Description:
Kudzu is a perennial, trailing or climbing vine which may expand
60 feet or more in a year from root crowns which become enlarged
with age. A single root crown may produce as many as 30 vines which
become somewhat hairy and woody and expand out in all directions.
Fleshy tap roots develop from the crown and may be up to 7"
in diameter and 6 feet or more in length. Vines which develop from
the root crown are also able to root at the nodes forming additional
root crowns. Mature infestations of this aggressive member of the
legume family may develop root crowns every one to two square feet
from which new vines are rapidly produced (Moorhead and Johnson,
2000). Rhizomes are also produced and increase vegetative reproduction.
- Mechanical:
Mechanical control methods require enormous persistence since
the goal is to deplete the rootstocks of stored food and prevent
replenishment through the photosynthesis of above ground vegetation.
Any successful mechanical control method will require consistent
and persistent removal of above ground vegetation. It may take
as much as ten years to deplete the food reserves of the starchy
rootstocks (Moorhead and Johnson, 2000).
- Biological:
Researchers at the ARS Southern Weed Science Research Unit in
Stoneville, Mississippi have found a fungus from the sicklepod
plant found in the southeastern United States controls kudzu.
In greenhouse and field studies Kudzu was 100 percent killed by
Myrothecium verrucaria. Researchers plan to pursue a patent on
this use.
- Herbicide:
There are multiple methods for chemical control of Kudzu. Persistent
eradication of all roots is the key to controlling kudzu systemic
herbicides will give the best effects. Miller et al. studied the
effects of numerous chemicals over an eight-year period. Out of
twenty five herbicides, Tordon 101 Mixture (2,4-D +picloram) and
Tordon K(picloram liquid) were the most cost-effective treatments.
Refer to the State Noxious Weed
Control Board site
For More Information:
Detailed information about Kudzu
is available at the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board
Web Site. |
