Dr. Michael Gaffney, a Research Entomologist in Teagasc, joined Michael Hennessy on this week’s Tillage Edge podcast to discuss aphid control and BYDV.

Michael explained that even though there is some infection initially from winged aphids, only a small proportion of the problematic aphids (Grain aphid and Bird Cherry Oat aphid) actually carry the virus. It’s the offspring of these aphids which can spread more virus within the crop.

Environmental factors such as temperature, wind and rain can affect how fast aphids reproduce and these factors dictate when control measures are best used.

Michael also discussed insecticide resistance and even though there is pyrethroid resistance across the country, pyrethroids will work well in most cases. He stresses the need for constant field walking to observe both aphid numbers and also species type.

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https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/crops/the-tillage-edge-podcast/