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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #262600
Title: Bird cherry-oat aphid (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha, Aphidinae): Biology, pest status, and management in wheat

Author
item Hesler, Louis
item HADI, BUYUNG - South Dakota State University
item THARP, CECIL - Montana State University

Submitted to: Trends in Entomology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/12/2011
Publication Date: 3/12/2011
Citation: Hesler, L.S., Hadi, B., Tharp, C. 2010. Bird cherry-oat aphid (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha, Aphidinae): Biology, pest status, and management in wheat. Trends in Entomology. 6:53-70.

Interpretive Summary: The bird cherry-oat aphid (BCOA) is a worldwide and economically significant sap-sucking pest of wheat and other small grains. However, a comprehensive and recent review of its biology, pest status, and management is lacking, although a few thousand articles have been published on this pest. This article accomplishes a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the biology and pest status of BCOA in wheat, synthesizes and integrates information on different management approaches, and provides up-to-date information and literature references for those involved in wheat production. This review of the literature reinforces that BCOA is the prominent vector of two of the major classes of plant viruses, known generally as yellow dwarf viruses (YDV), that affect wheat throughout the world, but it also notes multiple studies that demonstrate the pest status of BOCA itself due to direct feeding and yield loss. Insecticides continue to be the main tactic for managing BCOA and limiting the spread of YDV, although a delay in planting winter wheat has been effective in limiting BCOA and YDV in many different regions. Additional management strategies against BCOA are still largely being developed, but these alternative tactics are reviewed in this article in terms of their potential to limit BCOA infestation and also reduce yield loss from YDV. This paper also briefly reviews the development of in-field sampling plans for BCOA and forecast models for YDV in wheat that are based on BCOA population dynamics, and it discusses ways that these are being used to optimize pest management strategies and integrate various tactics across scales that span farm, landscape, and region.

Technical Abstract: The bird cherry-oat aphid (BCOA), Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), is a worldwide pest of wheat and other small grains. This paper provides an overview of BCOA life history, reviews its pest status in wheat, synthesizes and integrates information on different management strategies, and gives up-to-date information and literature references for those involved in wheat production. A review of the literature reinforces that BCOA is the prominent vector of Barley yellow dwarf viruses and Cereal yellow dwarf virus throughout many wheat-growing regions of the world, but also notes multiple studies that demonstrate its pest status due to direct feeding and yield loss. Insecticides remain the primary tactic for managing BCOA and limiting the spread of yellow dwarf viruses (YDV), although a delay in planting winter wheat has been effective in limiting BCOA and YDV in many different regions. Other management strategies against BCOA are still largely being developed, and these alternative tactics are reviewed in terms of their ability to limit BCOA infestation and also reduce YDV incidence. This paper also briefly reviews the development of sampling plans for BCOA and forecast models for YDV in wheat that are based on BCOA population dynamics, and it discusses ways in which they are being used to optimize pest management strategies and integrate various tactics across farm, landscape, and regional scales.