https://researchdata.se/en/catalogue Search results en Pest and plant assessments were performed on a total of five field experiments in 2024 (n=2) and 2025 (n=3) in Scania southernmost Sweden. Each experiment had five treatments: sugar beet intercropped with spring Barley, sugar beet intercropped with Persian clover, sugar beet intercropped with white mustard and two controls: sugar beet sole cropping with band spraying of herbicide and sugar beet sole cropping with broad spraying of herbicide. We focused on inspect pest assessments on leaves and stems. Pest assessments on leaves consisted of counting the number of beet leafminer eggs, aphids and leaf injuries by thrips, flea beetles, pygmy mangold beetles or vertebrates in four randomly selected groups of five plants in each plot. In 2024, surveys were conducted between the 8th and the 30th of May, at three-four day intervals, while in 2025 they were conducted between the 15th of April and the 15th of May, at five-nine day intervals. Pest assessments on stems consisted of counting the number of injuries per plant, in 10 randomly selected plants, twice between the 13th and the 24th of May in 2024. Whereas in 2025, these were evaluated as the proportion of the stem injured in each plant, in 15 randomly selected plants, once between the 23rd and 28th of April. All leaf and stem pest assessments were performed while the crop was between BBCH growth stages 9 and 16, because, with the exception of aphids, this period corresponds to when pests inflict the most economically important crop injury. Plant assessments were performed at crop stage BBCH 15-16 (based on the standardized BBCH scale for plant phenological development). We measured sugar beet plant density and the aboveground biomass of service crops, weeds and sugar beet (the latter was measured only in 2025). These assessments were done in four 1 by 1 m quadrats in each plot. In 2025 however, a proportion of the assessments of biomass of service crop and weeds were only done in 50% or 25% of the quadrat. All data were aggregated across samples (plants) and survey rounds for each site and treatment for analysis. For further information, see methods in the manuscript "Service crops for protection against multiple insect pests in sugar beet during crop establishment" by Neus Rodriguez-Gasol, Göran Bergkvist & Ola Lundin. Mon, 14 Sep 2026 11:17:00 GMT https://researchdata.se/en/catalogue/dataset/2026-194 https://researchdata.se/en/catalogue/dataset/2026-194 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Neus Rodriguez-Gasol Göran Bergkvist Ola Lundin We evaluated 27 candidate plant species for their ability to host functionally important above- and below-ground organisms — pollinators, natural enemies, herbivores, and decomposers — and assessed how the plant traits floral area, timing of peak bloom, life cycle, and plant cover affect these groups. The study was conducted during two years in two sites. Pollinators (hoverflies and wild bees - including bumblebees and solitary bees) were surveyed with visual observations for 60s twice a week while the plot was in bloom. Leaf-dwelling arthropods (predators, parasitic wasps and herbivores) were collected using vacuum sampling (30s in a 1m by 1m quadrat) of the plots with open flowers. As below-ground organisms, nematodes (predators, herbivores and decomposers) were sampled at the end of each survey season taking a composite sample consisting on three samples per plot (2cm diameter, 15cm depth). All data were summed on the plot level per site and year. For the plant traits, floral area and plant cover surveys were recorded weekly in a 1m by 1m quadrat, within 2 days of sampling pollinators and leaf-dwelling arthropods. The timing of peak bloom for each plant species was defined as the average week number between the two consecutive weeks with the highest number of open floral units. The life cycles of the plant species were classified as annual or perennial (perennial and biennial). For further information, see methods in the manuscript Rodríguez-Gasol et al. ’Plant identity determines pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore and decomposer abundances in flower plantings’. Tue, 21 Oct 2025 14:13:45 GMT https://researchdata.se/en/catalogue/dataset/2024-616 https://researchdata.se/en/catalogue/dataset/2024-616 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Neus Rodríguez-Gasol Fabian Boetzl Elodie Chapurlat Johan A. Stenberg Mattias Jonsson Ola Lundin Maria Viketoft