Roots of mature plants grow too deeply to be affected by freezing. Efforts to control kudzu infestations have included the following methods: cutting, grazing, digging, disking, prescribed burning and application of herbicides. Treatments timed to the plant's life cycle seem to be an important factor in control or eradication strategy. Kudzu can break branches and uproot entire trees under its weight.
These mats are so dense that very little light gets through, and so kudzu effectively smothers and kills other plants by blocking sunlight. Kudzu forms dense mats over the ground, shrubs, mature trees, and buildings, reaching more than 60 feet high. Once established, kudzu plants grow prolifically, with a single root crown containing up to 30 vines. Preferred habitats are forest edges, abandoned fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas, where sunlight is abundant. Kudzu grows well under a wide range of conditions and in most soil types, except for saturated soils. Today it can be found within select counties, mostly along highways. In Missouri, kudzu was planted along highways to control erosion and as forage prior to 1970. During the Great Depression, kudzu was heavily promoted for erosion control.
It was imported to the United States from Japan and China in the early 1900s. Kudzu ( Pueraria montana) is a climbing, semi-woody, perennial vine of the legume family.
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