Written by cpm
With growers turning to cultural methods to control the impact of aphids on barley crops, KWS’ latest BYDV-tolerant variety looks set to play an important role. CPM finds out more. Genetics are going to help when chemistry may not be able to. By Charlotte Cunningham Since the demise of neonicotinoid seed treatments, controlling plant viruses spread via aphids has been somewhat of a challenge for growers. And when it comes to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), the key culprits are the grain aphid and the bird cherry oat aphid, which – if left uncontrolled – can cause devastating yield losses in arable crops. The issue is control options are now limited. And with the majority of growers now turning to pyrethroids, this undoubtedly puts more pressure on precious remaining chemistry. So what’s the solution? “Strategies are primarily based around the cultural control of aphid vectors, which includes trying to reduce sources of infection, such as green bridges and volunteers,” explains Kirsty Richards, cereals product manager. “Aphids can and should be monitored using facilities like AHDB’s BYDV Management Tool, but the important thing to remember with BYDV is that once symptoms appear, it’s too late for control measures. “2019 was…
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