Studies on the Population Structure of Soil Arthropods and Soil Nematodes Associated with Jute and Pulse Crop of Nadia and Murshidabad Districts, West Bengal

The analysis of 280 soil samples collected from jute and pulse fields from Nadia and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal during July 1997 and January, 2000 indicates that among microarthropods present per unit volume of soil, mites were the dominant in number both in jute (78%) and pulse (73.33%) and this was followed by the collembollans (21.33%) and (22.66%) and others (0.67%) and (4.01%) in jute and pulse correspondingly. In respect of the nematode population dorylaimids were numerically dominant in both jute (50%) and pulse (45.7%) and this was followed by rhabdoids and tylenchids in jute 34% and 16% and in pulse 31.82% and 22.48% respectively. Among the tylenchids, the population of Hirschmanniella sp. and Helicotylenchus sp. was higher in jute and the population of Tylenchorhynchus sp. was higher in pulse. The pH, soil temperature and soil moisture content of the soil samples were recorded. It appears that the moisture content of the soil has some positive effect on the population structure of microarthropods and nematodes both in jute and pulse.