补传粉者流失带来的产量缺口。本研究结果同时表明，未考量害虫防控效果就广泛施用杀虫剂的做法并不经济。在此场景下，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风险，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。研究结果强调了提升蜜蜂种群数量以保障授粉服务的重要性，亟需建立诸如维持传粉者额外食物资源等蜜蜂管理措施。