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Vegetable gardens and soybean fields have been targeted by an unfamiliar invasive plant, and Ohio State University crop scientists are concerned.

Apple of Peru, also known as shoo-fly, moved into Ohio about five years ago. The weed, first seen in a bell pepper field in Sandusky County, was misidentified as groundcherry, said Joel Felix, an Ohio State horticulture and crop science research associate. Despite attempts to kill the weed with herbicides and hand-pulling, the problem escalated.

"Apple of Peru is a highly competitive plant and if a few plants survive, we know there will be a reduction in yields," Felix said. "It's a major problem across the world, but we're just starting to see it here and we need to get it under control. One missed weed can leave thousands of seeds. As the adage goes, one year of seeding, seven years of weeding."

Relatively little is known about Apple of Peru because it is not a major problem in North America or Europe, said Felix, who works at OSU's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. In the United States, Apple of Peru has been found in cotton fields in North Carolina and peanut fields in Georgia.

The weed, however, is a major problem in soybean and sugarcane fields in Brazil and in other crops in Asia and parts of Africa, Felix said. In studies done in Japan and Australia, researchers showed more than a 30 percent yield reduction in corn.

Apple of Peru is not as easy to spot in corn fields because of the crop's height, but in soybean and vegetable crop fields, the weed outgrows the crop and kills off competing plants, Felix said.

While Roundup and Callisto herbicides kill Apple of Peru, there are concerns that if it continues to spread, it may be as costly of a problem as velvetleaf in corn and soybean fields. Researchers have found that its seedlings tolerate herbicides including Command, Dual Magnum, Outlook, Basis and Permit.

The biggest concern, however, lies with vegetable crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and other related produce. These crops are from the same family as Apple of Peru, making it hard to find suitable herbicides that will kill only the weed, Felix said.

The extent of the plant in Ohio is unknown because it is easily mistaken for other plants. At an early stage, Apple of Peru looks similar to Eastern black nightshade, a weed common to vegetable crops. In its later stages, it looks like common groundcherry and bears similar fruits, the only difference being the brittle fruit of the weed verses the pliable fruit of the ground cherry.

At this time researchers have estimated that infested fields in Sandusky and Seneca counties total about 2,000 acres. In order to better quantify and manage the weed, researchers are urging farmers to report all suspected Apple of Peru plants to their local Ohio State University Extension agent.