
Digging, Burning Thwart Soda Apple WeedBy Tara
Weaver-Missick December 10, 1999Other than herbicides, the best way
to prevent the spread of the noxious weed tropical soda apple (Solanum
viarum) is to remove the plant and burn it,
Agricultural Research Service scientists
report. Clipping or mowing the weed before it produces fruit is also effective.
The tropical soda apple now covers about 1.5 million acres in the
Southeastern United States, having been spread primarily by cattle, but also by
deer and other wildlife. These animals love to eat the fruit. It passes through
their digestive tract, and the seeds are then spread in the manure. The weed can be found growing in pastures, urban areas, vegetable crops and
natural areas in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. It has also been found in Puerto Rico. For 32 sites in 13 counties in Mississippi, botanist Charles T. Bryson, with
ARS Southern Weed
Science Research Unit in Stoneville, Miss., provided information to
landowners on how to dig up the tropical soda apple plants, bag them and burn
them to ensure all plant parts are truly dead. The weed persisted at only six
sites. But dont try to bake them in an oven or a microwave, because the plant
and its fruit produce glycoalkaloids, a substance toxic to humans. The best cultural practice for homeowners is removing single plants by hand
or clipping or mowing multiple plants. Mowing the weeds a couple of times early
in the season helps prevent fruit and seed production. Homeowners can obtain
80-90 percent control by mowing every 45-60 days. Once the plant is full of fruit, however, Bryson cautions homeowners that
seeds could spread by mowing. Homeowners should contact a county extension
agent first to identify the weed and then eradicate it as soon as possible. Bryson is undertaking new research looking at biological control agents as a
means to control this weed. ARS is the chief scientific agency in the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Scientific contact: Charles T.
Bryson, ARS Weed Science Research Unit, Stoneville, Miss., phone (601)
686-5259, fax (601) 686-5422, [email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |