[RightWhale]

Forest Service scientists are already in China surveying kudzu's natural enemies.

Import the entire ecosystem or nothing. Remember Australia!

[KarlInOhio]

Then, in the 1930s, the Agriculture Department decided kudzu could be used for erosion control and distributed 85 million kudzu seedlings in the South. It was later discovered that kudzu's erosion control properties were limited because its vines grow horizontally and slightly above ground, branching out as much as 2 feet a day.

The difference between the government using kudzu for erosion control and most government programs is that it stopped pouring money into increasing the program. If it had worked the same as most programs, they would be planting billions of more seedlings since the first 85 million didn't work right.

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

Hah! Wait till the bamboo gets there. That stuff is a serious plague. I've often wondered which of the two would survive an ancounter with the other. They'd probably have some crazy symbiotic relationship.

[kayak]

I traveled last weekend through part of the drought-stricken East ..... even the kudzu seemed to be stressed from the lack of water.

[xJones]

Let's hear for the amazing kudzu! Growing Kudzu.

Excerpt: "Contrary to what may be told by the Extension Service, kudzu can profit from a good mulch. I have found that a heavy mulch for the young plants produces a hardier crop. For best results, as soon as the young shoots begin to appear, cover kudzu with concrete blocks. Although this causes a temporary setback, your kudzu will accept this mulch as a challenge and will reward you with redoubled determination in the long run."

LOL, we'll never get rid of it.

[Private Joker]

Old joke in Alabama: How do you plant kudzu?

Answer: Drop it and run like hell.

[Frohickey]

Wait.

Why aren't they training in kudzu fields? That will just be better training for when our guys do it for real... in China!

[TADSLOS]

Whole sections of Fort Benning are covered with the stuff.

[cva66snipe]

Sounds like they need to get some Nubians. They make good maintainers of underbrush. Using goats to difficult to reach terrain and heavy undergrowth is being used in many places. The browse alone will keep them fed all year.

[OldPossum]

I remember seeing this stuff as a kid. I swear that if you watched it long enough you could see the darned stuff grow.

[WorldWatcher1]

Flame throwers

The army used them against giant ants in Them!, logically, they should be used against giant plants.

[mhking]

Kudzu is the closest thing I can think of to some of the vegetation discussed in David Gerrold's War Against the Chtorr series.

In that series, an alien ecosystem invades Earth, establishing itself in varying degrees in various places around the globe, transforming the natural landscape over a period of years. The largest problem is that 90% of the life (both plant and animal) that establishes itself is carniverous.

[Iowa Granny]

bump for a later read