Spider diversity in some common oilseed crops in Central Punjab,Pakistan

Three commonly cultivated oilseed crops viz.,soybean,sunflower and indian mustard were sampled to compare density and diversity of spider at different developmental stages. this study was conducted at ayub agriculture research institute,faisalabad,pakistan. a total of 1210 spider individuals,68 species and 5 families were sampled throughout the study period. the families showed different levels of association with the crops,like lycosidae and clubionidae were found commonly spread and highly abundant,whereas philodromidae was only restricted to sunflower and locally rare. the evippa sohani,pardosafletcheri,evippa shivajii and pardosa oakleyi were recorded most dominant and commonly spread spider species. indian mustard constituted highest diversity of spider species followed by soybean and sunflower. spider species diversity on the indian mustard was significantly different from the sunflower. these predator species can play a major role to suppress devastating agricultural pests of oilseed crops,thereby enhance the crop yield.