Landowners and the public are encouraged to do their bit to stop the spread of Woolly Nightshade by pulling out seedlings and controlling mature plants.

Woolly Nightshade is a highly invasive weed and is a host of passion vine hopper, which causes sooty mould to develop on fruit – a significant reject factor reducing kiwifruit orchard returns. Shelter belts need to be free of weeds that cause problems in the orchard and the good news is that Woolly Nightshade is easy to kill.

Woolly Nightshade has soft, furry leaves. They are large and oval. Its stems are a grey colour and are covered in light hairs. It has purple flower petals and yellow centres which grow to become green-yellow berries which are poisonous to humans.

In this video KVH shows you how to kill the weed using the recommended 'cut and inject' method.