Optimizing tea plantation through rapeseed intercropping: ecological and pest-resistant benefits

作者：Litao Sun, Xiaojiang Li, Jiazhi Shen, Shuangshuang Wang, Xiuxiu Xu, Kai Fan, Yu Wang, Caihong Bi, Zhaotang Ding · 发表于：Industrial Crops and Products · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.120821 · 被引用次数：6 · 研究领域：Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems、Weed Control and Herbicide Applications、Nitrogen and Sulfur Effects on Brassica

Intercropping in tea plantations offers multiple ecological and agronomic benefits, directly impacting tea yield and profitability. While most studies on intercropping focus on summer and autumn seasons, the ecological impacts of intercropping during spring remain underexplored. Building on initial findings that tea-rapeseed ( Brassica napus L.) intercropping reduced pest damage in spring, this study explored its broader ecological effects on tea plantations and tea plant development. Results indicated that tea-rapeseed intercropping reduced young shoot damage by Apolygus lucorum by 44.04 %, facilitated by enhanced soil-microbe interactions, modified spectral ecology, and activated defense pathways in tea plants during the profuse flowering period of rapeseed. Specifically, intercropping increased C and N availability in tea rhizosphere soil, boosting organic matter and nitrogen content in the shared ecological zone. This improvement was accompanied by a significant increase in the abundance of nitrogen- and phosphorus-cycling microbial taxa, such as Methylomirabilota , Armatimonadota , and Entotheonellaeota . Moreover, rapeseed intercropping altered canopy reflectance, increasing red-edge and near-infrared spectraand boosting NDVI by 5.97 %. GC-MS analysis revealed upregulated flavonoid biosynthesis and ABC transporters, leading to higher levels of antioxidants and defense compounds in tea shoots. Concurrently, predator populations (spiders, ladybirds, and hoverflies), incre...