ARS | Publication request: SPRING WHEAT ROOT AND SHOOT RESPONSES TO BIRD CHERRY-OAT APHIDS AND BYDV

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 5, 2002
Publication Date: November 5, 2002
Citation: Riedell, W.E., Langham, M., Kieckhefer, R.W., Hesler, L.S. 2002. Spring wheat root and shoot responses to bird cherry-oat aphids and bydv. Agronomy Abstracts p. 282.

Technical Abstract: Information about how insects and insect-vectored disease interact with crops is important for developing IPM systems for insect and disease management. This two year field study characterized spring wheat root, shoot, and yield responses to bird cherry-oat aphid infestation (BCOA), barley yellow dwarf virus infection (BYDV), or a combination of BCOA and BYDV (BCOA+BYDV). Wheat plants at the 2-3 leaf stage were infested with BCOA for 300 aphid days (30 aphids per stem for 10 days) to establish BCOA (using non-viroliferous aphids) and BCOA+BYDV (using viroliferous aphids) treatments. The BYDV treatment was established by infesting plants with viroliferous aphids for a 48 hour period. At anthesis, BYDV and BCOA+BYDV treatments reduced primary tiller height, stem and leaf biomass, tillers per meter of row, and total root length when compared with control. BYDV and BCOA+BYDV also dramatically reduced root distribution at 30 cm and below in the soil profile. Grain yield, kernel weight, kernels per meter of row, and heads per meter of row were also reduced by BYDV and BCOA+BYDV when compared with control. All dependent variables measured from the BCOA treatment were intermediate between the control treatment and the BYDV or the BCOA+BYDV treatments. These results suggest that BYDV and BCOA+BYDV were much more detrimental to spring wheat shoot growth, root growth, and yield than BCOA alone.