As the challenge of dealing with Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) gets more difficult – not least due to climate change pushing aphids further north and resistance issues and regulatory pressures making chemical control more complicated, more time consuming, more costly and often less reliable – where does the future of BYDV control lie? And, with many SFI schemes precluding the use of insecticides altogether, how can growers protect crops?

One way of the most commonly used strategies for preventing BYDV infections is delaying autumn drilling until after the last migration of aphids has passed. But last year’s wet autumn demonstrated with exceptional clarity why that isn’t a feasible or reliable option for many.

The answer may lie in genetics. Instead of having to rely on chemical controls or cultural measures to prevent a crop from being exposed to the virus after it has been drilled, genetic resistance protects the crop from the outset. As such, it matters less if an influx of virus carrying aphids arrives after the crop has been established. Thus, growers can drill at a time and date that suits their farm, their rotation, their geography and the season’s prevailing weather conditions and not have to consider virus risk.

The AHDB Recommended List is developed using insecticide treated crops, and doesn’t include data from test plots where BYDV is confirmed. Unfortunately, this means that there is little understanding of how varieties perform in the presence of virus.

Continuing from work conducted by RAGT across the country this past year, ProCam will be working with the breeder to ascertain the natural BYDV resistance of a range of winter wheat varieties in insecticide-free situations at their demonstration sites across the UK. This will include a range of new ‘Genserus’ varieties from RAGT which are fully resistant to BYDV.

At present, the AHDB doesn’t rate varieties according to their resistance to BYDV, but RAGT believe that not all susceptible varieties behave the same when infected. Some have proven less likely to lose green leaf colour, and less susceptible to dwarfism, both of which invariably reduce yield. Ultimately however, in situations where virus is prevalent, only resistant varieties will not suffer from a yield impact. This trial work will therefore give a more in depth understanding into these differences and show the hierarchy of varieties available in the coming years in a different light.

With the trials ongoing and results as yet unpublished, the proof will be in the final yield data.

But with a range of new resistant ‘Genserus’ varieties being brought to market, maybe growers in BYDV hotspots will soon be able to capitalise on insecticide-free SFI payment schemes without compromising on yield.