Study Finds Marrone Bio Innovations' Zequanox Highly Effective for Controlling Zebra Mussel Infestations in Shallow-Water Habitats in Lakes

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI)

, a leading global provider of bio-based pest management and plant health products, announced today that the Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre (REABIC) has published research from a study of Zequanox®, a naturally derived biopesticide for controlling zebra mussel infestations in the journal Management of Biological Invasions. The results of the study, published by REABIC on December 18, 2014, indicate that Zequanox is highly effective for controlling zebra mussels in shallow-water habitats in lakes without significant long-term effects on water quality. Funded in part by grant money from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the study was part of an effort to identify viable alternatives for treatment and control of invasive freshwater mussels in open water systems, such as lakes and reservoirs. This study, a collaborative effort between Southern Illinois University, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, and Marrone Bio Innovations, evaluated the results of applying Zequanox in Deep Quarry Lake, an infested lake in Illinois, during the summers of 2012 and 2013. "We are very pleased with the results of this study and would like to thank our partners in this important research," said Pam Marrone, CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations. "The results of this study confirm that Zequanox is a fully viable option for mitigating the significant economic and ecological damage caused by zebra and quagga mussels in areas they have infested, without harming water quality, the environment or people administering the treatment." "Until now, there were few viable alternatives for treatment of invasive mussels in lakes and reservoirs," said Dr. Gregory Whitledge of Southern Illinois University (SIU). "This study is very promising and suggests that Zequanox can play a significant role in preventing these destructive invaders from causing additional ecological and economic damage to areas they have infested." Zequanox, the industry's only selective and environmentally compatible molluscicide, was first approved by the EPA in 2012 for mussel control in enclosed systems and infrastructures for energy producers, manufacturing companies and golf courses, and approved again in July 2014 for open water use. To conduct the study, researchers applied Zequanox to treatment plots across the lake, contained the product using PVC barrier curtains, and then removed the barriers during the morning following application. Results indicated that Zequanox was highly effective at killing zebra mussels in shoreline and near shore locations in Deep Quarry Lake, with >90% mortality observed within 1–2 weeks of product treatment for mussels attached to substrate and within three hours of the start of Zequanox treatment for veligers. The full REABIC evaluation of Zequanox® can be found here.