A Preliminary Field Evaluation of Botanical and Synthetic Insecticides Against Russian Wheat Aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Hemiptera: Aphididae), in Bread Wheat in Abaya District, Ethiopia

The Russian wheat aphid ( Diuraphis noxia ) is a key pest causing significant yield losses in Ethiopia’s wheat production, emphasizing the need for effective and sustainable control strategies associated with African Union Agenda 2063 goals of food security and environmentally resilient agriculture. This study offers novel field‐based evidence by mutually evaluating multiple underutilized indigenous botanical extracts combined with standard synthetic insecticides and by developing a practical, tiered integrated pest management (IPM) strategy tailored to smallholder systems. A field experiment was conducted in Abaya District on bread wheat variety (Kingbird) by means of a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and nine treatments, including three synthetic insecticides (chlorpyrifos 48% EC, lambda‐cyhalothrin 24.7% ZC, and dimethoate 40% EC), five botanical extracts (20% w/v of Azadirachta indica , Nicotiana tabacum , Eucalyptus camaldulensis , Lantana camara , and Millettia ferruginea ), and a water control. Aphid mortality, grain yield, and yield components were assessed. Chlorpyrifos and lambda‐cyhalothrin achieved 100% mortality at 168 h and the highest yields (4.44 and 4.28 t ha ⁻¹ ), while A. indica was the most effective botanical, achieving 88.88% mortality and 4.05 t ha ⁻¹ yield, significantly outperforming the control (3.84 t ha ⁻¹ ). The study generates new knowledge by demonstrating under field conditions that A. indica can approach the effectiveness of synthetic insecticides while reducing chemical dependency and by quantifying the trade‐offs between rapid pest suppression and sustainability. These findings support a decision‐oriented IPM framework in which synthetic insecticides are used for severe outbreaks and botanical options for moderate infestations, contributing to resilient and sustainable wheat production systems. As this was a single‐season trial, multi‐year validation is required before making operational recommendations. We provide full weather data for the 2025 season to aid interpretation.