Occurrence of barley yellow dwarf virus in autumn-sown cereal crops in the United Kingdom in relation to field characteristics

The incidence of barley yellow dwarf virus and of its aphid vectors was surveyed in untreated parts of autumn-sown cereal crops, mainly wheat and barley, in the United Kingdom in 1995-8. The incidence of virus in the spring was related to the incidence of aphids in the preceding autumn. Both virus and aphid incidences could also be related to a range of crop and field characteristics, in particular sowing date, regions as defined by their geographical position, topography and climate, the proximity of the field to the sea, the extent of arable land in the vicinity of the field, and the aspect and size of the field. Proximity of cropped fields to setaside areas had no significant effect on either aphid or virus incidence. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.