Exogenous plant hormones regulate the agronomic and physiological performance of plants and thus can influence the abundance of insect groups. We surveyed the arthropods on flowering plants Cnidium monnieri and found that the abundance of natural enemies Propylaea japonica and Orius minutus in the plots treated with salicylic acid (SA) and indole acetic acid (IAA) was significantly increased compared with those in the clean water (control) plots. Then, we investigated the effects of spraying SA, IAA, and clean water on the population parameters of Semiaphis heraclei reared on C. monnieri. Our results from the age-stage, two-sex life table analysis revealed a significantly shorter pre-adult duration for aphids reared on SA-treated C. monnieri compared to those reared on the other two treatments. The intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase, and net reproductive rate of aphids reared on SA- and IAA-treated C. monnieri were significantly higher than those of aphids reared on clean water-treated C. monnieri. The fecundity rate was higher under the SA and IAA treatments than in the control, but the difference was not significant. This improved the ability of flowering plants to attract natural enemies by providing a larger food source.

Intercropping flowering plants is an ecofriendly and sustainable orchard management practice, yet its effects on multiple ecosystem services remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a two-year field experiment using four species of intercropped flowering plants, including Sechuangzi Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson (Apiaceae), Japanese catnip Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briq. (Lamiaceae), rapeseed Brassica napus L. (Brassicaceae), and hairy vetch Vicia villosa Roth. (Fabaceae), in an apple orchard. We selected 22 ecosystem service indicators to establish a comprehensive framework for assessing orchard ecosystem services. In 2020, 19 indicators differed significantly between intercropped flowering plant plots and clean-tillage control plots, while 18 indicators showed significant differences in 2021. The ecosystem service indicators were grouped into six composite multifunctional indicators representing pollination, pest control, habitat provisioning, food provisioning, nutrient cycling, and carbon stock, all of which showed significant enhancement in flowering plant plots compared with the controls. Crucially, these six composite indices demonstrated synergistic interactions, with no trade-offs observed. Compared to clean-tillage control plots, total ecosystem services in 2020 increased by 228% in C. monnieri plots, 222% in B. napus plots, 217% in V. villosa plots, and 126% in S. tenuifolia plots; in 2021, the increases were 248%, 214%, 209%, and 115%, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that intercropping selected flowering plants can improve multiple measured ecosystem service indicators in apple orchards. This practice may provide a promising orchard-floor management strategy for enhancing ecosystem service multifunctionality under the conditions of this two-year field experiment.

Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson (Apiaceae) is a well-known insectary plant in farmlands. Its vegetative and flowering stages can promote the migration of natural enemies. However, the arrival of natural enemies in crop fields often lags behind the establishment of pest populations. As gibberellin can accelerate plant growth and flowering, we investigated whether gibberellin treatment could advance the recruitment of natural enemies by altering the phenology of C. monnieri. Field experiments were conducted in 2021 and 2022 to evaluate the effects of different gibberellin concentrations on plant phenology, growth traits, and natural-enemy abundance. For field validation, C. monnieri strips established in wheat fields were treated with water or 50 mg/L gibberellin. The 50 mg/L treatment advanced the onset of flowering by 21 days and the first detection of natural enemies on C. monnieri by 14 days in 2021 and 20 days in 2022. It also significantly increased natural-enemy abundance on C. monnieri in 2022. In wheat fields, the same treatment resulted in earlier detection and significantly greater abundance of natural enemies in 2022. The earlier detection of natural enemies was temporally consistent with the advancement of flowering. These findings indicate that manipulating the flowering phenology of insectary plants may improve the timing of natural-enemy establishment and strengthen conservation biological control.