Nurserymen Research Articles

Transition toward circular economy in the agrifood seedling phase: A Life Cycle Assessment on tomato trays.

National and international guidelines call for greater environmental sustainability in agriculture through the introduction of the circular economy. Recent studies investigate the introduction of new technologies and methodologies in the field, however, few focus on initial stages at the plant nursery or the management of the involved materials, and none scientifically calculate their environmental impact. To fill this gap, this paper focuses on an Italian case study that quantifies the environmental impact of the traditional seed trays used worldwide for growing, transporting and transplanting tomato seedlings, proposing and evaluating two alternatives from a circular economy perspective. To do this, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to the traditional and to two new reusable, recyclable, washable seed trays, comparing their entire life cycles. Primary data, provided by three manufacturers, two nurseries and four agricultural farms, were modelled using SimaPro software. Their environmental impact was calculated considering the potentials of global warming, eutrophication, acidification, abiotic depletion of elements and fossil fuels, ozone layer depletion, water scarcity and photochemical oxidation. Results show that, irrespective of the type of material used for the seed pots, the extraction and production phase of the materials is the most impactful in the life cycles. The proposed trays resulted more environmentally sustainable than the traditional non-reusable expanded polystyrene tray. The work also quantified the environmental benefit achieved with the weight reduction of the seed pots and their better handling by operators, which avoided breakages and losses. Furthermore, it is shown how the proposed reusable solutions can be greener, reducing the impacts up to a third in the case of global warming potential. In conclusion, the research offers viable alternatives that can be used in the market all over the world, diminishing the overall impact of the seedling and transplanting phases.

Nursery Plant Shopping System in Agriculture Sector

Nursery Plant Shopping System in Agriculture Sector

Commercial Plant Nurseries in Kerala, India: A Critical Analysis of Key Success Drivers

This study investigates the factors that are pivotal to the success of commercial plant nurseries in Kerala, with a focus on keydimensions impacting agribusiness performance. The study had been conducted among the plant nursery entrepreneurs in three districts of Kerala i.e. Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, and Wayanad. Among the five primary dimensions analyzed for the study, social responsibility emerged as the most significant contributor to success, followed by employment and customer-related dimensions. The findings indicated that most respondents demonstrated moderate to high levels of success, i.e.,61.1%, with fewer falling into the low-performance category. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) identified eight core factors shaping nursery success, which include influence and competence, social capital, financial acumen, achievement motivation, community and asset, self-driven leadership, self independence, and creativity and the total variance explained by PCA is 68%. It was observed that older entrepreneurstended to have limited use of mass media tools, such as the internet and mobile technology, and exhibited lower managerial capacity which undermined their ability to handle operational and employee-related challenges. In summary, social responsibility dimension played a critical role in the success of agribusiness ventures, complemented by strategies focused on employment and customer engagement. The study highlights the importance of entrepreneurial traits and factors such as influence and competence factor, social capital factor, financial acumen factor in the success of commercial plant nurseries, which calls for framing more policies oriented towards formulating& imparting softskill development training programs to nursery entrepreneursinimproving the leadership skills and managerial ability.

Morphological characterization of some species of aphids belonging to the Aphididae family on some ornamental plants in Karbala Governorate

Given the importance of the aphid, its many species, the multiplicity of its families, and its rapid spread on ornamental plants in the Holy Governorate of Karbala City Iraq, this study was conducted and it aimed to diagnose some of the most important types of aphids belonging to the Aphididae family on ornamental plants in the Karbala Governorate. of the Aphididae family on ornamental plants in Karbala Governorate by selecting a group of nurseries distributed over six areas of the governorate, which comprised (the city center, Imam Aoun area, Al-Husseiniyah area, Al-Boubiyat area, Al-Har area and Al-Hindiya area). This study was conducted during the year 2023-2024 AD in one of the laboratories of the Plant Protection Department - College of Agriculture - University of Karbala. this study showed the presence of a large group of aphid colonies on ornamental plants, including the fine plum aphid (Hyalopterus pruni). This species was found on the Ruilia bretoniana plant. It is registered in Iraq The oat or bird cherry aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) was found on the Damascus rose plant and was not recorded in Iraq. The black citrus or camellia aphid (Toxoptera auranti) was found on the African rose plant and was not recorded in Iraq. The hawthorn aphid (Dysaphis crataegi) was found on the Sanchezia plant. It is registered in Iraq ornamental plants in most nurseries.

Parasitoids of the invasive cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae), in Iraq

AbstractPhenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) is an invasive mealybug globally, having originated in North America. During routine rearing of this pest in a plant nursery in Karbala, Iraq in June 2023, three species of parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcicoidea) emerged from the mealybug colonies, or were extracted as pupae from parasitised mealybugs. They were identified using both morphology and DNA sequencing as Aenasius arizonensis (Girault), Cheiloneurus nankingensis Li and Zu (Encyrtidae), and Marietta pictus (André) (Aphelinidae). The latter two species represent new country records for Iraq. All three species are diagnosed and illustrated below, with summaries of their distributions and biology. The importance of having databases available of barcodes and other diagnostic sequence data is emphasised in the context of biological control programmes.

Emerging Diseases in Spain Strawberry Crops: Neopestalotiopsis Leaf and Crown Rot and Fusarium Wilt.

In recent years, strawberry cultivation in Spain has been increasingly affected by new and re-emerging fungal diseases. The most significant emerging diseases in Spain include those caused by Neopestalotiopsis spp. Maharachch., K.D.Hyde & Crous and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae Winks & Y.N. Williams. These pathogens are difficult to control due to their pathogenic variability (presence of pathotypes and/or races), the lack of knowledge about the susceptibility of the different cultivars, the limited availability of effective fumigants, and the absence of sufficient information about their sources of inoculum. Both pathogens can cause root and crown rot, leading to plant collapse and significant losses for strawberry producers. Several factors have contributed to the rise of these diseases in Spain: (i) the gradual ban on key soil fumigants has left the crop vulnerable; (ii) there has been a notable diversification in the origin of mother plants used in cultivation, with plants now sourced from various countries, increasing the risk of long-distance pathogen spread; (iii) the introduction of numerous new strawberry varieties, which exposes more genotypes to pathogenic infections; and (iv) changes in planting times, leading to younger and more vulnerable plants being exposed to heat stress, as well as an increase in disease susceptibility. Neopestalotiopsis spp. and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae have also become major threats to strawberry crops worldwide, spreading through nursery plants and the movement of plant material. The latest research findings in Spain on both pathogens are highlighted in this manuscript.

THE RESPONSE OF NAJDARED APPLE CULTIVAR TO BRANCHING IN THE TREE NURSERY ACCORDING TO THE APPLIED TECHNIQUES

The experiment was carried out in the years 2021 - 2022, in a commercial nursery of the company SRL "Vindex Agro", where Najdared trees grafted on the M9 T337 rootstock served as biological material. Planting of rootstocks was carried out in the spring of 2021. The grafting method was Chip budding and planting distance was 0,8x0,35 m. In order to intensify the formation of the anticipated shoots in the area of the crown formation, various technological processes were used: V1. Free eyelid growth (control); V 2. Progerbalin LG, 25 ml; V 3. Progerbalin LG, 25 + 25 ml; V 4. Progerbalin LG, 25 ml + topping of apical leaves; V 5. Progerbalin LG, 25 + 25 ml + topping of apical leaves; V 6. Gerba 4 LG, 25 ml; V 7. Gerba 4 LG, 25 + 25 ml; V 8. Gerba 4 LG, 25 ml + topping of apical leaves; V 9. Gerba 4 LG, 25 + 25 ml + topping of apical leaves. It has been established that the most reasonable garnishing of the crown formation with anticipated shoots at Najdared cultivar was obtained by topping the apex area once when the graft reaches 65-70 cm height combined with twice sprays with Progerbalin LG and Gerba 4 LG growth regulators. The first treatment was done after topping the apical leaves and the next at 5-7 days late.

First Report of Pythium dissotocum Causing Root Rot on Nandina in Tennessee and the United States.

Nandina (Nandina domestica) is a popular landscape plant found extensively beyond the southeastern and southwestern parts of the United States (Wilson et al. 2021). In April 2024, one-year-old nandina 'Fire Power' plants grown in containers at a commercial nursery in Warren County, Tennessee, exhibited severe leaf yellowing, stunted growth, and brown to black root rot lesions. Disease severity affected 65% of the root area, with an incidence of 80% of 450 plants. Symptomatic eight plants' root tissues were surface-sterilized with 70% ethanol and washed twice with distilled water. Small sections of root tissues were placed in Petri dishes containing V8 agar (V8A) and incubated at 24°C in an 8-hour photoperiod cycle. White, radial mycelial growth were observed within 3-4 days of incubation. The aseptate hyphae ranged from 1.81 to 7.21 μm in diameter. The filamentous sporangia formed dendroid-like branches. Oogonia were subglobose, measured 15.06 ± 0.65 μm (n=50) in diameter. Oospores were globose and measured 4.58 ± 0.44 μm (n=50). The isolates (FBG7211 and FBG7216) were identified as Pythium dissotocum based on morphological characterization (Van der Plaats-Niterink 1981). For molecular identification, total DNA was extracted using the DNeasy PowerLyzer Microbial Kit (Qiagen, MA) from 7-day-old cultures of the isolates FBG7211 and FBG7216 grown on V8A. The primer pairs ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), OomCoxI-Levup/Fm85mod (Robideau et al. 2011), Cox2F/Cox2RC4 (Choi et al. 2015) and Oom-Btub-up415/Oom-Btub-lo1401 (Bilodeau et al., 2007) were used to amplify and sequence isolates using four genetic markers, including the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COX1), cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COX2), and nuclear beta-tubulin (BT), respectively. The 100% coverage of sequences (GenBank accession nos. PQ329213 and PQ284875 for ITS; PQ349316 and PQ349317 for COX1; PQ349318 and PQ349319 for COX2; PQ349314 and PQ349315 for BT) were 100%, 99.43%, 100%, and 99.56% Identical to P. dissotocum sequences of ITS, COX1, COX2, and BT genetic markers in the GenBank using core nt BLAST search (ITS: MT348554; COX1: MZ027313; COX2: MG719859; BT: KJ595479). Pathogenicity tests were performed on 1-year-old nandina 'Fire Power' seedlings grown in 1-gal containers to fulfill Koch's postulates. Each seedling was drench-inoculated with a 150 mL/plant of 2 x 105 zoospore suspension of the isolates FBG7211 and FBG7216 (five plants per isolate) (Fu and Kim 2024). Control plants were drenched with sterile distilled water. The plants were maintained in a greenhouse at 21 to 23°C and 70% relative humidity with a 16-h photoperiod and were irrigated twice daily for 2 min using an overhead irrigation system. Fourteen days after inoculation, dark brown necrotic lesions developed on the root of all inoculated plants, similar to those observed in the original samples. In contrast, no symptoms were observed in the control plants. Isolates resembling the morphological characteristics of P. dissotocum were recovered from inoculated plants, and their identity was confirmed as P. dissotocum using sequencing. P. dissotocum has been reported to cause root rot in nursery plants (Weiland et al. 2013). However, to our knowledge, this is the first report of root rot on nandina caused by P. dissotocum in Tennessee and the United States. This finding is crucial to develop an efficient disease management strategy of Pythium root rot on nandina.

Four Diaporthe species associated with grapevine nursery plants and commercial vineyards in Uruguay

AbstractDiaporthe species cause Diaporthe dieback (DD) in many grape‐growing countries causing general vine decline, shoot dieback and dead spurs, with perennial cankers and internal trunk necrosis. These pathogens are also the causal agents of Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, a common foliar disease affecting grapevine around the world. In this study, we specifically investigated DD affecting nursery vines and commercial vineyards in Uruguay. A collection of 59 Diaporthe isolates obtained from symptomatic and asymptomatic wood samples of commercial grapevines (nine cultivars) and nursery vines (including cuttings of four scion cultivars and two rootstocks, and six scion–rootstock combinations of grafted plants), was characterized based on DNA phylogenetic analysis, phenotypical characteristics and pathogenicity tests. Diaporthe ampelina was the most frequent species (86%), followed by D. foeniculina (9%), D. eres (3%) and D. terebinthifolii (2%). All species were isolated from nursery material, but D. ampelina was the only one found in field vines. The pathogenicity of all species was confirmed, with D. ampelina being the most virulent, causing the longest necrotic lesions on both green shoots and lignified canes. Further studies are needed to comprehend the epidemiology of DD and to better understand its relationship with Phomopsis cane and leaf spot in order to design a management programme to prevent the disease development.

First detection of alfalfa mosaic virus in Ficus benjamina in Chile.

Ficus benjamina, commonly known as ficus or weeping fig, is an ornamental tree from Southeast Asia in the Moraceae family. It is an evergreen species grown as an interior plant worldwide, prized for its glossy green leaves, gray stem, and multiple branches. F. benjamina can be pruned and kept as a small shrub when grown indoors, with most commercially available cultivars in the ornamental industry derived from sports and propagated cuttings (Chen et al., 2010). In October 2022, symptoms indicative of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) infection, such as intense bright yellow spots, mottling and chlorosis were observed in leaves of F. benjamina growing in office environments in Santiago, Chile (supplementary Fig.1). Seven symptomatic and three asymptomatic plants were sampled and traced back to the same plant nursery, and only leaf tissue samples from the symptomatic plants tested positive for the presence of the AMV using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Agdia Inc., Elkhart, IN). These results were verified using reverse transcription (RT)-PCR with specific primers AMV-F and AMV-R, targeting a region of the AMV CP gene (Xu and Nie, 2006). AMV was detected in all symptomatic leaf samples, producing 351-bp amplicons in the RT-PCR assay for all samples that were positive to AMV by ELISA. No amplification product was observed when seronegative samples or non-template control was used as templates in the RT-PCR assays. Three RT-PCR amplicons were directly sequenced in both directions. BLAST analysis of these sequences showed 100% nucleotide sequence identity to an AMV isolate previously reported (GenBank Accession No. KX458469), confirming the detection of AMV in F. benjamina. This pathogen causes disease in several species, including ornamentals plant such as Viburnum tinus L. (Peña et al., 2011), peony (Belardi and Rubies, 2003), phlox (Holcomb et al., 2006), and weeds such as Cayratia japonica (Thunb.) Gagnep, Justicia procumbens L. and Veronica persica Poir. (Gao et al., 2020). F. benjamina is among the most popular ornamental indoor plants in Chile, so nurseries should ensure AMV-free plants to restrict disease incidence and prevent the spread of this virus. However, Chile lacks specific regulations for ornamental nurseries, making adherence to pest and disease recommendations voluntary, and only imported plant material requires a sanitary certificate.

The alien and invasive plant species that may be a future conservation threat to the Lesotho Afro-alpine Drakensberg area

In this study, we documented and compared similarities of the alien plant species richness between South Africa represented by three provinces: Free State (FS), Eastern Cape (EC), and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and Lesotho—an important water source area for southern Africa. We tested the prediction that alien plant species in Lesotho are a subset of South Africa’s species partly because of the short geographical distances between the provinces and Lesotho, and environmental similarity. Overall, 7124 records containing 1040 individual alien plant species belonging to 147 families were documented. South Africa had significantly greater alien plant species records than Lesotho. Of 147 plant families, 44 were represented in both countries, and 101 families did not occur in Lesotho. Against the study prediction, the Geraniaceae and Orobanchaceae families occurred in Lesotho but not in three provinces. KwaZulu-Natal had a significantly greater number of species than Lesotho but not the other provinces, and 49% of species in three provinces originated from the Americas (i.e. South and North), Europe, and Asia. A similar pattern was observed in Lesotho. Woody and herbaceous alien plants, habitat transformers, dominated three provinces, while herbaceous species dominated Lesotho. The 62% of 1040 alien species were not listed in the South African national regulations, indicating their negative impacts are also unknown in the study region. Plant nurseries were a dominant species dispersal pathway in South Africa, while home gardens were prominent in Lesotho. We conclude that invasive plant species constitute a future threat to the Lesotho Drakensberg highlands water catchments and recommend prioritising their management and improving cross-border biosecurity between Lesotho and South Africa.

Using Mulch for Weed Control in Container Plant Production

Weed management in container plant production is a serious problem and remains one of the most expensive and time-consuming aspects of the plant nursery industry. Weeds compete for light, water, nutrients, and space, which ultimately results in decreased crop growth and yield. Weed management in container nurseries is primarily based on the use of timely preemergence (PRE) herbicides and supplemental hand weeding. The most challenging downside to applying PRE herbicides is often crop safety for many herbicide-sensitive crops commonly produced by Florida growers. Also, herbicide labels typically preclude application on bearing plants or for up to 12 months before fruit can be harvested. Due to these concerns, among the most commonly adopted non-chemical approaches to weed management in recent times is the utilization of mulch. This publication discusses best mulching practices, mulch types, application techniques, cost, and other management practices in container plant production.

Model Pengembangan Agrowisata Yutaka Farm Desa Pasucen Trangkil Pati

This study aims to analyze the development model of Yutaka Farm Agrotourism in Pasucen Village, Trangkil District, Pati Regency. This agrotourism site has successfully integrated environmental conservation, education, and local community empowerment through a sustainable tourism approach. Initially established as a plant nursery in 2017, Yutaka Farm has evolved into an agricultural-based tourist destination with a Japanese-themed concept, encompassing nature tourism, culinary experiences, and environmental education. Using a qualitative descriptive research method, this study found that Yutaka Farm's development through the stages of mapping, social planning, and social action has improved the local economy, community participation, and human resources quality. The implications of this model include enhancing the local community's quality of life, as well as preserving local culture and the environment. The success of Yutaka Farm demonstrates that a local wisdom-based agrotourism model can significantly impact economic and social development in rural areas.

The Potential Benefits of Palm Oil Waste-Derived Compost in Embracing the Circular Economy

The environmental impact of peat extraction in plant nurseries requires urgent attention due to climate change and habitat destruction. Substituting peat moss with compost derived from palm oil waste in oil palm nurseries presents a viable solution. However, the challenges in its implementation must be considered. This research focuses on optimizing composting conditions for palm oil waste and examines the impact of the compost on soil quality, nutrient availability, and seedling growth. Measurements such as the culling rate, plant height, leaf length, and chlorophyll content were taken to assess seedling growth in nurseries. The compost was also tested as a soil amendment for 5-year-old palm trees, with foliar analysis conducted to evaluate the nutrient assimilation. The results show that optimized compost significantly enhanced the seedling growth by 20–50%, evidenced by the increased plant height, longer leaf length, and higher chlorophyll content. Additionally, the foliar analysis demonstrated an improvement of 5–15% in the nutrient assimilation in the 5-year-old palm trees. This research highlights the potential of optimizing oil palm waste composting for sustainable planting media in nurseries, mitigating environmental impacts and promoting productivity in oil palm plantations. Adopting this circular economy model can address waste management challenges while ensuring a resilient and sustainable approach in the palm oil industry.

Flavobacterium capsici sp. nov., isolated from the rhizospheric soils of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

Two separate bacterial strains, PMTSA4T and PMR2A8, were isolated from the rhizospheric soils of bell pepper plants grown in a plant nursery. These strains are Gram-negative, non-motile and rod-shaped and grow in aerobic conditions. They exhibit a positive reaction for catalase activity but negative results for oxidase activity. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the strains PMTSA4T and PMR2A8 are closely related to Flavobacterium piscinae ICH-30T (95.6%, respectively), Flavobacterium ahnfeltiae 10Alg 130T (95.5%) and Flavobacterium maris KMM 9535T (95.3%), aligning them within the genus Flavobacterium. Digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values and average nucleotide identities (ANIs) of the whole-genome sequences for the two strains and related Flavobacterium species were significantly below the established thresholds for prokaryotic species delineation (<70% for dDDH and <95% for ANI). The observed values were as follows: Flavobacterium aquatile LMG 4008T (dDDH: 19.8% and ANI: 75.5%), F. piscinae ICH-30T (dDDH: 18.6% and ANI: 73.3%) and F. stagni WWJ 16T (dDDH: 18.5% and ANI: 72.0%). The strains have genome sizes of 3 068 185 bp and 3 068 330 bp, with a G+C content of 32.5 mol%. In phenotypic characterization, the new strains grew at 10-35 °C and tolerated up to 4% NaCl at pH 5-9 (optimum pH 8). The predominant cellular fatty acids were observed to be iso-C15:0, iso-C17:0 3-OH and iso-C15:0 3-OH. Menaquinone-6 was the predominant quinone. Considering the results from phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and genomic analyses, it is proposed that the strains PMTSA4T and PMR2A8 represent a novel species within the genus Flavobacterium.

Horticultural and Ecological Assessment of Public Gardens and Parks at Benghazi City during Last Five Decades

Gardens and parks play significant and major role from ecological and environmental point of view. The presence of trees, plants and greenery in public gardens and resorts helps to cool the surrounding environment, reduce air pollution and improve air quality. They can also support pollinators and wild life like bees, butter flies and birds by providing a diverse range of flowering plants and habitats for urban wildlife. Despite of the ornamental plants were very limited, and the workers and specialists in this field were very rare, the municipality of Benghazi tried to provide the horticultural structures like plant nurseries, training programs and investing in employees and providing opportunities for their development. During years from 1990 to 2023, the number of gardens and parks was jumped to more than 127. Recently, more horticultural care was noticed not only in the governmental sector but also in the private one while the number of ornamental nurseries increased, private agricultural companies established, and more plants were imported and introduced to the city. Because of lack of information, we tried to analyzed and assayed the gardens and parks situation from horticultural and ecological point of view at Benghazi city from 1973 to the present using available information with focusing on the development of this sector to provide more data base for the authorities, interests and researchers.

Quality of Nursery Trees Is Critical for Optimal Growth and Inducing Precocity in Apple

Quality of Nursery Trees Is Critical for Optimal Growth and Inducing Precocity in Apple

Stand-alone and combined effects of protein hydrolysate and humic-like substances derived from waste materials on the growth, physiology and mineral nutrition of tea nursery plants

Stand-alone and combined effects of protein hydrolysate and humic-like substances derived from waste materials on the growth, physiology and mineral nutrition of tea nursery plants

A biosecurity perspective on urban trees in public and private spaces and trees available from nurseries

Urban trees are of high importance for healthy urban ecosystems. However, some trees are invasive plants that may ‘escape’ from urban areas into natural environments. Furthermore, invasive forest pests often arrive and establish in urban environments before they spread to forest ecosystems. Therefore, knowledge of tree species composition in urban areas is important for the biosecurity of cities and surrounding forests. Despite this, urban tree inventories often lack information on trees on private properties. To assess the potential role of urban areas as a source of invasive trees as well as invasive pests of trees, we compared the species composition of urban trees in public and private spaces in several Swiss cities and in tree nurseries (henceforth: ‘nurseries’) in Switzerland. We analysed the various data sets we compiled regarding invasive tree species, and examined how many trees are potential hosts for invasive quarantine pests of trees. We found no statistically significant difference in tree species composition in public and private urban areas, but the proportion of non-native trees was higher in private than in public spaces. Tree species available in nurseries and those present in cities were not significantly different, with larger urban tree inventories having a greater overlap with the species available in nurseries. Five of eight tree species considered invasive whose sale was banned since September 2024 were still on sale ten months before the ban came into force. All eight tree species were present in urban tree inventories. Importantly, between 91 % and 97 % of all urban trees in public and private spaces were suitable hosts for at least one quarantine forest pest. Given the pivotal role that urban trees play for the health of urban and peri-urban ecosystems, knowledge of tree species composition is essential from a biosecurity perspective. Our findings suggest that the combination of public urban tree inventories and trees available from nurseries can provide an estimate of the composition of private urban trees and can be useful for invasive species monitoring.

Comparative Study of Butterfly Diversity across Four Habitats in Cuncolim, Goa, India

Biodiversity describes the variety and richness of life on Earth. The diversity of life on Earth is essential for healthy functioning and it boosts ecosystem productivity. Without wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms we cannot have the healthy ecosystems on which we are relying. Monitoring of biodiversity is of prime importance because biodiversity is the marker of ecosystem stability. Butterflies provide variety of ecological services and are very important component of biodiversity in different natural ecosystems. Several studies are reported from different parts of the state, mainly from wildlife sanctuaries, sacred grooves, Plateaus, and well-known tourist destinations of Goa. Present study is focused on collecting preliminary information on diversity of butterflies from four unexplored selected habitats of Cuncolim area at the foothills of Western Ghats in Goa. The Pollard Walk and visual count methods were employed. Total number of butterfly species during the survey at Forest is 316, Rivulet is 264, Seven temple is 222, and Plant nursey is 230. From the present survey it is observed that the Nymphalidae is the richest family (51%) followed by Pieridae (17%), Lycaenidae and Paipilionidae, both with (15%) each and Hesperiidae with (2%). Relative abundance of site 1(Forest) is 30.62, site 2 (Rivulet) is 25.58 site 3 (Seven temple) is 21.51 and site 4 (Plant nursery) is 22.28. Observations from this study clearly indicate the impact of anthropogenic activities on butterfly diversity.