Environmentally friendly management of barley yellow dwarf virus infection: Challenges, strategies, and prospects

Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infection in cereal crops significantly reduces grain yield and quality, which may further exacerbate the damage inflicted by aphid vectors. Developing effective and environmentally sustainable management strategies to mitigate the damage from BYDV and its vectors is essential for ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture globally. One promising approach is the widespread cultivation of BYDV-resistant cultivars. However, direct introgression of resistance genes into elite crop varieties has rarely resulted in durable resistance. Recent progress in identifying and characterizing viral proteins, receptors, and vector effectors has provided critical insights into breeding strategies aimed at enhancing resistance to viral infections. These approaches typically involve disrupting virus acquisition or strengthening phytohormone-mediated defenses via genetic improvement, thereby reducing virus transmission. Due to limited attention given to BYDV control in previous research, there remains a strong need to identify additional candidate genes that influence interactions among BYDV, aphids, and host plants. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress and existing challenges in cultivar improvement programs aimed at enhancing resistance to both BYDV and its vectors. We also discuss alternative approaches, such as applying phytohormones and herbivore-induced plant volatiles, to strengthen crop resistance mechanisms—specifically antixenosis and antibiosis—against aphid vectors.