With many degraded environments undergoing restoration efforts, there is a growing need for the optimization of direct seeding practices. Seeds planted on wildlands are often consumed by rodents, leading to reduced plant establishment. Coating seeds in rodent aversive products may prevent seed‐predation. We tested 10 seed‐coating formulations containing products expected to deter rodents, namely: ghost and cayenne pepper powders; essential oils from bergamot, neem, and pine; methyl‐nonyl‐ketone, anthraquinone, activated carbon, beta‐cyclodextrin, and a blank coating containing no rodent deterrents to serve as a control treatment. Each treatment was applied to Pseudoroegneria spicata (bluebunch wheatgrass) seeds. These seeds germinated similarly to uncoated control seeds unless the coating contained methyl‐nonyl‐ketone which reduced germination. When seeds were offered to Ord's kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ordii), they strongly avoided the treatments in favor of uncoated control seeds. Notably, the blank coating, lacking active ingredients, still elicited 99% avoidance. However, these results indicated behavior when alternative food sources are readily available, a scenario rare in nature. To address this, a second feeding experiment was conducted to observe D. ordii's behavior under calorie‐restricted conditions. D. ordii were subjected to a fast period, then offered only one treatment. Under these conditions, many subjects chose to consume coated seeds, but to a lesser degree than subjects offered control seeds. Seeds coated in ghost pepper, neem oil, and activated carbon reduced consumption by 47–50%. Given these lab results, we would expect these treatments to increase native plant establishment following the direct seeding of wildlands by protecting seeds from rodent predation.

中文翻译：

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使用种子包衣技术阻止啮齿动物的种子捕食

由于许多退化的环境都在进行修复工作，因此越来越需要优化直接播种方法。在野外种植的种子经常被啮齿动物食用，从而导致植株减少。在啮齿动物厌恶性产品中覆盖种子可能会阻止种子的捕食。我们测试了10种种子包衣配方，其中含有预期能够阻止啮齿动物的产品，即：鬼粉和辣椒粉；佛手柑，印em和松树精油；甲基壬基酮，蒽醌，活性炭，β-环糊精和不含啮齿类威慑剂的空白涂料作为对照处理。每种处理均适用于假单胞菌（青麦草）种子。这些种子与未包被的对照种子相似地发芽，除非包衣中含有能降低发芽的甲基壬基酮。当将种子提供给Ord的袋鼠大鼠（Dipodomys ordii）时，他们强烈避免使用未包被的对照种子进行处理。值得注意的是，缺少有效成分的空白涂层仍可避免99％的使用。然而，这些结果表明，当人们容易获得替代食物时，这种行为是自然而然的。为了解决这个问题，进行了第二次喂养实验，以观察D. ordii在卡路里限制条件下的行为。D. ordii接受快速治疗，然后仅接受一种治疗。在这些条件下，许多受试者选择食用有涂层的种子，但程度要低于提供对照种子的受试者。用鬼胡椒，印em油和活性炭包衣的种子使食用量减少了47–50％。鉴于这些实验室的结果，我们希望这些处理方法能够通过保护种子免受啮齿动物的捕食，从而在直接播种荒地后增加本地植物的生长。