This readme file was generated on 2025-10-28 (YYYY-MM-DD) by Neus Rodríguez-Gasol and provides a list and description of each file included in the dataset.


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DATASET GENERAL INFORMATION
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Metadata for dataset:"Leaf_pest_assessment_2024.csv", "Leaf_pest_assessment_2025.csv", "Stem_pest_assessment_2024.csv", "Stem_pest_assessment_2025.csv", "Plant_assessment_2024.csv" & "Plant_assessment_2025.csv".

DOI for the dataset:https://doi.org/10.5878/a8fc-ad15

Dataset name: "Data for: Service crops for protection against multiple insect pests in sugar beet during crop establishment"

Related documentation: "Service_crops_sugar_beets.R", "Service_crops_sugar_beets_SessionInformation.txt"


Data related to the manuscript "Service crops for protection against multiple insect pests in sugar beet during crop establishment" by Neus Rodriguez-Gasol, Göran Bergkvist & Ola Lundin. 


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DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT AND METHODS
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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 (of which two were controls), numbered and named as follows in the dataset: 
 1 "barley" - sugar beet intercropped with spring Barley,
 2 "clover" - sugar beet intercropped with Persian clover, 
 3 "mustard" - sugar beet intercropped with white mustard,
 4 "ctrl_band" - control with sugar beet sole cropping with band spraying of herbicide, and 
 5 "ctrl_broad" - control with 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. 




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Notes:

BBCH scale: The BBCH scale is a standardized phenological scale used to describe the developmental stages of plants. In this dataset, BBCH values refer to the growth stage of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) at the time of assessment.
Reference: Meier, U., L. Bachmann, E. Buhtz, H. Hack, R. Klose, B. Märländer, and E. Weber, 1993: Phänologische Entwicklungsstadien der Beta-Rüben (Beta vulgaris L. ssp.). Codierung und Beschreibung nach der erweiterten BBCH-Skala mit Abbildungen. Nachrichtenbl. Deut. Pflanzenschutzd. 45, 37—41.
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FILE OVERVIEW
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This dataset contains six (6) individual files containing information on: 
(1) pest assessments on leaves in 2024: number of beet leafminer eggs, aphids and leaf injuries by thrips, flea beetles, pygmy mangold beetles or vertebrates (Leaf_pest_assessment_2024.csv; 17 columns, 5901 rows)
(2) pest assessments on leaves in 2025: number of beet leafminer eggs, aphids and leaf injuries by thrips, flea beetles, pygmy mangold beetles or vertebrates  (Leaf_pest_assessment_2025.csv; 26 columns, 4201 rows)
(3) pest assessments on stems in 2024: number of stem injuries per plant (Stem_pest_assessment_2024.csv; 12 columns, 801 rows)
(4) pest assessments on stems in 2025: proportion of the stem injured per plant (Stem_pest_assessment_2025.csv; 7 columns, 676 rows)
(5) plant assessments in 2024: sugar beet plant density and aboveground biomass of service crops and weeds (Plant_assessment_2024.csv; 14 columns, 161 rows)
(6) plant assessments n 2025: sugar beet plant density and aboveground biomass of service crops, weeds and sugar beets (Plant_assessment_2025.csv; 17 columns, 181 rows)


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(1) Leaf_pest_assessment_2024.csv

Year:				Survey year (factor, 1 level)
Site:				ID of the surveyed site (factor, 2 levels)
Recorder:			Identity of the recorder	
BBCH_sugarbeet:			Phenological scale (in BBCH scale) of the crop
BBCH_sugarbeet_final:		Phenological scale (in BBCH scale) of the crop adjusted based on the assessment dates to ensure consistency among observations
Date:				Survey date (factor, 12 levels)
Survey:				Survey number (factor, 7 levels)
Block:				Block within each site (factor, 4 levels)
Treatment:			Service crop treatment coded as number (factor, 5 levels: "1", "2", "3", "4" &"5")
Treatment_name:			Service crop treatment (factor, 5 levels: "barley", "clover", "mustard", "control_band" & "control_broad")
Plant:				Plant surveyed (factor, 30 levels) 
Thrips_damage_nb:		Number of leaf injuries by thrips per plant
Fleabeetle_damage_nb:		Number of leaf injuries by flea beetles per plant
Mangold_beetle_damage_nb:	Number of leaf injuries by pygmy mangold beetles per plant
Fly_damage_perc:		Percentage of leaf injuries by beet leafminers per plant
Fly_eggs_nb:			Number of beet leafminer eggs per plant
Vertebrate_damage_nb:		Number of leaf injuries by vertebrates per plant

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(2) Leaf_pest_assessment_2025.csv

Year:					Survey year (factor, 1 level)
Site:					ID of the surveyed site (factor, 3 levels)
Recorder:				Identity of the recorder
BBCH_sugarbeet:				Phenological scale (in BBCH scale) of the crop
BBCH_sugarbeet_final:			Phenological scale (in BBCH scale) of the crop adjusted based on the assessment dates to ensure consistency among observations
Date:					Survey date (factor, 10 levels)
Survey:					Survey number (factor, 5 levels)
Block:					Block within each site (factor, 3 levels)
Treatment:				Service crop treatment coded as number (factor, 5 levels: "1", "2", "3", "4" &"5")
Treatment_name:				Service crop treatment (factor, 5 levels: "barley", "clover", "mustard", "control_band" & "control_broad")
Plant:					Plant surveyed (factor, 20 levels) 
Thrips_damage_cotyledon_nb:		Number of leaf injuries on cotyledons by thrips per plant
Thrips_damage_leaf_nb:			Number of leaf injuries on true leaves by thrips per plant
Fleabeetle_damage_cotyledon_nb:		Number of leaf injuries on cotyledons by flea beetles per plant
Fleabeetle_damage_leaf_nb:		Number of leaf injuries on true leaves by flea beetles per plant
Mangold_beetle_damage_cotyledon_nb:	Number of leaf injuries on cotyledons by pygmy mangold beetles per plant
Mangold_beetle_damage_leaf_nb:		Number of leaf injuries on true leaves by pygmy mangold beetles per plant
Fly_damage_cotyledon_perc:		Percentage of leaf injuries on cotyledons by beet leafminers per plant
Fly_damage_leaf_perc:			Percentage of leaf injuries on true leaves by beet leafminers per plant
Fly_eggs_cotyledon_nb:			Number of beet leafminer eggs on cotyledons per plant
Fly_eggs_leaf_nb:			Number of beet leafminer eggs on true leavesper plant
Other:					Other injuries observed per plant (difficult to attribute to vertebrate or invertebrate damage)
Vertebrate_damage_cotyledon_nb:		Number of leaf injuries on cotyledons by vertebrates per plant
Vertebrate_damage_leaf_nb:		Number of leaf injuries on true leaves by vertebrates per plant
Note:					Comments or observations from field surveys
Aphids:					Number of aphids observed per plant

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(3) Stem_pest_assessment_2024.csv

Year:			Survey year (factor, 1 level)
Site:			ID of the surveyed site (factor, 2 levels)
Recorder:		Identity of the recorder
BCH_sugarbeet:		Phenological scale (in BBCH scale) of the crop
Date:			Survey date (factor, 4 levels)
Week:			Survey week (factor, 2 levels)
Block: 			Block within each site (factor, 4 levels)
Treatment:		Service crop treatment coded as number (factor, 5 levels: "1", "2", "3", "4" &"5")
Treatment_name:		Service crop treatment (factor, 5 levels: "barley", "clover", "mustard", "control_band" & "control_broad")
Plant:			Plant surveyed (factor, 10 levels) 
Mangold_beetle_Stem:	Number of stem injuries by pygmy mangold beetles per plant
Other_damage_Stem:	Number of stem injuries by other organisms per plant

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(4) Stem_pest_assessment_2025.csv

Year:			Survey year (factor, 1 level)
Date:			Survey date (factor, 2 levels)
Site:			ID of the surveyed site (factor, 3 levels)
Block: 			Block within each site (factor, 3 levels)
Treatment:		Service crop treatment coded as number (factor, 5 levels: "1", "2", "3", "4" &"5")
Plant:			Plant surveyed (factor, 15 levels) 
Damage_percentage:	Percentage of the stem with injuries per plant

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(5) Plant_assessment_2024.csv

Year:				Survey year (factor, 1 level)
Site:				ID of the surveyed site (factor, 2 levels)
Date:				Survey date (factor, 1 level)
Block:				Block within each site (factor, 4 levels)
Treatment:			Service crop treatment coded as number (factor, 5 levels: "1", "2", "3", "4" &"5")
Treatment_name:			Service crop treatment (factor, 5 levels: "barley", "clover", "mustard", "control_band" & "control_broad")
Quadrat:			Replicate within each block and treatment (factor, 4 levels)
Survey_area_sugar_beet_sqm:	Survey area (in square meters) to assess number of sugar beet plants
Sugar_beet_nb:			Number of sugar beet plants per sugar beet survey area
Survey_area_service_crop_sqm:	Survey area (in square meters) to assess number of service crop plants and biomass
Service_crop_nb:		Number of service crop plants per service crop survey area
Service_crop_weight:		Service crop aboveground biomass per service crop survey área (g m-2) 
Survey_area_weed_sqm:		Survey area (in square meters) to assess weed biomass
Weed_weight:			Weed aboveground biomass per weed survey area (g m-2) 

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(6) Plant_assessment_2025.csv

Year:				Survey year (factor, 1 level)
Site:				ID of the surveyed site (factor, 3 levels)
Date:				Survey date (factor, 3 levels)
Block:				Block within each site (factor, 3 levels)
Treatment:			Service crop treatment coded as number (factor, 5 levels: "1", "2", "3", "4" &"5")
Treatment_name:			Service crop treatment (factor, 5 levels: "barley", "clover", "mustard", "control_band" & "control_broad")
Quadrat:			Replicate within each block and treatment (factor, 4 levels)
Survey_area_sugar_beet_sqm:	Survey area (in square meters) to assess number of sugar beet plants
Sugar_beet_nb:			Number of sugar beet plants per sugar beet survey area	
Sugar_beet_weight:		Sugar beet aboveground biomass per sugar beet survey área (g m-2) 
Survey_area_service_crop_sqm:	Survey area (in square meters) to assess number of service crop plants and biomass
Service_crop_nb:		Number of service crop plants per service crop survey area
Service_crop_weight:		Service crop aboveground biomass per service crop survey área (g m-2) 
Survey_area_weed_sqm:		Survey area (in square meters) to assess weed biomass
Weed_plants:			Details regarding whether weeds were collected for biomass assessments or not 
Weed_weight:			Weed aboveground biomass per weed survey area (g m-2) 
Comment:			Comments / observations




