I live in NC. we have a very common, but nasty vine. I was stalking to
someone on the phone when he told me what it was called. I could not fully
understand him. He called it something like "Cutsy"

I searched around for the actual name, with no luck.
Anyone know what it is?
And how to permanently get rid of it?

Jason

In article , "Jason
Walter" wrote:

I live in NC. we have a very common, but nasty vine. I was stalking to
someone on the phone when he told me what it was called. I could not fully
understand him. He called it something like "Cutsy"

Kudzu?

I searched around for the actual name, with no luck.
Anyone know what it is?
And how to permanently get rid of it?

Jason

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

Yep, that's it. I did a search on Google for a picture of it.
I'll keep searching for ways to get rid of it, in the meantime, anyone know
how to?
Jason

"paghat" wrote in message
news
In article , "Jason
Walter" wrote:

I live in NC. we have a very common, but nasty vine. I was stalking to
someone on the phone when he told me what it was called. I could not
fully
understand him. He called it something like "Cutsy"

Kudzu?

I searched around for the actual name, with no luck.
Anyone know what it is?
And how to permanently get rid of it?

Jason

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

"Jason Walter" wrote in message
. com...
Yep, that's it. I did a search on Google for a picture of it.
I'll keep searching for ways to get rid of it, in the meantime, anyone
know
how to?
Jason
snip...

Kudzu responds to regular glycophosphate herbicides -- Roundup for example.
In theory mowing it to ground level repeatedly will eventually kill it off
but it will take many repeats to have a real effect. Having sheep graze it
is a favored method -- the combination of constantly being eaten to ground
level and having sharp little hooves mash the root crowns is supposed to be
the key there.
--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]

Return address will not work. Please
reply in group or through my website:
http://johnmcgaw.com

Try "kudzu." It is, indeed, tough and invasive. A Google search will
give you oodles of info about it.

- pelirojaroja


"Jason Walter" wrote in message .com...
I live in NC. we have a very common, but nasty vine. I was stalking to
someone on the phone when he told me what it was called. I could not fully
understand him. He called it something like "Cutsy"

I searched around for the actual name, with no luck.
Anyone know what it is?
And how to permanently get rid of it?

Jason

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 16:05:59 GMT, "Jason Walter"
wrote:

anyone know
how to?

if they do they're too busy getting rich to read your post!!!

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/meatgoat.pdf
Goatscan effectively control kudzu, leafy spurge, mul-
tiflora rose, knapweed, and many other prob-
lem plants. The goats reduce the need for herbi-
cides; increase the diversity of pasture plants, es-
pecially grasses; add fertility to the soil; and are
able to control weedy areas that are difficult to
treat with other methods.

http://www.invasive.org/biocontrol/25Kudzu.html
Six fungal pathogens have been identified by collaborators at South
China Agricultural University (Jiang et al.., 2000). One Phycomycete
(Synchytrium puerariae P. Henning) Miyabe (Chytridiaceae) may hold
some potential as a biological control agent. This pathogen has been
reported on several Pueraria species from Japan, New Guinea, Java, the
Phillipines, India, China, and California (specimen at National Fungus
Collection, Beltsville, Marlyand (Karling, 1964), but further
investigations are necessary to confirm its host specificity.


Kudzu

Kerry O. Britton - U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Athens, Georgia, USA,


David Orr - North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology,
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA,
Jianghua Sun - Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources,
Beijing, China.
In: Van Driesche, R., et al., 2002, Biological Control of Invasive
Plants in the Eastern United States, USDA Forest Service Publication
FHTET-2002-04, 413 p.

Pest Status of Weed

Nature of Damage

Kudzu (Pueraria montana [Lour.] Merr. var. lobata [Willd.] Maesen and
Almeida) was originally introduced into the United States as an
ornamental vine at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876.
David Fairchild observed extensive use of kudzu as pasturage in Japan.
In 1902, he planted seedlings around his Washington, D.C. home to
explore their potential in the United States. By 1938, he became
disenchanted with kudzu because it “grew all over the bushes and
climbed the pines, smothering them with a mass of vegetation which
bent them to the ground and became a tangled nuisance. I spent two
hundred dollars in the years which followed trying to get rid of it,
but when we sold the place there was still some kudzu behind the
house....” (Fairchild, 1938). In 1907, kudzu hay was exhibited at
Jamestown, Virginia. Mr. C. E. Pleas, a farmer in Chipley, Florida,
was thrilled to accidentally discover the growth potential of kudzu,
and that many animals on his farm liked to eat it. He became an
enthusiastic promoter of kudzu, grew 35 acres to sell as a fodder
crop, and sold rooted cuttings through the mail (Shurtleff and Aoyagi,
1985). In the 1930s and 1940s, kudzu was propagated and promoted by
the Soil Conservation Service as a means of holding soil on the
swiftly eroding gullies of the deforested southern landscape,
especially in the Piedmont regions of Alabama, Georgia, and
Mississippi. Farmers were paid $8.00 per acre by the Soil Erosion
Service to plant kudzu, and more than 1.2 million acres were planted
under this subsidized program. Kudzu seedling nurseries produced and
distributed more than 73 million seedlings between 1935 and 1941
(Tabor and Susott, 1941). In his 1949 book, Front Porch Farmer,
Channing Cope presents kudzu as the panacea that will allow farmers to
adopt a life of leisure and relaxation, as this new crop “works while
you sleep.” Kudzu was widely promoted as a drought-resistant,
high-nitrogen forage crop. Research in the 1930s examined optimum
planting density, fertilization (Ahlgren, 1956), and the optimum time
of mowing to maximize yield without depleting the kudzu root starch so
much as to prevent regrowth each spring (Sturkie and Grimes, 1939).
However, it proved difficult to bale. Direct grazing was used to some
extent, but the vines are damaged by trampling, and this practice fell
into disuse. In the 1950s, kudzu was recognized as a weed, and removed
from the list of species acceptable for use under the Agricultural
Conservation Program. In 1998, kudzu was listed by the U.S. Congress
as a Federal Noxious Weed. Ornamental use accounts for the
predominance of kudzu around many old, collapsed southern homesteads
(Fig. 1). Erosion control plantings explain the extensive colonization
of ravines in fields that once grew cotton or native forests, but have
since been abandoned or turned into pasture. Although most spread is
slow (apparently through local movement of infested soil), where kudzu
exists it completely covers all other vegetation (Fig. 2). Estimates
of kudzu infestation in the southeast vary greatly, from as low as two
million (Corley et al.., 1997) to as high as seven million acres
(Everestet al.., 1991).


Figure 1. Landscape uses probably account
for kudzu patches surrounding crumbling homesteads throughout the
South.
(Photograph by Kerry Britton.)
Figure 2. Kudzu kills trees by shading them
and spreads inexorably, mostly through soil movement and vegetative
growth.
(Photograph by Kerry Britton.)

Economic damage. Kudzu completely replaces existing vegetation. No
information has been published on the resulting economic damage, and
the following estimates rely upon the personal experience of Dr.
Coleman Dangerfield (University of Georgia, forest economist). “Losses
vary with the potential use of the land in an uninfested state. Where
productive forest land has been overtaken, lost productivity is
estimated at $48 per acre per year. The present net value of an
average stand of pines grown on cutover land for 25 years in the
southeast is approximately $650 per acre. Kudzu control costs exceed
$200 per acre per year for five years. Thus, kudzu control for forest
production is not economically feasible.” Dr. James Miller (USDA
Forest Service plant ecologist, Auburn, Alabama), who has researched
herbicides for kudzu control for the last 20 years, estimates control
costs by power companies alone at $1.5 million per year.

Ecological damage. Few plants can survive once smothered by kudzu. It
does not strangle competition, but simply blankets trees with a dense
canopy, through which little light can penetrate. Kudzu’s competitive
edge has been attributed to its resource allocation strategy (i.e.,
its very high ratio of leaf surface area to structural tissues)
(Wechsler, 1974); a high rate of net photosynthesis; and diurnal leaf
movements that maximize exposure of lower canopy leaves and reduce
overheating of upper canopy leaves (Forseth and Teramura, 1987). There
is little spread by seed, so expansion of kudzu patches occurs mainly
by rooting of runners at nodes. Adventitious rooting gives rise to
large storage tubers that can survive repeated herbicide treatments
over many years (Miller, 1985; Moorhead and Johnson, 1996).

Geographical Distribution

Van der Maesen (1985) considered China, Indo-China, Japan, Malaysia,
Oceania, and the Indian subcontinent the native range of the genus
Pueraria. Despite repeated introductions, P. montana var. lobata was
not known to have established in Africa. This variety was successfully
introduced to South America and Switzerland, as well as Queensland and
New South Wales, Australia. Only in the southeastern United States is
kudzu considered a serious pest.

Kudzu rarely occurs in the northeastern United States (Frankel, 1989),
but is occasionally found from Connecticut to Illinois. In Illinois,
more than 90 infestations have been documented (Wiedenmann, 2001).
Kudzu is distributed south as far as Florida, and as far west as
eastern Oklahoma and Texas. The most severe infestations occur in the
piedmont regions of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

Background Information On The Pest Plant

Taxonomy

Kudzu is a perennial, semi-woody, climbing leguminous vine, of the
tribe Phaseoleae Benth., subtribe Glycininae Benth. (Maesen, 1985).
The kudzu species present in the United States is currently considered
Pueraria montana (Lour.) Merr. var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen and Almeida
(Ward, 1998). The most common synonyms are Pueraria lobata (Willd.)
Ohwi, P. thunbergiana (Sieb. and Zucc.) Benth, and P. hirsuta (Thunb.)
Matsumura non Kurz (Maesen, 1985). Characteristics that had been used
previously to differentiate P. montana from P. lobata and Pueraria
thomsoni (Benth.) are lobed leaflets, and the size of wing and keel
petals, all of which can be quite variable. Maesen, therefore, treated
these as varieties of one species, now called P. montana (Maesen and
Almeida, 1988).

Hairy, sprawling vines emerge from a root crown and produce alternate,
pinnately trifoliate leaves 7 to 25 cm long with three leaflets that
may or may not exhibit shallow lobes. The vines grow up to 18m/yr in
Georgia (Weschler, 1977). In late July to early September, plants in
full sun produce flower clusters on upright, climbing vines, but
rarely on horizontal vines. The flowers are borne in panicles,
pea-like and purple, with a pronounced grape-like odor. Clusters of 20
to 30 hairy, bean-shaped pods are produced that contain tiny
kidney-bean-shaped seeds. Seed pods are often empty, but may contain
10 to 12 seeds per pod (Tabor, 1942).

Biology

Seed production by kudzu in the United States varies from 0 to 1,800
seeds per m2 soil surface, with higher values occurring where vines
are climbing on structures (Thornton, 2001). The extremely low
viability of these seeds has been assumed to be due to a lack of
pollinators. However, Thornton demonstrated that there are a variety
of both native and naturalized pollinators, the most important of
which are native Hymenoptera. An exclusion cage study conducted in
1998 and 1999 revealed that low levels of kudzu seed viability were
the result of arthropod damage. A concurrent inclusion cage study
demonstrated that most of this damage was due to feeding by native
Hemiptera (Thornton, 2001). Feeding by a naturalized Asian bruchid
(Borowiecius ademptus Sharp) resulted in a small amount of damage in
both years (Thornton, 2001).

Seedlings develop a woody root crown, with multiple runners and
extensive tuberous roots. These roots contain carbohydrate reserves
that permit the plant to survive repeated mowing and/or herbicide
applications.

Analysis of Related Native Plants in the Eastern United States

No congeners of kudzu exist in the continental United States, but
there are many important economic relatives (Pemberton, 1996). Kudzu’s
nearest relative in the United States is the soybean, Glycine max (L.)
Merr., which also is of Asian origin. Native American members of the
subtribe Glysininae are Amphicarpaea bracteatea (L.) Elliott ex.
Nutall (American hog peanut), and four Cologania species: C.
angustifolia Kunth, C. lemmonii Grey, C. pallida Rose, and C.
pulchella Kunth. Native American genera in the tribe Phaseolinae that
contain plants of ecological and/or economic importance include:
Phaseolus (P. vulgaris L., P. lunatus L., P. coccineus L., and P.
acutifolius Gray), Strophostyles (S. helvola [L.] Ell. and S.
umbellata [Muhl. ex Willd.] Britton), and Vigna (V. radiata [L.]
Wilczek, V. unguiculata [L.] Walp. and V. subterranea [L.] Verdc.).

History of Biological Control Efforts in the Eastern United States

Area of Origin of Weed

The genus Pueraria contains seventeen species, distributed from Japan
to northeastern India, south to eastern Australia, and east throughout
Micronesia. Maesen’s (1985) extensive examination of herbarium
specimens led him to conclude that the kudzu in Japan, Korea, China
north of Shanghai, and throughout the Phillipines, Malaysia, and
Indonesia, was P. montana var. lobata. This is the variety that has
been introduced to the United States, and South America. The range of
this variety overlaps with that of P. montana var. montana in China
south of the Yangtze River to Hong Kong. The distribution of P.
montana var. montana also includes Vietnam, Burma, Laos, and Thailand.
In these countries, and in southern China, P. montana var. montana
shares its distribution with P. montana var. thomsoni. Specimens from
northeast India were identified as P. montana var. thomsoni (Maesen,
1985).

Areas Surveyed for Natural Enemies

Pemberton (1988) reported an abundance of natural enemies of kudzu in
China and Korea. Other researchers who visited China (DeLoach, Markin,
and Schiff, pers. comm.) agreed and encouraged the initiation of a
biological control research program. A climatic matching study showed
that Anhui Province was the area of China most similar in climate to
Atlanta, Georgia. Three systematic survey sites were therefore
established in Anhui Province in 1999, in a program funded by the USDA
Forest Service. Because of intensive agricultural land use, most of
the kudzu that exists in China occurs in mountain regions, which could
be cooler than indicated by current weather records. A fourth survey
site was therefore established in Guangdong Province. In 2000, a site
in Shaanxi Province was added to this survey.

Natural Enemies Found

A systematic survey for kudzu biocontrol agents was initiated in May
1999. At each of the four survey sites, five vines were chosen for
sampling. Insect feeding, mating, and egg laying behavior was observed
at 10-day intervals from May through November. Representative insects,
and herbarium specimens of their feeding damage were collected and
preserved. Defoliation was visually estimated in five 1 ft2 areas on
each vine. The main vine and branches were monitored for feeding
damage and gall formation.

The insects that fed on kudzu are still being identified. So far,
seven out of 25 species (Deporaus sp., Alcidodes trifidus [Pasco],
Sagra femorata [Drury], Aristobia hispida [Saunders], Paraleprodera
diophthalma [Pascoe], Anomala corpulenta [Motschulsky], and Epicauta
chinensis [Castelnau]) are known to feed on other crops (often beans),
and therefore, have been dropped from consideration. Leaf-feeding
beetles and sawflies that have no other known hosts have been
identified. Two kinds of weevils were found to attack the succulent
stems, and eight kinds of large beetles (Cerambycidae, Buprestidae,
Scarabidae) lay eggs and develop as larvae in the main vines or roots.

Six fungal pathogens have been identified by collaborators at South
China Agricultural University (Jiang et al.., 2000). One Phycomycete
(Synchytrium puerariae P. Henning) Miyabe (Chytridiaceae) may hold
some potential as a biological control agent. This pathogen has been
reported on several Pueraria species from Japan, New Guinea, Java, the
Phillipines, India, China, and California (specimen at National Fungus
Collection, Beltsville, Marlyand (Karling, 1964), but further
investigations are necessary to confirm its host specificity.

Host Range Tests and Results

Preliminary host range testing with soybean and peanut were begun in
the summer of 2000. As far as possible, initial host testing will be
conducted in China, where quarantine facilities are not required for
these native insects. In the later screening stages, extensive testing
of American plants and crops will be conducted in U.S. quarantine
facilities to ensure host specificity before any insect can be
released.

Biological Control Using Pathogens Native to the United States

Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola. This bacterium is the causal
agent of “halo blight” of bean and kudzu, causing a small necrotic
leafspot surrounded by a bright halo of chlorotic tissue. Zidak and
Backman (1996) reported that the bacterium could kill eight- to
ten-week-old kudzu seedlings, but produced few, if any, secondary
infections under fairly dry conditions in the field.

Myrothecium verrucaria (Albertini and Schwein.) Ditmar: Fr.
(Moniliales). This fungus has a fairly broad host range. Yang and Jong
(1995) reported good control of leafy spurge, and eight other
Euphorbia species using isolates of this fungus. Walker and Tilley
found that an isolate from sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia [L.] Irwin and
Barneby) affected a number of important crops, ornamentals, and weeds,
representing six different families. Sprays directed to soybean stems
and lower leaves did not reduce soybean dry weight (Walker and Tilley,
1997). It was patented for sicklepod biocontrol, and, although
originally isolated from sicklepod, it is even more effective against
kudzu. Two years of testing in Mississippi demonstrated that the
fungus attacks leaves and stems, with greater activity at 25 to 40°C
than at 10 to 20°C. Field tests demonstrated that 95 to 100% control
could be achieved within 14 days of inoculation by girdling runner
stems with this fungus, which produces asexual spores in a
sporodochium, with a matrix suggesting dispersal by splashing rain. In
inoculation studies, a surfactant was needed for good infection
(Boyette, 2000). A patent for kudzu control has been applied for.

Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes (Penz.) Penz. and Sacc. in Penz.
(Sphaeriales). A strain of this widely-distributed pathogen was
isolated from kudzu in Houston County, Georgia, and its virulence was
increased by repeated selection for growth on Czapek Dox medium
amended with kudzu extract. Field inoculations showed a synergistic
effect was achieved by inoculations of spores together with 20% of the
recommended rate of dicamba. The fungus attacks both leaves and vines,
and produces asexual spores in a pycnidium (Farris and Reilly, 2000).