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Title: A NEW BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANT INVADES MISSISSIPPI TROPICAL SODA APPLE

Author
item Bryson, Charles
item BYRD, JOHN - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Mississippi Native Plant Society Newsletter
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/8/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Tropical soda apple, Solanun viarum Dunal, is spreading at an alarming rate in the southeastern United States. It was first detected in Florida in 1988. Tropical soda apple now infests an estimated 410,000 ha in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Puerto Rico. This weed poses a threat to the biodiversity in natural areas as well as threat to agronomic and forest production. A history of tropical soda apple's spread, the means of dispersal, a taxonomic description, ecological information, its threat to pasturelands, croplands, forestlands, and natural areas are presented. Early detection, proper identification, and subsequent control measures are essential to prevent further spread of tropical soda apple in the United States