Abstract
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 insectpredators 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.
