Review of anthraquinone applications for pest management and agricultural crop protection

We have reviewed published anthraquinone applications for international pest management and agricultural crop protection from 1943 to 2016. Anthraquinone (AQ) is commonly found in dyes, pigments and many plants and organisms. Avian repellent research with AQ began in the 1940s. In the context of pest management, AQ is currently used as a chemical repellent, perch deterrent, insecticide and feeding deterrent in many wild birds, and in some mammals, insects and fishes. Criteria for evaluation of effective chemical repellents include efficacy, potential for wildlife hazards, phytotoxicity and environmental persistence. As a biopesticide, AQ often meets these criteria of efficacy for the non-lethal management of agricultural depredation caused by wildlife. We summarize published applications of AQ for the protection of newly planted and maturing crops from pest birds. Conventional applications of AQ-based repellents include preplant seed treatments [e.g. corn (Zea mays L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), wheat (Triticum spp.), millet (Panicum spp.), sorghum (Sorghumbicolor L.), pelletized feed and forest tree species] and foliar applications for rice, sunflower, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), turf, sugar beets (Beta vulgaris L.), soybean (Glycine max L.), sweet corn and nursery, fruit and nut crops. In addition to agricultural repellent applications, AQ has also been used to treat toxicants for the protection of non-target birds. Few studies have demonstrated AQ repellency in mammals, including wild boar (Sus scrofa, L.), thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus,Mitchill), black-tailed prairie dogs (Cyomys ludovicainus, Ord.), common voles (Microtus arvalis, Pallas), housemice (Musmusculus, L.), Tristram’s jirds (Meriones tristrami, Thomas) and black rats (Rattus rattus L.). Natural sources of AQ and its derivatives have also been identified as insecticides and insect repellents. As a natural or synthetic biopesticide, AQ is a promising candidate for many contexts of non-lethal and insecticidal pest management

Anthraquinone Corn Seed Treatment (Avitec™) As A Feeding Repellent for Ring-Necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) on Newly Planted Corn in Eastern South Dakota

In recent years South Dakota’s ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) population has increased and, along with it, complaints from agricultural producers regarding pheasant depredation on newly planted and emerging corn have increased. Heisterberg (1984) estimated that $49 million is lost to pheasant depredation annually in the United States. Pheasants will consume the kernels of freshly planted and emerging corn plants until the plant reaches the three-leaf stage or the plant is approximately 10.2 cm tall, but may continue until the corn reaches a height of 15.2 to 25.4 cm (Hendrickson and Tellier 1943). The compound 9,10-anthraquinone is a nontoxic, naturally occurring post-ingestional irritant that produces a conditioned taste aversion when the bird experiences illness after consuming the treated kernel and associates the illness with the food (Avery 2003). AvitecTM is a 95% anthraquinone repellent that has been approved for emergency use in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan as a seed corn treatment where sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) have been damaging corn fields by eating the corn seeds shortly after planting. In 2006, a 2-year study was initiated to determine if AvitecTM is an effective pheasant repellent on germinating corn seeds. Wildlife food plantings ranging from 0.4 to 1.6-ha on both SDGFP Game Production Areas (GPA) and on private land enrolled in CRP or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) easements that had been replanted at least once as a result of corn loss to depredation in 2005 and/or 2006 were selected. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design where replications of treatments were randomly assigned within blocks. In 2006, mean pheasant depredation in fields treated with AvitecTM was 23.9 ± 10.04; mean pheasant depredation in control fields was 40.8 ± 10.04. In 2007, mean pheasant depredation in fields treated with AvitecTM was 5.7± 3.8; mean pheasant depredation in non-treated fields was 8.0 ± 3.8; and mean pheasant depredation in fields treated with AvitecTM plus hydrolyzed casein and hydrolyzed collagen in an attempt to reduce both pheasant and thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) depredation was 4.9 ± 3.8. There was no consumption of AvitecTM treated corn seed in caged feeding trials when no other feed was available or when non-treated corn seed was available. Consumption of non-treated corn seed when no other feed was available was 37.4 g ± 4.5; consumption of non-treated corn seed when treated seed was available was 37.2 g ± 4.3. AvitecTM showed significant repellency in caged feeding trials and decreased depredation in field trials. The experimental hydrolyzed casein and collagen may not be effective rodent repellents. Therefore, using anthraquinone based products may be beneficial in areas where pheasants are the primary cause of damage