Kudzu (Pueraria montana )

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Kudzu(Pueraria montana )
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Introduction to U.S.

• Native to Japan and China.
• Introduced to the United States in 1876 at the
  Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia,
  Pennsylvania.
• Countries were invited to build exhibits to
  celebrate the 100th birthday of the U.S.
• The Japanese government constructed a beautiful
  garden filled with plants from their country.
• The large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms of
  kudzu captured the imagination of American
  gardeners who used the plant for ornamental
  purposes.

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Some History

• During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the
  Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for
  erosion control.
• Hundreds of young men were given work planting
  kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps.
• Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an
  acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in
  the 1940s.

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History Contd

• Kudzu's most vocal advocate was Channing Cope of
  Covington, Georgia who promoted use of the vine
  to control erosion.
• During the 1940s, he traveled across the
  southeast starting Kudzu Clubs to honor what he
  called "the miracle vine."
• Cope was very disappointed when the U.S.
  government stopped advocating the use of kudzu in
  1953.
• "Cotton isn't king in the South anymore. Kudzu
  is king!" Channing
  Cope

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Characteristics of Kudzu

• Kudzu is a climbing, woody or semi-woody,
  perennial vine capable of reaching heights of
  2030 m (66-98 ft) in trees, but also scrambles
  extensively over lower vegetation.
• Each flower is about 11.5 cm (about 0.40.6 in)
  long, purple, and highly fragrant. The flowers
  are copious nectar producers and are visited by
  many species of insects, including bees,
  butterflies and moths.

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Characteristics Contd

• Kudzu vines will cover buildings and parked
  vehicles over a period of years if no attempt is
  made to control its growth.

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Effects of Kudzu

• Grows too well!
• The climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect
  for kudzu.
• The vines grow as much as a foot per day during
  summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and
  anything else they contact.
• Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty
  feet each year.

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Ecological Effects

• While they help prevent erosion, the vines can
  also destroy valuable forests by preventing trees
  from getting sunlight.
• Kudzu also kills ground vegetation.

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Geographical Range of Kudzu
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Controlling Kudzu

• Repeated herbicide treatments for at least four
  years, but some kudzu plants may take as long as
  ten years to kill, even with the most effective
  herbicides.
• Placing farm animals in Kudzu infested also
  regulates the spread and kills kudzu.

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Long-Term Control

• For successful long-term control of kudzu, it is
  not necessary to destroy the entire root system,
  which can be quite large and deep.
• Nodes and crowns are the source of all kudzu
  vines, and roots cannot produce vines.
• If any portion of a root crown remains after
  attempted removal, the kudzu plant grows back.

Kudzu Seedpods
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Mechanical Control

• Mechanical methods of control involve cutting off
  crowns from roots, usually just below ground
  level.
• This immediately kills the plant.
• Cutting off vines is not sufficient for an
  immediate kill.

Small kudzu crown severed from root using
flexible pruning saw.
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Problems with Kudzu Control

• Kudzu covers about over 10 million acres in the
  Southern U.S.
• Herbicidal control of the invasive species is not
  practical ecologically or economically.
• It would cause an extensive physical and chemical
  disturbance.
• The annual cost would be on the order of hundreds
  of millions of dollars.

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The Cheaper Route for Kudzu Control

• Using Angora goats in fields of kudzu which would
  otherwise be considered wasted land.
• The goats keep the kudzu from spreading further
  while producing profitable milk and wool
  products.
• Constant grazing will eventually eradicate kudzu.
  

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How Humans are Helping Control Kudzu Benefitting
Kudzu Vine Vitamins help reduce symptoms of
hangovers. A WVU college students dream drug.
Kudzu Jelly which is used as a food source from
the blossom produced by the kudzu.
Captures the Scent of Kudzu Blossom
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Close your windows At night to keep it out of
the house.The glass is tinged with green, even
so... From the poem, "Kudzu," By James
Dickey