Pest · sunflower

Leaf-curling plum aphid

Brachycaudus helichrysi (Kaltenbach)EPPO code ANURHE

Ukrainian: геліхризова попелиця · Держпродспоживслужба, НААН, НАН
English: leaf-curling plum aphid · European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization

How to recognise it

Adult: The stem mother is wingless and yellow-green, with a clearly visible little tail.
Damage: On sunflower, aphids feed on the flowers and the top leaves, sucking the sap out of them.
Damaged flowers dry out, just as the leaves do.
Affected plants fall well behind in growth and become weak and drooping.
Sunflower stems become deformed and twisted, and their growth slows down.

When to look: In sunflower crops, it develops throughout the growing season. It is first seen in May–June.
Sunflower plants are most heavily colonised during flowering.

Registered against this organism by a ministry order · 2

No rate and no spray timing here: both come from the label and the register.

Yield loss: When aphids multiply in large numbers, the damage they cause is very great.

Migration: The species migrates: the primary host is stone fruit trees, the secondary host is sunflower.
In September–October, winged females and males of the sexual generation appear and fly over to stone fruit crops.
Favourable conditions: Dry, hot weather and the activity of natural enemies hold back aphid development.
The most favourable conditions for development are a temperature of +22…+26 °C and a relative air humidity of 70–80%.
How heavily sunflower crops are colonised depends on good aphid overwintering and on soil and climate conditions in spring.
Moderately moist, warm weather throughout the growing season favours active aphid development.
Natural enemies: The decline in aphid numbers is determined by the numbers and beneficial action of natural enemies, and by weather conditions.

Every fact rests on a quote from its source, and each quote was checked against the page it is printed on.

Зайцева І. А., «Сільськогосподарська ентомологія. Курс лекцій», навчальний посібник, 237 с. · Дніпровський державний аграрно-економічний університет, Дніпро, 2021 · p. 152
EPPO Global Database · European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization
Прогноз фітосанітарного стану агроценозів України та рекомендації щодо захисту рослин у 2025 році · Держпродспоживслужба, НААН, НАН · p. 116
Photos: Bill Keim Depicted place: Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania, United States ( 40°18′07″N 75°02′08″W / 40.301817°N 75.035558°W / 40.301817; -75.035558 ), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

How to recognise it

Adult: The stem mother is wingless and yellow-green, with a clearly visible little tail.
Damage: On sunflower, aphids feed on the flowers and the top leaves, sucking the sap out of them.
Damaged flowers dry out, just as the leaves do.
Affected plants fall well behind in growth and become weak and drooping.
Sunflower stems become deformed and twisted, and their growth slows down.

When and with what to treat

When to look: In sunflower crops, it develops throughout the growing season. It is first seen in May–June.
Sunflower plants are most heavily colonised during flowering.

Registered against this organism by a ministry order · 2

No rate and no spray timing here: both come from the label and the register.

Biology and where it is

Migration: The species migrates: the primary host is stone fruit trees, the secondary host is sunflower.
In September–October, winged females and males of the sexual generation appear and fly over to stone fruit crops.
Favourable conditions: Dry, hot weather and the activity of natural enemies hold back aphid development.
The most favourable conditions for development are a temperature of +22…+26 °C and a relative air humidity of 70–80%.
How heavily sunflower crops are colonised depends on good aphid overwintering and on soil and climate conditions in spring.
Moderately moist, warm weather throughout the growing season favours active aphid development.
Natural enemies: The decline in aphid numbers is determined by the numbers and beneficial action of natural enemies, and by weather conditions.

Sources and how we checked

Every fact rests on a quote from its source, and each quote was checked against the page it is printed on.

Зайцева І. А., «Сільськогосподарська ентомологія. Курс лекцій», навчальний посібник, 237 с. · Дніпровський державний аграрно-економічний університет, Дніпро, 2021 · p. 152
EPPO Global Database · European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization
Прогноз фітосанітарного стану агроценозів України та рекомендації щодо захисту рослин у 2025 році · Держпродспоживслужба, НААН, НАН · p. 116
Photos: Bill Keim Depicted place: Buckingham Township, Pennsylvania, United States ( 40°18′07″N 75°02′08″W / 40.301817°N 75.035558°W / 40.301817; -75.035558 ), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0