**9. Conclusion**

Cereal aphids are major insect pests of wheat in Kenya. Their outbreaks have significant eco‐ nomic impact through increased production costs due to the need to control barley yellow dwarf virus and aphid infestations with insecticides. In order to reduce the crop losses and minimize production costs, the ultimate goal of KALRO—Food Crops Research Centre—Njoro national wheat program is to develop a sound integrated management strategy for cereal aphids. It was observed that at earlier seedling stages, the population of natural enemies was too low to exert effective cereal aphids' control. The populations of these natural enemies increased only with the rise of aphids. The increased numbers of natural enemies were observed not to have any effective impact on the population of RWA. However, efforts should therefore be made to con‐ serve these natural enemies as they are of great importance in controlling cereal aphids in wheat.

Applications of either Gaucho 350FS or Cruiser350FS followed by applications of systemic foliar insecticides achieved very good control of the Russian wheat aphid. Contact insecti‐ cides are not effective against Russian wheat aphid but they are effective against *R. maidis*, *S. graminum*, *Sitobion* spp., *M. dirhodum* and *R. padi*. Seed dressing is an insurance against infesta‐ tion by early seedling pests such as the Russian wheat aphid. The use of seed dressers ensures a better crop establishment, more uniform and healthier crops with increased yields and qual‐ ity. Satisfactory control of RWA using foliar applied aphicides depends on early detection of infestation through periodic scouting. This approach will therefore offer a cheaper strategy for cereal aphid and BYD control.

While some protection against cereal aphids can be realized by crop management practices, resistant varieties offer the greatest opportunity for reduction of crop losses. The sudden appearance of Russian wheat aphid has made resistance breeding program of high priority now as farmers are currently relying on insecticides to control the aphids. The high cost of chemical control and concern for extensive and frequent use of insecticides has led to search for Russian wheat aphid resistance. Using host plant resistance instead could be economical, effective throughout the growing season, environmentally safe and it will require no elabo‐ rate technology transfer to farmers and is a good strategy for effective strategy for effective management of cereal aphids in wheat by wheat growers.
