ROLE OF WEEDS IN CREATING AGRO-ECOLOGICAL STABILITY

We devised a study to ascertain the role of weeds in agro-ecosystem. Therefore, we made seasonal cataloguing of the line data on multiple crops i.e., sugarcane, fodder, wheat and mustard to see crops' viability and role of weeds' diversity in preventing insect outbreaks by reducing crop productivity losses. We found that out of fifteen weed species, 11 weed species were of broad-leaved category while four were of pointed-leaves. The arthropod-fauna included insect pest-species from Orthoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera that used weeds as priority food. Besides that, some specific zoophagous insect-predators belonging to orders Odonata, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Araneae were documented on similar weeds, for food, shelter and egg-laying. In the light of our observations, we concluded that there is a significant role of weeds in a crop-system that may support other essential life forms in creating ecological balance.