The assessment of populations of the aphid Sitobion avenae in field trials

Abstract

SummaryVariation in infestation of S. avenae on plots of wheat was assessed by combining techniques of enhancing field infestations with scoring individual shoots according to the number of aphids on them, using a logarithmic scale with base 2. The mean score appeared the most useful way of describing the aphid infestation on each plot.In 1982, the sampling effort required for assessment of S. avenae on many plots was considerably reduced by this approach. The artificial increase in numbers of aphids avoided problems associated with sampling small populations, and the logarithmic classification of shoots reduced the time needed to assess large numbers. Scoring plots as a whole, although much quicker, gave results that differed from the assessments based on shoot sampling, and should be used with caution. The differences observed among cultivars in infestation of adult plants in the field in 1982 were not always the same as those observed on younger plants in the glasshouse.