The objective of this study was to characterize the diversity of mites on coffee plants of the Mundo Novo cultivar in two important coffee producing areas (Jeriquara and Garça) in the state of São Paulo. Samples of leaves, branches and fruits were fortnightly collected, from April 2001 to June 2003, from the middle third of 10 plants randomly taken from each field. Twelve leaves (each leaf from the third or forth pair from the distal part of each branch), 12 branches (apical 25 cm) and 100 fruits. A total of 13,052 specimens were collected in the two studied places, 7,155 in Jeriquara and 5,897 in Garça. From a total of 108 mite species collected from coffee plants in this study, forty five species were collected in both studied fields, which presented 56% of similarity. The number of species found exclusively in Jeriquara (47) was approximately three times higher than the number of species observed only in Garça (16). For Jeriquara, the diversity of mites on surface of leaves, as well as in domatia, and on branches and fruits was higher than for Garça. In both studied areas, Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes, 1939) and Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor 1919) were the most abundant and frequent phytophagous mite species. Stigmaeids and phytoseiids were the most abundant and frequent predaceous mites in both localities.

RESUMO -O ácaro-da-erinose-da-lichia, Aceria litchii (Keifer), é relatado pela primeira vez no Brasil, na região central do Estado de São Paulo, causando dano severo a folhas e frutos jovens. Esta espécie era citada como praga quarentenária A1 para o Brasil. Termos para indexação: Litchi chinensis, praga quarentenária, ácaro-da-erinose-da-lichia FIRST REPORT OF Aceria litchii (KEIFER) (PROSTIGMATA: ERIOPHYIDAE) ON LITCHI TREES IN BRAZILABSTRACT -The litchi erinose mite, Aceria litchii, is reported for the first time in Brazil in the central region of the State of São Paulo, causing severe damage to newly developed leaves and fruits. This species was listed as an A1 quarantine pest in Brazil. Index terms: Litchi chinensis, quarantine pest, litchi erinose mite.

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Despite the recent interest in organic agriculture, little research has been carried out in this area. Thus, the objective of this study was to compare, in a dystrophic Ultisol, the effects of organic and conventional agricultures on soil organism populations, for the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) and corn (Zea mays) crops. In general, it was found that fungus, bacterium and actinomycet populations counted by the number of colonies in the media, were similar for the two cropping systems. CO 2 evolution during the cropping season was higher, up to the double for the organic agriculture system as compared to the conventional. The number of earthworms was about ten times higher in the organic system. There was no difference in the decomposition rate of organic matter of the two systems. In general, the number of microartropods was always higher in the organic plots in relation to the conventional ones, reflectining on the Shannon index diversity. The higher insect population belonged to the Collembola order, and in the case of mites, to the superfamily Oribatuloidea. Individuals of the groups Aranae, Chilopoda, Dyplopoda, Pauropoda, Protura and Symphyla were occasionally collected in similar number in both cropping systems. Key words: soil microorganisms, organic agriculture, microartropods, cropping systems, environmental impacts ORGANISMOS DO SOLO EM SISTEMAS DE CULTIVO ORGÂNICO E CONVENCIONALRESUMO: Apesar do crescente interesse pela agricultura orgânica, são poucas as informações de pesquisa disponíveis sobre o assunto. Assim, num Argissolo Vermelho-Amarelo distrófico foram comparados os efeitos de sistemas de cultivo orgânico e convencional, para as culturas do tomate (Lycopersicum esculentum) e do milho (Zea mays), sobre a comunidade de organismos do solo e suas atividades. As populações de fungos, bactérias e actinomicetos, determinadas pela contagem de colônias em meio de cultura, foram semelhantes para os dois sistemas de produção. A atividade microbiana, avaliada pela evolução de CO 2, manteve-se superior no sistema orgânico, sendo que em determinadas avaliações foi o dobro da evolução verificada no sistema convencional. O número de espécimes de minhoca foi praticamente dez vezes maior no sistema orgânico. Não foi observada diferença na taxa de decomposição de matéria orgânica entre os dois sistemas. De modo geral, o número de indivíduos de microartrópodos foi superior no sistema orgânico do que no sistema convencional, refletindo no maior índice de diversidade de Shannon. As maiores populações de insetos foram as da ordem Collembola, enquanto para os ácaros a maior população foi a da superfamília Oribatuloidea. Indivíduos dos grupos Aranae, Chilopoda, Dyplopoda, Pauropoda, Protura e Symphyla foram ocasionalmente coletados e de forma similar entre os sistemas. Palavras-chave: microbiota do solo, agricultura orgânica, microartrópodos, sistemas de cultivo, impacto ambiental