Under Arkansas conditions, symptoms generally do not show until after regrowth starts in the spring. Symptoms of infection that occurred during the fall include stunting, poor tillering, stiff upright leaves, and yellow, red or purple coloring of leaves starting at the tip. Stunted and poorly tillered plants are usually in saucer-shaped patches scattered across a field. The most severely stunted plants are near the center of the patch with a gradation toward normal plants away from the center.
Stunted plants have small root systems and are more susceptible to drought stress.
Significant reductions in yield and test weight are associated with fall-infected plants. Plants also may be infected in the spring, but little or no stunting or, yield loss is associated with spring infection. The predominant symptoms are stiff, upright flag leaves with yellow, red or purple coloration proceeding from the tip. The English grain aphid and the bird cherry-oat aphid are the principal vectors of barley yellow dwarf virus in Arkansas. Aphids carrying the virus may come from local sources, or winged forms may be carried by wind for hundreds of miles.