Kudzu

[teletiger]

Anyone know if this stuff grows in Thailand? It's a legume vine so will be 20%+ protien, plus fixes nitrogen into the soil. It's got a really bad reputation in the US, because it grows so fast! Used in Japan (native) as animal fodder. Seems to be a multi-use plant.

Kudzu is almost always referred to as a noxious, invasive weed. However, as has been pointed out, kudzu was originally brought to America as a crop. While it may grow a little too fast for comfort, it still does have significant uses:

* Food. The Japanese have consumed kudzu as food for thousands of years. It's not always tasty, but it has saved many from famine. Every part of the kudzu plant is useful for food. Powdered kudzu root is a starchy flour much like cornstartch and can be used to make soups and puddings. Kudzu leaf is a leafy green like spinach or kale, and is sturdy enough to use like grape leaves. Kudzu blossoms can be used to make a deep maroon tea, though many find it bitter. In Japan, a kudzu-flavored tofu is a delicacy. Kudzu recipes are readily found online.

* Livestock feed. Livestock that are allowed to graze (free-range) will consume the kudzu leaf, and pigs will eat the starchy root. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the kudzu plant is slightly more nutritious than alfafa, making it a fairly cheap, quickly-replenishing source of food for cattle and other livestock.

* Alternative Fuel. Using a yeast that can ferment both xylose and glucose (by way of enzymatic conversion of starches), kudzu could be a very rapid source of ethanol.

* Medicine. Kudzu may be a powerful remedy for alcoholism, according to traditional Chinese medicine and backed up by a Harvard medical study by Dr. Bert L. Vallee and Dr. Wing-Ming Keung in 1993. The study involved hamsters that preferred alcohol to water, who were then injected them with an isoflavonoid compound derived from kudzu root extract. Most of the hamsters cut their alcohol intake in half or better, a superior result compared to many other pharmaceutical treatments for the disease. The study also noted that the kudzu root extract also resulted in reduced effects of hangovers, as well as improving the motor skills of the drunk hamsters.

Source: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/90/21/10008.pdf for the information about the alcoholism study.

They missed out that stems can, and are, used in basket weaving and other wickerwork.

Regards

[Maizefarmer]

TT - thats where this forum becomes really usefull - out of the blue something I have never heard of in my life - and a quick glance and face value indicates that it is quick 'n easy to grow with great potential feed stock value - although, get down to the nitty gritty and someone is going to find something negative about it.

I personally have never heard of this stuff and am going to read up on it.

Tim

[lannarebirth]

The Amazing Story Of Kudzu:

http://www.alabamatv.org/kudzu/

Driving around the southern state of Mississippi, I used to see whole farms covered with this stuff. By that I mean the house, the barn, the driveway.... everything.

Such as:

http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/

Edited October 5, 2006 by lannarebirth

[fxm88]

It's cousin Pueraria mirifica is native to Thailand. I'm not sure if what I've seen growing is this or kudzu.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueraria_mirifica

[lannarebirth]

KUDZU: It's istory, Uses and Controls

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-0065/A...0kudzu%20hay%22

[lannarebirth]

Tim,

What does the highlighted portion mean?

"Henry and Edith Edwards of Rutherfordton, North Carolina have found many uses for kudzu over the past 30 years. Henry produces over 1,000 bales of kudzu hay each year on his Kudzu Cow Farm. The hay is high in nutritive value, but many people have found kudzu difficult to cut and bale. Henry says the secret is to "cut it low and bale it high

[udon]

That's one very scarey plant.

Unless I had goats, I wouldn't touch it.

Lanna. Thanks for the links to the pix.

[RamdomChances]

This from http://www.fao.org/ag/AGA/AGAP/FRG/AFRIS/Data/278.HTM

Pueraria lobata

Kudzu

Woody perennial vine with leaves resembling those of grapes. Grows vigorously, in one summer, producing shoots 10 m long. Mainly propagated from cuttings or rooted cuttings as the plant seldom gives any seeds. Cannot easily be cut and cured for hay because of its long stems. Newly established plants tolerate little trampling and must be grazed with care during the first two years. Adapted to subtropical and warm temperate climates and able to withstand winter frost. Grows in moderately humid climates on fertile well-drained soils, but can also withstand protracted drought. A good stand takes a long time to establish but is very long-lived. Highly palatable and can be used as a substitute for lucerne. Excellent for silage, especially if mixed with grass.

Seems to take a long time to get going. Not one I've ever heard of here. On the face of it, it looks like it could be used for good quality silage, the leaves being about 20% CP

[chownah]

Puero is a variety of kudzu and is not uncommon in this part of the world as a legume crop. I think I've heard people talking about it here but I'm not sure. I have had no experiences with this legume but would like to here if others have used it.

http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/DATA/Pf000058.HTM

From this link:

Pueraria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth.

Common names

Puero (Australia), tropical kudzu (most of the tropics).

[Maizefarmer]

Tim,

What does the highlighted portion mean?

"Henry and Edith Edwards of Rutherfordton, North Carolina have found many uses for kudzu over the past 30 years. Henry produces over 1,000 bales of kudzu hay each year on his Kudzu Cow Farm. The hay is high in nutritive value, but many people have found kudzu difficult to cut and bale. Henry says the secret is to "cut it low and bale it high

LANNREBIRTH

2 meanings here I can see - "cut it low" means just that - the shorter a plant is when you cut it, the higher its nutrional content is. So that explains the nutrional side of it, but there is a mechaincal side as well, and when people say its diffuclt to cut and bale, what is happening is that they are leaving it to grow too much (too big) and it then becomes very woody, which makes cutting it a lot more akward.

"Bale it High" means the the bigger the bale pile the more it contains and the more that is isolated from exposure to the air and sunlight - thus preserving its butrional value while in storage.

I personally have never heard of this stuff and dont know anyone who uses it but anything that produces LEAVES that are a viable forage has to be given consideration. Why? - because leaves as a rule grow and repleanish quickly and can also be baled much tighter (meaning a crop that can be stored much better). The downside of leaves are that they tend to be associated with tree growth - which adds to harvesting problems. A plant that produces lots of leaves close to the ground is a potentialy an ideal forage crop (subject of course to it having the nutrional characteristics).

Tim

Edited October 6, 2006 by Maizefarmer

[LoveDaBlues]

I'm from Mississippi.

Kudzu

[teletiger]

I'm from Mississippi.

Kudzu

Is this the stuff? found it growing through a tree near Muak Lek.

Regards

[bubbaba]

I just read thru the Kudzu posts here on TV. I cannot tell if the jury is still out or if you guys have decided that kudzu in Thailand, or anywhere, is good or bad. I have no experience with it except to read about it and dream of low cost food for livestock. I was raised in the south east United States and I have never seen the stuff. Only heard about it. Bad and good.

Does anyone here know where it grows in Thailand? Does anyone here grow it? I think a personal look-see would be good. My only concern so far in reading about kudzu is the subject of control. I would not want to create a nightmare for myself and others.

<I've merged this into the Kudzu thread...RC>

Edited November 27, 2006 by RamdomChances

[chownah]

Bubbaba,

This link talks about puero which is a close relative of kudzu and is grown in Australia for sure and around SE Asia so its probably in Thailand but I have no direct experience of it:

http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/DATA/PF000058.HTM

This link talks about kudzu. It is probably less desireable than puero because it is woodier which means it would probably be more difficult to cut for feed or hay and also more difficult to destroy and plow in...I guess although I have no direct experience of this plant either:

http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/DATA/PF000059.HTM

Where I live in the north there are alot of different legumes which grow on their own in marginal areas and I collect seeds from those that seem like good candidates for forage or soil improvement crops. I also keep as ear open for places to purchase seeds of known forage crops.

Chownah

[chownah]

I'm from Mississippi.

Kudzu

Is this the stuff? found it growing through a tree near Muak Lek.

Regards

From what I've read, kudzu has a woody crown at the surface of the dirt and woody shoots grow off form this. Does the vegetation you show have this?

Chownah