KUDZU, A FORAGE CROP FOR THE 
SOUTHEAST 
By A. J. PirtEers, fomerly principal agronomist, in Charge, Division of Forage 
Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry } 
What Kudzu Is and What It Is Good For 
UDZU ? is a perennial leguminous vine native to Japan. It has 
large leaves, somewhat like those of a bean but larger, and 
sometimes each leaflet is coarsely lobed. The stems are coarse and 
long and become woody in regions where they are not killed to the 
eround by frost. The flowers are deep purple and borne in clusters. 
Plants set seed sparingly in the United States. The leaves and 
young stems are very sensitive to frost, the older stems less so, and 
the rocts survive the winter in. favorable situations in the North- 
eastern States, where the plant is often used as an ornamental climber. 
In the North the stems are killed by cold; and new growth comes 
from the root each year. In parts of the South, such as southern 
Georgia, only the leaves and young shoots are killed, and consequently 
the main stems may attain considerable size. 
Kudzu is valuable as a forage crop. It may be grazed or cut for 
hay, but in either case it must be handled with a certain degree of 
care if good results are to be obtained over a long period. It can 
be overgrazed, or it can be cut so often that the stand is reduced 
until the field is no longer profitable. This fact has often been 
overlooked in the past and has been the cause of a great deal of 
disappointment in the crop. While there are no ficures available 
as to the acreage of kudzu, it is estimated that there are about 100,000 
acres. 
Habit and Soil Preference 
The kudzu root sends out several shoots (fig. 1), their number 
depending upon its age and vigor. ‘These shoots trail on the ground 
or climb any available support. They have been known to eTOW 
70 feet in a season. Since kudzu is a hot-weather plant, its growth 
is delayed until the ground warms up and stops with the first frost. 
More growth is made, therefore, in the South than in the North and 
more on warm soils than on cold. Stems that lie on the round root 
at the joints (if the soil is moist and the contact good), and thus new 
plants are established (fig. 2). When a field is well set with plants 
in this way and growth is thick, new, erect, twining stems grow out 
from the main runners, and the mass of stems and leaves may reach 
a depth of 2 to 4 feet. When the plants are cut new shoots are put out. 
1 Revised by Roland McKee, senior agronomist. 
2 Pueraria thunbvergiana. 
Issued April 1932 
Slightly revised September 1939 
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