Management of aphid and BYDV risk in winter cereals

This project aims to improve BYDV management through the development of effective and economical BYDV vector monitoring and decision support systems (DSS). The project will investigate the potential to use suction trap data to predict aphid numbers, including those carrying BYDV, in nearby field crops. It will also explore the potential to use image analysis to identify cereal aphids in suction traps. Additionally, the project will assess the reliability of in-field monitoring approaches, such as sticky traps and water traps. Finally, the work will develop two DSS. Firstly, a ‘risk DDS’, to predict BYDV risk prior to drilling, using various field-specific factors (e.g. location, land use, drill date and varietal choice). Secondly, a ‘spray DSS’, to predict the need for (and timing of) insecticide sprays. The work will also examine the effect of tolerant varieties on BYDV management.