Chilies are plants that are becoming increasingly popular all over the world, including in Hungary. Since little is known about the abundance and seasonal dynamic of insect pests and their natural enemies associated with chilies under Hungarian climatic conditions, the aim of the study was to monitor these organisms on different varieties under different growing conditions to provide data for improving IPM for chilies. Chili varieties “Yellow Scotch Bonnet” (YSB) and “Trinidad Scorpion Butch T” (TSBT) were planted with three replicates. Two different plant-to-plant distances (30 vs. 40 and 40 vs. 60 cm in YSB, TSBT, respectively) and two different irrigation frequencies (daily, 40 min; every second day, 20 min) were used. Fifty flowers/plot/date were collected. In 2019, Orius (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) larvae, and in 2021, phytophagous thrips larvae were dominant in all the treatments. Significantly more Orius adults and larvae were found in the YSB than in the TSBT variety and the number of Aeolothrips and phytophagous thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) adults was significantly higher under less irrigation in 2019. The plant spacing did not affect the abundance of predators or herbivores. Upon comparing the two years, no effect of the treatments on the studied insect taxa was observed.

Soil fauna is crucial for carbon cycling, controlling organic matter decomposition and contributing to ecosystem services ^1–7 . Soil microarthropods are top-down regulators in the decomposer food web and serve as fundamental indicators of soil health. Yet, routine field-level monitoring remains restricted to resource-intensive research, leaving a critical gap in arable land management and policy. To address this, we developed Edapholog ^® extractor, a fully automated laboratory device that detects and identifies live soil microarthropods via real-time, AI-based image analysis, enabling taxonomic identification. Here, we demonstrate its accuracy across 319 arable fields spanning ten European countries. We show that computer vision can support ecological interpretation in arable systems and long-term studies on conservation tillage and cover cropping, offering a scalable tool for integrating soil biodiversity metrics into regenerative agriculture and carbon farming. We validated the system against classical taxonomy and found that across ∼35,000 microarthropod individuals, the device achieved an overall accuracy of 86%, sensitivity of 75%, and specificity of 99% compared to manual identifications. Community composition analyses revealed high similarities (83%), with minimal richness differences (7%) and low species replacement (13%) across countries, indicating that the AI does not introduce taxonomic bias. When applied in a long-term field experiment, the system detected significant taxon-specific responses to conservation tillage, with effect sizes ranging from 0.5 to 4. Total abundance, richness, and a soil biological health index were 39%, 47%, and 150% higher, respectively, under conservation tillage compared to conventional ploughing. These effects were statistically consistent between the automated and classical methods. However, while manual microscopy required several hours per sample, the AI-based system delivered immediate results without the need for taxonomic expertise. Edapholog ^® extractor offers exciting opportunities for rapid, scalable soil biodiversity monitoring for future sustainable land management.

Chilies are being increasingly favored worldwide, with an increasing growing area. As limited information is available about the population dynamic of arthropod communities in chilies under field conditions, the aim of our survey was to observe aphids and their natural enemies under various agrotechnological factors to improve IPM for chilies. The Yellow Scotch Bonnet (YSB) and Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (TSBT) chili varieties were investigated. Two plant spacings (30 vs. 40 and 40 vs. 60 cm in YSB and TSBT, respectively) and two watering rates (40 min/day; 20 min every second day) were applied with three replicates. Ten plants per plot/date were checked visually from July to September each year. In 2019, significantly more Chrysopidae eggs and significantly fewer Coccinellidae eggs were found under less watering. The number of Chrysopidae larvae and Coccinellidae pupae and larvae was significantly higher, whereas that of Chrysopidae eggs and Thomisidae individuals was significantly lower in the less-irrigated plots in 2021. In the same year, significantly more Coccinellidae adults were detected in the TSBT cultivar, and the number of Chrysopidae eggs and larvae and Coccinellidae pupae was significantly lower under decreased plant spacing. Predators preferred plots with an increased plant distance and plants with higher aphid pressure.

Some jumping plant-lice species are economically important due to their capacity as vectors of phytopathogenic bacteria, for example phytoplasmas. Previous studies have identified 80 jumping plant-louse species from Hungary; however, little is known about their occurrence during winter. To extend our knowledge of overwintering sites of jumping plant-lice in Hungary, we sampled them from conifers in various regions of the country. One of our main objectives was to find Cacopsylla pruni (Scopoli, 1763), the vector of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum' during winter. The period of this study extended from 2014 to 2020 in the winter months. Insects were collected at 18 sampling sites from Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county to Somogy county, located at Alsótekeres, Balatonvilágos, Boldogkőváralja, Budakeszi, Fenyőfő, Gyöngyöspata, Kecskemét, Martonvásár, Mátra Mountain, Nagykovácsi, Nagyszakácsi, Páty, Piliscsaba, Somogytúr, Soroksár, Sóskút and Verpelét. A total of 1,600 jumping plant-louse specimens belonging to 20 species and three families (Psyllidae, Aphalaridae and Triozidae) were collected and identified during the study. In the case of plum psyllid (C. pruni) four shelter sites were identified as new records for Hungary. The most common species were Trioza remota, Cacopsylla melanoneura, Trioza urticae, Bactericera albiventris, C. pruni and Cacopsylla crataegi. Some jumping plant-lice species are economically important due to their capacity as vectors of phytopathogenic bacteria, for example phytoplasmas. Previous studies have identified 80 jumping plant-louse species from Hungary; however, little is known about their occurrence during winter. To extend our knowledge of overwintering sites of jumping plant-lice in Hungary, we sampled them from conifers in various regions of the country. One of our main objectives was to find Cacopsylla pruni (Scopoli, 1763), the vector of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum' during winter. The period of this study extended from 2014 to 2020 in the winter months. Insects were collected at 18 sampling sites from Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county to Somogy county, located at Alsótekeres, Balatonvilágos, Boldogkőváralja, Budakeszi, Fenyőfő, Gyöngyöspata, Kecskemét, Martonvásár, Mátra Mountain, Nagykovácsi, Nagyszakácsi, Páty, Piliscsaba, Somogytúr, Soroksár, Sóskút and Verpelét. A total of 1,600 jumping plant-louse specimens belonging to 20 species and three families (Psyllidae, Aphalaridae and Triozidae) were collected and identified during the study. In the case of plum psyllid (C. pruni) four shelter sites were identified as new records for Hungary. The most common species were Trioza remota, Cacopsylla melanoneura, Trioza urticae, Bactericera albiventris, C. pruni and Cacopsylla crataegi.