Dr. Brian McCarthy, Associate Dean of the Ohio University College of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology, was quoted in an Athens Messenger story on “‘The vine that ate the South’ also has a major presence in Southeast Ohio.”
Dr. Brian McCarthy
Kudzu is one of at least a dozen invasive species of plants found in Southeast Ohio. Also called “the vine that ate the South,” the vining plant is said to be able to grow a foot or more per day….
Brian McCarthy…estimates that there are between 2-2.5 million acres of land in the United States consumed by kudzu.
The plant forms a “complete mat” over other vegetation, he said.
“It has some limited benefits if you have a really degraded soil system,” McCarthy said, noting that it can help restore proper nitrogen levels to depleted soil. “It’s a good thing if you’re trying to restore degraded land, but it’s a hard to control the plant after that. I don’t advocate its use for anything.”
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