We investigated whether sowing a mixture of wheat cultivars could reduce the occurrence of winged aphids in crops. Aphid presence was monitored using yellow water traps. Three wheat cultivars—Simonida, NS 40S, and NS Rani otkos—and their mixtures were used in the study. The results indicate that alate aphid captures in cultivar mixtures are often lower than in pure stands. However, this effect is not consistent across all mixtures, and the impact of individual varieties and their mixtures varies between the autumn and spring vegetation phases. In autumn, aphid species that overwinter on wheat and serve as potential virus vectors dominate, primarily Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae, while in spring, polyphagous aphid species are more prevalent. During autumn, the least attractive cultivar for vector species was NS Rani otkos, which, in mixtures with the other two cultivars, also decreased its attractiveness. With lower vector abundance, the potential for viral infection is reduced. In spring, the number of alate aphids and vectors captured in mixtures was lower than in pure stands. The reduction in aphid presence in mixtures was particularly pronounced during weeks with the highest aphid abundance.
Lalićević et al. (Sun,) studied this question.