In the 1930s, federal land agencies encouraged U.S. farmers to plant kudzu to prevent soil erosion. Well, it didn't do much to slow soil erosion. It completely engulfs everything in its path, including roads, trees, telephone poles, even houses. Today kudzu covers seven million acres from Texas to Florida. And there's no known biological or chemical agent that can stop it.
Several herbicides can kill the tops of the vines.
But scientists from the U.S. and China are cooperating on studies to identify the insects and fungi that attack kudzu in its native habitat. We're Block and Byrd for Earth and Sky.