THE DIVERSITY OF USEFUL ARTHROPODS IN TWO WHEAT AGROECOSYSTEMS FROM TRANSYLVANIAN PLAIN

Abstract

The increase in agricultural production is conditioned by several factors, among which plant protection against pests plays a very important role. Alongside chemical methods, biological control methods against harmful organisms in crops have recently become widespread, and one of these methods is the use of useful insects (predators and parasites). Therefore, during 2016-2018, a study was conducted on monitoring the useful entomofauna in the culture of autumn wheat, in two types of agroecosystems, at Turda and Bolduț, within the Turda Research and Development Station for Agriculture. The two locations are quite close in terms of distance, but very different in terms of territorial organization, with the Bolduț farm being surrounded by a network of agroforestry shelterbelts. In Turda, the plots are located in open field conditions and are protected by rare spontaneous marginal strips. The research aimed to evaluate the diversity of useful arthropod fauna in the two agrobiocenoses, as well as the influence of the agroecosystem on these insects. Following the observations, it can be stated that the entomophagous arthropods identified in the two agroecosystems differ only in terms of ecological indicators, belonging to the same groups of entomophages, their diversity being closely related to climatic conditions, applied technology, but also to the type of agroecosystem.