Seed Losses to Small Mammals After Fall Sowing of Pine Seed

Raymond E. Graber

Jan. 1969 · Northeastern Forest Experiment Station

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When endrin and arasan came into use about 10 years ago as protective seed coatings, foresters believed they had an answer to the main problem in direct-seeding pine-how to keep rodents and birds from eating the seed. Though early trials were encouraging, recent reports have indicated that the chemical coating does not always give the seeds adequate protection (Graber 1965, Laydon and Legrande 1965, Radvanyi 1966). So we made a study under field conditions to determine whether the degree of protection could be improved by increasing the endrin concentration in the seed coating. We found that, when the seeds were sown on the soil surface, seed losses due to small mammals were still severe-regardless of endrin concentration. The best results were obtained by covering the coated seeds with soil at planting time.