Methyl anthranilate as a rice seed treatment to deter birds

Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and related species cause millions of dollars of damage annually to sprouting rice in Louisiana and Texas. Seed treatments that deter birds offer an approach to managing this problem, so we evaluated a formulation (ReJeX-iT AG-36) of methyl anthranilate (MA) in aviary and field tests to assess its potential as an avian feeding deterrent for rice seed. In a feeding trial with an untreated commercial ration as the alternative food, MA suppressed (P < 0.05) rice consumption at 2.5% (g/g) but not at lower rates. With untreated rice as the alternative food, however, repellency occurred at 1.0% MA (P < 0.05). Controlled field trials showed that seed loss from plots having a 1.7% MA treatment averaged 27 and 34% compared with control plot losses of 52 and 73%. We conclude that MA has potential in the management of blackbird damage to rice, particularly if MA residues on rice seed can be prolonged.