Once established, kudzu plants grow rapidly, extending as much as 60 feet per season, about 1 foot per day. Do not plant kudzu. The U. Department of Agriculture is investigating biological control agents for kudzu including the naturally occurring fungus Myrothecium verrucaria.
For successful long-term control of kudzu, the extensive root system must be destroyed. Figure 1. Kudzu has trifoliate leaves. Each of the three leaflets is usually slightly lobed and has a pointed tip. Kudzu Pueraria montana var. Almeida is a large, trifoliate-leaved, semi-woody, trailing or climbing perennial vine in the Fabaceae legume or pea family. Up close, kudzu might at first be confused with a vigorous poison ivy plant.
But kudzu stems are distinctly hairy, and the vines twine rather than use hairy rootlets to climb as poison ivy does. The vines may grow up to 60 feet in a single season and as much as 1 foot during a single day in the early summer.
This amount of vine growth is supported by starchy, tuberous roots that can reach a depth of 12 feet in older patches and weigh as much as to pounds. Kudzu is well-adapted to Alabama and is found throughout the state. It will grow on a wide range of soil types, but does better on deep, loamy soils compared to very light sands or poorly drained, heavy clay soils or those with high pH. Kudzu exhibits a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which may help explain its successful growth on heavily eroded sites.
Vines grow outward in all directions, and roots grow down from a root crown located on the soil surface. Vines growing along the ground can root every foot or so at the nodes and form new root crowns that can become independent plants. Mature stands may contain tens of thousands of plants per acre and can create mats up to 8 feet thick.
Vines climb by twining, but cannot twine around smooth objects with diameters greater than approximately 8 inches. Trailing, prostrate vines generally die back to the root crown after the first heavy frost. Vigorous, climbing vines greater than one-quarter inch in diameter can overwinter, but the leaves will be killed by the first frost. Climbing vines can reach 10 inches and greater in diameter, putting on what appear to be annual growth rings and developing rough, dark brown bark.
Kudzu blooms from July through September. The fragrant, pealike purple flowers are typically produced on plants that are climbing or draped over vegetation or other objects, as vines rarely flower when trailing on the ground.
Flowers are followed by flat, hairy seed pods; however, seed production and viability are highly variable. Seeds mature on the vines in October and November. Longevity of seeds in the soil is not known. Last accessed September 18, Approximately 15 species of kudzu Pueraria spp. For more than 2, years, Asian cultures have found great value in kudzu. Chinese records tell of kudzu roots being dried and diced for medicinal purposes as early as During the s, kudzu was imported into Japan where the roots were ground into flour.
Kudzu flour is still imported to the United States and sold in many Asian grocery and health food stores. However, all the plants were destroyed by law after the exhibition. In the late nineteenth century, kudzu seeds were imported and sold for use as an ornamental vine to shade porches and courtyards of southern homes.
It was also appreciated for the grape-like fragrance of its flowers and for its vigorous growth. These days, corn and soy are largely used to create biofuel, but some people are concerned that depleted supplies of both due to ethanol production could create a food shortage. In fact, the popularity of corn-based ethanol has already made price swings more volatile, affecting farmers, food manufacturers and even charitable organizations that depend on food donations [source: Ruble ].
Proponents of kudzunol say that kudzu is the perfect solution for this dilemma; it grows like a weed and it can meet the demand for fuel for combustible engines -- without jeopardizing food supplies. Seventeen species of kudzu belong to the genus Pueraria. Whether you call it Ge-gen, kuzu or kudzu, you can find it in one form or another anywhere from China and Japan to India and Australia -- and throughout the U.
People don't call kudzu the plant that ate the South for nothing. As we learned earlier, kudzu grows really fast -- as much as a foot or two 30 or 61 centimeters each day. Once it forms a blanket over land or trees, light can't get through, so the vast majority of the underlying plants or trees eventually die. Only the hardiest plants can survive the suffocating effects of a kudzu infestation. Considering that, imagine the damage kudzu can do to a food or timber crop.
That's scary enough, but the weight of kudzu vines can actually uproot trees, elevating the plant from a mere annoyance to an actual source of danger. As early as , the U. In , it declared kudzu a weed because of the nuisance caused by its relentless growth [source: Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council ]. The problem has only grown since then because of the way that kudzu overtakes and smothers native plants, setting off a chain reaction that undermines ecosystems in the process.
It's chilling in its simplicity, actually: Kudzu disrupts the food chain by threatening vegetation that native animals use for food and shelter. What's more, kudzu root systems impact the amount of water in the soil and ultimately, the ecosystem itself.
What can a farmer, forester or simple landowner do to control kudzu? First, you've got to be persistent and be able to rally a team ready for combat. It's not unlike exterminating insects from your apartment or condo: You'll have to get all neighboring landowners to work together to snuff out a kudzu infestation.
For your kudzu control program to succeed, each person must faithfully play his or her part. On kudzu patches younger than 25 years old, three or four years of frequent and continuous mowing and grazing can keep it in check.
In Tennessee, some people are using goats to chow down on kudzu in urban and suburban areas. You'll want to get the support and guidance of your local kudzu control program authority; even simple mowing and grazing methods require that you contain the infested area by cutting large vines and fencing it off.
From there, you may have to burn the land and apply a series of herbicides. The herbicide you choose depends on a number of factors, such as where the kudzu is growing, the size of its root crowns and the soil conditions, to name a few. You should consult your local kudzu control or land use authority before even attempting to buy any herbicide, though: Some of them are so toxic that you'll need a special permit to buy and apply any of the stuff -- they contaminate runoff water, streams, rivers, lakes and crops.
When you contact an expert, he or she will work with you to come up with the best way to address your kudzu problem. You may find yourself spraying tall overgrowth with a pressure hose spewing a fancy weed killer. You and your neighbors could end up driving big farm equipment like crop sprayers and dusting large areas of land that's covered with kudzu.
Patience is the key: It may take seven to 10 years of repeated spraying, cutting and chopping to resolve your kudzu infestation. In his poem "Kudzu," James Dickey wrote, "In Georgia, the legend says that you must close your windows at night to keep it out of the house. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Once established, kudzu grows at a rate of one foot per day with mature vines as long as feet. An invasive plant as fast-growing as kudzu outcompetes everything from native grasses to fully mature trees by shading them from the sunlight they need to photosynthesize.
This loss of native plants harms other plants, insects and animals that adapted alongside them, leading to cascading effects throughout an ecosystem. Over time, these effects of habitat loss can lead to species extinctions and a loss of overall biodiversity. Climate change puts a lot of stress on native species. Invasive species like kudzu are often more flexible and adaptable to change than many native plants and can outcompete them early in the growing season.
Kudzu thrives in areas with mild winters and hot summers. Climate change may be making it easier for creeping vine to spread, as winters in many areas of the U. Climate change also can lead to more regional drought, an opportunity for this versatile killer.
Kudzu is able to weather dry periods with its deep root systems and then take over where native plants could not survive. Learn more about climate change here. It depends how large the patch is. Newer, smaller patches can be controlled with persistent weeding.
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