Friday, August 02, 2019
Seemed Like A Good Idea
Kudzu, the invasive, fast-growing vine that has blanketed the South, was not an accident. It was marketed in the mid-20th century as a way to combat soil erosion. About three million acres of it were planted by 1946. Today, it is the all-consuming plant, swathing trees, telephone poles, anything left on the ground. No one seems to know or remember that it is a desired plant in Japan from whence it came, and it has uses in food and textiles. In the US, it is a classic example of a marketing campaign that went wrong. It seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't. There were no natural pests to control it in the US, and once it took off, there was no way to stop it. We know better now, but it is too late for kudzu.
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