BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF TROPICAL SODA APPLE (SOLANACEAE) IN FLORIDA: POST-RELEASE EVALUATION

Dunal (Solanaceae) were con-ducted initially in 1994 by University of Floridaresearchers in collaboration with UniversidadeEstadual Paulista, Jaboticabal campus, Brazil.Sixteen species of insects were found associatedwith tropical soda apple in Brazil and Paraguay(Medal et al. 1996). A biological control programwas initiated by the University of Florida in 1997with funds provided by the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health In-spection Service, and the Florida Department ofAgriculture & Consumer Services. Explorationsin the place of origin (southern Brazil, northeastArgentina, south Paraguay, and Uruguay) of thetarget weed were conducted in collaboration withBrazilian university researchers, and the USDA-Agriculture Research Service Biological ControlLaboratory in Hurlingham, Argentina. During ex-ploratory surveys, the leaf beetle