New USDA grant helps Virginia Tech researchers combat barley yellow dwarf virus in southeastern winter wheat

Barley yellow dwarf virus has been a threat to winter wheat in the southeastern United States in recent years, but thanks to a new a Virginia Tech-led project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that may soon be changing.

Virginia Tech Entomologist Arash Rashed was recently awarded a three-year, $290,000 USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant for a project that aims to provide research-based support to growers for the effective management of barley yellow dwarf virus and cereal aphids in winter wheat. The project will also develop much-needed, up-to-date educational materials to prevent the unnecessary application of insecticides and promote the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

“Barley yellow dwarf virus infections, spread by aphids, have been prevalent in small grain fields across Virginia for the past couple of years,” said Rashed. “Our current regional management recommendations are based on information generated in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A lot has changed since then, and this project will reevaluate a combination of planting time and various chemical applications and conduct economic assessments to provide grain producers with the most cost-effective barley yellow dwarf virus management recommendations.”

The virus is transmitted by cereal aphids. In addition to wheat, barley yellow dwarf virus can also infect barley and other perennial grassy hosts, including forage crops such as tall fescue. An ongoing survey indicates that infection is widespread in Virginia, with nearly all 2024 samples testing positive for the virus. Barley yellow dwarf virus symptoms include reddening or yellowing of leaves (starting from the tip and leaf edges), reduced root biomass, and decreased stem height, ultimately affecting yield and grain quality.

The project is funded from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027. Its objectives include:

• Identifying regional reservoirs of barley yellow dwarf virus and aphid vectors
• Establishing field plots to determine and demonstrate appropriate practices to minimize the virus
• Estimating farm profitability implications of damage
• Developing educational material and workshop opportunities to increase grower awareness of recommended management practices for controlling the virus

Virginia Cooperative Extension agents Taylor Clarke and Scott Reiter, along with Pat Hatzenbuehler from the University of Idaho are co-principal investigators on the project. Field experiments will be conducted on the research farm of Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Blackstone, Virginia, and Leslie Farms, located in Amelia, Virginia.