Yellow Dwarf Virus (YDV) causes yield loss in cereals and is transferred between plants by cereal aphids and rose grain aphids.

Current cereal YDV management is focused on agrichemical use. This leaves wheat production susceptible to the emergence of resistance. Incorporating new approaches, formulations or technologies such as biopesticides will reduce risk and build resilience into wheat production systems.

This project has three areas of focus:

• independently evaluating YDV management programmes that have a reduced environmental footprint while also maintaining or increasing profitability.
• comparing YDV incidence and yield in wheat crops managed using neonicotinoid seed treatment and bare seed using large-scale plots and a weigh-bin.
• support uptake of integrated pest management practices amongst growers by providing regional monitoring of aphid and beneficial insect populations, and modelling aphid flight risks.