Kudzu
Place of Origin: East and SE Asia
Place of Harm: Southeast (North to NY, West to Nebraska), Hawaii, Washington/ Oregon, Oceania
First Introduced: 1876
Harms: native plants and trees, power lines
Other Names: Japanese arrowroot, mile-a-minute, foot-a-night, “vine that ate the south”, Ko-hemp
Kudzu is a perennial climbing legume vine that was first introduced in 1876 during the Centennial Exposition (world fair) in Philadelphia, as landscaping for the Japanese Pavilion. In the 1930s it was recommended as a way to stop erosion. Farmers were paid $8/acre to plant over a million acres of seed. Each plant may have up to 30 vines. Kudzu grows very quickly and spreads with fragmentation, vegetative propagation,and seed (minimal). Roots go to 12 ft deep and can weigh hundreds of pounds. It can be found in fields, roadsides, abandoned areas, and riparian areas, but does not tolerate saturated soil. It prefers mild winters, hot summers, sandy well-drained loam, and full sun. Kudzu is a notorious invasive species and is used as a symbol for prevention and control of invasive species. It is most common in GA, MS, and AL. The problem with kudzu is that it forms large areas covered entirely with the plant. It grows along the stem nodes very quickly, causing trees, buildings, telephone poles, and vehicles to become wrapped and covered with the vines. This kills submerged trees by blocking sunlight and thus reduces plant and animal biodiversity. It grows anywhere because it can produce nitrogen from the roots. It is estimated to spread at least 2500 acres every year. Kudzu causes an annual $500 million in forest economic damage. It covers 7 million acres in the South. Kudzu control requires killing the root crown and all rooting runners. Mechanical methods involve cutting off crowns from roots; this immediately kills the plant. Destroy all crown material or it will grow back. Fire used before a skid loader will remove root crowns with low disturbance. The crowns can be burned or fed to livestock. Heavy mowing, grazing, and tilling will successfully deplete root reserves if continued for several years. Systemic herbicides like glyphosate, triclopyr, and picloram can be applied directly onto cut stems in June to October. A type of fungi spray, Diacetylverrucarol (Myrothecium verrucaria) damages it within 8 hours. The kudzu bug (Megacopta cribraria) reduces kudzu growth. Overgrazing is effective. Kudzu spreads with vegetative propagation and fragmentation. It can regenerate from the root crown and grows very fast (>50 ft/season). It grows from early summer until the first frost, gaining 60 ft, or ~1 ft a day. Vines in full sun will flower from June to September. From September to January, seed pods mature; each contains 3-10 seeds, very few are viable. Sexual reproduction is rare though, more commonly it forms roots at nodes where the stems touch the ground, which forms a separate root crown. From August until frost, it stores starch in the roots for winter. Frost kills most aboveground vines, roots stay alive. Kudzu is a pretty ornamental with pleasant flowers. It is used for erosion control and as livestock feed. The roots can be used as a food source. The vines can be used as weaving materials.
Place of Origin: East and SE Asia
Place of Harm: Southeast (North to NY, West to Nebraska), Hawaii, Washington/ Oregon, Oceania
First Introduced: 1876
Harms: native plants and trees, power lines
Other Names: Japanese arrowroot, mile-a-minute, foot-a-night, “vine that ate the south”, Ko-hemp
Kudzu is a perennial climbing legume vine that was first introduced in 1876 during the Centennial Exposition (world fair) in Philadelphia, as landscaping for the Japanese Pavilion. In the 1930s it was recommended as a way to stop erosion. Farmers were paid $8/acre to plant over a million acres of seed. Each plant may have up to 30 vines. Kudzu grows very quickly and spreads with fragmentation, vegetative propagation,and seed (minimal). Roots go to 12 ft deep and can weigh hundreds of pounds. It can be found in fields, roadsides, abandoned areas, and riparian areas, but does not tolerate saturated soil. It prefers mild winters, hot summers, sandy well-drained loam, and full sun. Kudzu is a notorious invasive species and is used as a symbol for prevention and control of invasive species. It is most common in GA, MS, and AL. The problem with kudzu is that it forms large areas covered entirely with the plant. It grows along the stem nodes very quickly, causing trees, buildings, telephone poles, and vehicles to become wrapped and covered with the vines. This kills submerged trees by blocking sunlight and thus reduces plant and animal biodiversity. It grows anywhere because it can produce nitrogen from the roots. It is estimated to spread at least 2500 acres every year. Kudzu causes an annual $500 million in forest economic damage. It covers 7 million acres in the South. Kudzu control requires killing the root crown and all rooting runners. Mechanical methods involve cutting off crowns from roots; this immediately kills the plant. Destroy all crown material or it will grow back. Fire used before a skid loader will remove root crowns with low disturbance. The crowns can be burned or fed to livestock. Heavy mowing, grazing, and tilling will successfully deplete root reserves if continued for several years. Systemic herbicides like glyphosate, triclopyr, and picloram can be applied directly onto cut stems in June to October. A type of fungi spray, Diacetylverrucarol (Myrothecium verrucaria) damages it within 8 hours. The kudzu bug (Megacopta cribraria) reduces kudzu growth. Overgrazing is effective. Kudzu spreads with vegetative propagation and fragmentation. It can regenerate from the root crown and grows very fast (>50 ft/season). It grows from early summer until the first frost, gaining 60 ft, or ~1 ft a day. Vines in full sun will flower from June to September. From September to January, seed pods mature; each contains 3-10 seeds, very few are viable. Sexual reproduction is rare though, more commonly it forms roots at nodes where the stems touch the ground, which forms a separate root crown. From August until frost, it stores starch in the roots for winter. Frost kills most aboveground vines, roots stay alive. Kudzu is a pretty ornamental with pleasant flowers. It is used for erosion control and as livestock feed. The roots can be used as a food source. The vines can be used as weaving materials.
Essential Question
"Could a genetically engineered invasive species potentially be used in warfare?"