The challenge of Kudzu

   / The challenge of Kudzu #11  
Where is this kudzu? I didn't see your location in your profile.
I fought Japanese knotweed for about 20 years and finally got rid of it by spraying monthly in the summer.
Seems to be a southern midwest/deep south type thing. My brother has it in southern Indiana, my brother-in-law has it in Georgia.
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu
  • Thread Starter
#12  
This recent article says Congress established the Soil Erosion Service in 1933 to address poor farming practices that caused soil erosion in the South. They gave away kudzu plants and also paid owners an incentive to plant kudzu. History and Use of Kudzu in the Southeastern United States - Alabama Cooperative Extension System

The article has a link to a map showing reported kudzu sites. Most are in the South, but there are a couple of sites as far away as Oregon. Apparently, no kudzu was known to exist in the Pacific Northwest until 2001, and they are not sure how it got there. https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/shared/Documents/Publications/Weeds/PlantPestRiskAssessmentKudzu.pdf
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu #13  
But it requires a herbicide license to apply it which means taking a test and paying a recurring license fee to keep the license active.
A "herbicide" license can be handy for RUP (Restricted Use Pesticides) if you need them.
Mississippi issues a Private applicator certification that expires after 5 years. You have to complete an online course (cost $20 last year I think) that took me about 20 hours of Laz-Boy surfing.
(I probably could of done it in 5 hours if I had set up two monitors so I could have looked up things while taking the tests :) ) Basically the course can be summarized as read and follow directions on the label and keep record of using RUP.
Other states handle it differently but may have reciprocity.
Link to MSU course
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu #14  
The highway or ROW crew may have sprayed it with picloram or something very potent like it. But it requires a herbicide license to apply it which means taking a test and paying a recurring license fee to keep the license active.

Part of the difficulty is finding an effective herbicide and then being able to buy and use it.

Regular glyphosate that doesn't require a license means repeated sprayings in my experience. If someone can recommend a herbicide that is effective on kudzu, please share.

This pond area was mulched for several days with a forestry disc mulcher on a compact track loader 6 months ago. However, the land owner hasn't done anything to control the kudzu in the last 6 months. The area has grown back up because the well established root and tuber system is still there and reproducing new vines. I sort of suspected they thought they had beaten the kudzu when they had it mulched, but ....

It almost seems like when you knock down kudzu in an area, it comes back two or three fold. So you have to be prepared to follow up with additional control measures.


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I have no experience with kudzu, but Tordon or picloram herbicide seems to work on most everything. One caution about picloram; it’s potent and will also kill trees and other vegetation that’s rooting in the same space as the target plant.
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu #16  
A "herbicide" license can be handy for RUP (Restricted Use Pesticides) if you need them.
Mississippi issues a Private applicator certification that expires after 5 years. You have to complete an online course (cost $20 last year I think) that took me about 20 hours of Laz-Boy surfing.
(I probably could of done it in 5 hours if I had set up two monitors so I could have looked up things while taking the tests :) ) Basically the course can be summarized as read and follow directions on the label and keep record of using RUP.
Other states handle it differently but may have reciprocity.
Link to MSU course
Texas' Pesticide Applicator License can be summed up the same way. The reason for the licensing is because the restricted chemicals are typically Organo-Phosphate based - which are neurotoxins developed in WW2 and include Sarin and VX.
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu #17  
After seeing some kudzu vines in this area while bush hogging last summer, I cleared out the small trees and brush over the winter. Checking on my progress today, I was curious about how much of the kudzu had returned over the last 3-6 months.

This one vine is 20 feet plus long measured from where it comes out of the ground to the end as stretched across my tractor.

I cut this area with the rotary cutter about 4-6 weeks ago. The cutter didn't even touch the vine because the vine grows a couple inches off the ground beneath where the cutter reaches.

Kudzu can put down roots off the runners. The roots go several feet into the ground.

Other than using goats to graze kudzu to death, the only other practical method of control I've found is to spray it...over and over.

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Cows will eat kudzo too. Not as crazy about it as goats but they will get the job done.
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu #18  
Kudzo was planted in my state heavy also and has totally taken some low-lying swamps. Have never had to deal with it myself but as to spraying early, normally best results with any herbicide is spray while the weed whatever it is is small, tender and growing. Watch for temperature limits also.

As to pesticide license, South Carolina has a few different levels of them with for ONLY your own use much simpler course and testing. Those who spray for hire face more stringent testing. The CE is only offered here by the County Agents and with COVID has been hard to get. Wish we had a commercial option for them.
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu
  • Thread Starter
#19  
I have read that late summer is the best time to spray when kudzu is in full foilage so it absorbs more herbicide. At the alarming rate the vines are spreading, I don't think waiting is a good idea. For whatever reason, it is growing faster this year than in recent past years.

I would suspect kudzu in a swamp has to be about the worst of all situations. How would anyone be able to control it?
 
   / The challenge of Kudzu #20  
After seeing some kudzu vines in this area while bush hogging last summer, I cleared out the small trees and brush over the winter. Checking on my progress today, I was curious about how much of the kudzu had returned over the last 3-6 months.

This one vine is 20 feet plus long measured from where it comes out of the ground to the end as stretched across my tractor.

I cut this area with the rotary cutter about 4-6 weeks ago. The cutter didn't even touch the vine because the vine grows a couple inches off the ground beneath where the cutter reaches.

Kudzu can put down roots off the runners. The roots go several feet into the ground.

Other than using goats to graze kudzu to death, the only other practical method of control I've found is to spray it...over and over.

View attachment 752130View attachment 752131View attachment 752132
I use Tordon to kill vines and brush, works great. Has to be put on fresh cut vines to work.
 
 
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