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Title: INVASIVE PRICKLY NIGHTSHADES AND COGONGRASS

Author
item Bryson, Charles

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/29/2003
Publication Date: 10/23/2003
Citation: Bryson, C.T. 2003. Invasive prickly nightshades and cogongrass. Rare and Invasive Plants of Arkansas Conference, October 23-24, 2003. Fayetteville, AR. pp. 6.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Many of the prickly nightshades and cogongrass [Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.] are troublesome invasive weeds of agriculture, forestry, urban, and natural areas. Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense L.) and robust horsenettle (S. dimidiatum Raf.) are native invasive weeds. Buffalobur (S. rostratum Dunal), fuzzy-fruit prickly nightshade (S. candidum L.), Himalayan nightshade (S. myriacanthum Dunal), Jamaican nightshade (S. jamaicense Miller), nipplefruit (S. mammosum L.), red soda apple (S. capsicoides All.), silverleaf nightshade (S. elaeagnifolium Cav.), sticky nightshade (S. sisymbriifolium Lam.), tropical soda apple (S. viarum Dunal), turkeyberry (S. torvum Sw.), watermelon nightshade (S. citrullifolium A. Braun), and wetland nightshade (S. tampicense Dunal) are non-native prickly nightshades that possess similar invasive weedy traits in the southeastern United States. In agricultural, urban and natural settings, these non-native prickly nightshades displace native vegetation, cause injury to humans and other animals with their thorn-like prickles, produce allelopathic chemicals that retard growth of other plants, and interfere with crop growth, quality, yields, and harvest efficiency. Cogongrass, an aggressive perennial grass, continues to spread at an alarming rate in the United States. Cogongrass is allelopathic to other plants, increases the frequency and intensity of fire, and ultimately displaces all other vegetation. The number of counties with cogongrass infestations has grown from 19 to 49 since 1980 in Mississippi alone. Wind disseminations of seed, sale of ornamental varieties, and right-of ways construction and maintenance are pathways for new cogongrass introductions. Results from ecological range research showed that many of the prickly nightshades and cogongrass have the potential to continue moving northward in the United States. Early detection, rapid response, and immediate implementation of control strategies are essential to prevent additional spread of these pernicious invasive weeds.