Tropical Soda Apple Best Practice Manual
Tropical soda apple is a prickly perennial shrub that can establish in a wide variety of soils in open to semi-shaded areas including pastures, forests, riparian zones, roadsides, recreational areas, horticultural and cropping areas.
The leaves of the plant are unpalatable to livestock, and so infestations can reduce pasture carrying capacity. Infestations can reduce biodiversity in natural areas by displacing native plants and disrupting ecological processes. Prickles on this plant restrict native animal and stock grazing and can create a physical barrier to animals, preventing access to shade and water. The fruit is highly palatable when ripe and is readily eaten by animals with major vectors of spread including cattle, feral pigs, deer and birds. Movement by water through flood events also contributes to downstream spread.
The Tropical Soda Apple Task Force developed a Best Practice Manual to present advice for the management of tropical soda apple in New South Wales.
