The study aimed to characterize the arthropod fauna associated with hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivars and to evaluate the ecological importance of the dominant pest species under field conditions. The research was conducted on three hazelnut cultivars (Tonda Genetic, Nohichone, and Tonda Romana) through two visual inspections performed on 15 and 25 May 2025. The identified arthropods were evaluated using ecological indices, including abundance (A), dominance (D), constancy (C), and ecological significance (W). The results showed that Myzocallis coryli and Parthenolecanium corni were the dominant phytophagous species in all cultivars, exhibiting the highest values of dominance and ecological significance. Myzocallis coryli reached the highest dominance in Tonda Romana (71.99%), whereas Parthenolecanium corni showed high ecological importance, particularly in Nohichone (46.14%) and Tonda Genetic (36.41%). Other pest species, including Curculio nucum, Byctiscus betulae, Tipula spp., and Tapinoma sessile, displayed considerably lower ecological relevance. Beneficial arthropods, including Coccinella septempunctata, Coccinella bipunctata, Bulaea lichatschovi, Eresus sp., and Xysticus kochi, were recorded at low abundance and constancy throughout the monitoring period. Assessment of pest pressure indicated moderate infestation levels, with a slight reduction in Tonda Genetic and Nohichone between the two assessment dates, whereas Tonda Romana maintained stable or slightly increasing pest pressure. Overall, the study highlights the ecological importance of M. coryli and P. corni in hazelnut agroecosystems and demonstrates the usefulness of ecological indices for characterizing arthropod communities and supporting integrated pest management.

Parthenolecanium corni, hazelnut pests, cultivar susceptibility, agroecosystem, entomofauna, pest monitoring, biodiversity

agronomy

Presentation: poster