Abstract
Areawide pest management (AWPM) programmes build upon past achievements in agricultural innovation, expanding the implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) practices to larger geographical scales. This chapter explores demonstration elements from the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service's demonstration programme for cereal aphid (including the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, and the greenbug, Schizaphis graminum) AWPM. The control methods include the use of aphid-resistant cultivars, simplified field scouting, and diversified dryland cropping. The elements of the demonstration programme as agricultural innovations are explored. Potential adoption of these elements by wheat producers on the Great Plains and implications of the programme outcomes for other wheat-growing regions of the world are discussed. The chapter begins with a history of research on the adoption of agricultural innovations, which provides the context for evaluating the cereal aphid programme from the perspective of farmer adoption.