The use of ecological principles to manage plant pests has attracted renewed attention, but our knowledge related to the contributions of ecological pest management to social and natural sustainability is fragmented. In this study, we compared the performance and resilience of tea production and the economic benefits of tea ecological management (TEM) and tea conventional management (TCM). We show that TEM significantly improved tea biomass and quality, nutritional efficiency, and beneficial insects, but reduced seasonal variation. As a result, economic return increased by $8045/ha in the TEM mode compared to $6064/ha in the TCM mode. These results confirm that TEM is a promising production mode that can reconcile the conflict between the immediate and long-term service of agriculture. However, environmental improvements associated with organic pest control benefit society, and the government should provide adequate financial support to promote the production system.

Agricultural eco-efficiency is a crucial indicator for assessing the coordinated development of agriculture and the environment. Studying its interaction with economic development levels is beneficial for promoting high-quality agricultural development. Based on panel data from 75 cities in East China from 2000 to 2021, this paper used the SBM model to measure agricultural eco-efficiency, conducted spatial correlation analysis with ArcGIS, calculated economic development level’s scores by the entropy method, assesseed coupling coordination degrees and discussed changes in coupling types by the Tapio decoupling-based coupling index. Results showed that: (1) From 2010 to 2021, overall agricultural eco-efficiency and economic development levels in East China increased annually. Jiangsu Province exhibited a significant gap in agricultural eco-efficiency compared to Anhui and Shandong; similarly, the mean difference in economic development levels widened. (2) In terms of spatial correlation, agricultural eco-efficiency increased from northwest to southeast in East China, with Moran’s I index showing a "decrease-increase-decrease" trend. Economic development level demonstrated spatial agglomeration with closely linked relationships. (3) From the perspective of coupling coordination, urban agglomerations in East China shifted from mostly imbalance to overall coordination in later stages, indicating continuously improving coupling relationships. Therefore, cities in East China should strengthen inter-regional connections, adopt rational layouts, pursue sustainable development, and achieve a win-win situation for ecological environmental protection and economic development.