Spiders were sampled from organically and conventionally farmed Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla and Chrysanthemum, Calendula officinalis in two successive growing seasons 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 in Fayoum region. Spiders were collected by ground pitfall traps. Seventeen species of spiders were recorded. Most of collected species belong to the family Lycosidae, with especially high captures of Honga sp., Pardosa sp., and Wadicosa fidelis. The Gnaphosidae was represented by Micaria dives and Zelotes laetus, although the samples were largely dominated by the presence of Steatoda erigoniformis, Theridiidae. Results showed that more spider population, and a greater number of spider species, were captured from organic than from conventional fields.
The experiment was carried out on chia and quinoa plants at Fayoum governorate during 2019/2020 season, to study the effect of conventional and organic cultivation on diversity and abundance of spiders and other arthropods. Spiders and other arthropods in the soil were collected using pitfall traps, while arthropods on plant leaves were surveyed using the direct count. Number of spiders collected from organic cultivation were (486 -251 indv.) higher than those collected from conventional cultivation (423 -213 indv.) for chia and quinoa respectively. The most abundant family was Lycosidae. Pardosa spp. was the most abundant species in two cultivations. The results revealed that chia cultivation included the highest number of dominant species in both cultivations. The total number of arthropods collected by pitfall traps was recorded (5985 -2812 indv.) in conventional cultivation and (6703 -2951indv.) in organic cultivation of chia and quinoa respectively. Arthropods on leaves were recorded (643 -488indiv. in chia) and (256 -238indv. in quinoa) for conventional and organic cultivation, respectively. The mite Tetranychus urticae Koch and Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot were recorded on chia plants only, while Liriomyza spp. and Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) were recorded on quinoa plants only. Tetranychus urtica and Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) were recorded as the highest dominant and abundant in chia, however, Aphis spp. and Thrips tabaci Lindeman were recorded in quinoa in both cultivations. A significant difference was found between chia and quinoa plants for the occurrence of arthropods, while an insignificant difference was found between conventional and organic cultivation.
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