Pest of the Month -- April

Tropical Soda Apple

This prickly nightshade plant, native to South America, was first observed in Florida in 1987. Now Tropical Soda Apple infests more that 500,000 acres of pastures and pine-lands, crowding out desirable forage species with its dense stands of thorny perennial plants, rendering the land unusable. Immature fruit is green-striped, much like a watermelon.; mature fruit is bright yellow.

J. Jeffrey Mullahey, University of Florida, www.invasive.org

Tropical soda apple is an alternate host for tomato mottle disease, tomato mosaic virus, potato virus Y and several other diseases that can threaten commercial fields. Dispersion has been aided through the feces of domesticated, wild and feral animals and the movement of cattle, hay, and sod from infested sites. It has been found in a number of southeastern states from North Carolina to Mississippi.