Kudzu causing problems for Stoddard County

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Stoddard County Commissioner Greg Mathis says there is an increasing amount of kudzu appearing in the county and that an eradication program should be started before the plant causes problems in drainage ditches and croplands.

Kudzu has been found locally in Jackson, St. Louis, Howard, Christian, Wayne, Douglas, Newton, Lawrence, Ralls and Taney counties, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Mathis proposed that a meeting on controlling kudzu be set up between the county commission, farmers, Farm Services and the Department of Conservation. He said the plant can cause serious problems if not controlled.

The commissioners agreed some planning should be done to stop the spread of kudzu in the county.

"We are going to look like Alabama soon," Commissioner Carol Jarrell said.

Jarrell said she is amazed at the spread of the plant every time she passes On The Go in Dexter, Mo. The store is next to Dexter Creek, where kudzu has grown thick.

Brandon Wirsig, private land conservationist with the Department of Conservation in Stoddard County, said he has had only two landowners come to him with complaints about kudzu. He said he works one on one with farmers in the county, and has not had any other reports of kudzu being a problem on farms.

He said recommendations for control come from the regional conservation office in Cape Girardeau.

The Department of Conservation says kudzu can be treated by cutting, grazing, digging, disking, prescribed burning and application of herbicides. According to the department, freezing does not affect roots of mature plants, and burning kills only very young plants. The department says it can take three to four years to eradicate kudzu and recommends pines, hardwoods and forbs be planted after eradication.