Weeds Impose Unique Outcomes for Pests, Natural Enemies, and Yield in Two Vegetable Crops.

Weed management requires enormous labor investments from vegetable farmers, yet crops vary in how much weed pressure they can tolerate without yield loss. Moreover, until weeds reach a point where they threaten yield or approach seed production, they can increase biodiversity and provision food and habitat to attract predatory insects. In two related field experiments, we quantified impacts of weed presence and diversity on pests, predators, and biocontrol of both weed seeds and insect prey.