Abstract:
Spiders are important biological control agents whose activity and diversity can be negatively affected by
agricultural practices. A study was conducted at Chinhoyi University of Technology experimental farm, northern
Zimbabwe, to determine the impact of tillage, fertiliser application and weeding regimes on ground-dwelling spiders
across three maize crop growth stages (early vegetative: V3; late vegetative: V6; and intermediate reproductive: R2).
Lycosidae were the most abundant spider family (85.7%) while Salticidae were least abundant (0.8%). The spiders
belonged to two functional groups, ground and plant wanderers with the former constituting 94.9% of pitfall
catches. Spiders were most abundant during V3, followed by R2 and V6 maize growth stages. Spider community
diversity was also greatest during the V3 (H′ = 0.45) and least during the V6 stage (H′ = 0.12). During the V3 and R2
stages, ground dwelling spider abundance was higher in the two reduced tillage systems than under conventional
tillage. Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that reduced tillage is useful in increasing ground-dwelling
spider community abundance and diversity during the V3 and R2 maize growth stages.
