Horror weed thrives in Bay of Plenty - Kudzu outbreaksfrom Tauranga Citynews Local Focus, 18/April/2002 - An invasive vine that is a major and costly pest in the United States has taken root in the Bay of Plenty. A plant, smothering 3000 square metres of shrubs and trees, including a 15m high pine tree has been discovered recently. Environment B·O·P has asked the region’s residents to look out for and report sightings of the plant that has now been identified as the aggressive Kudzu vine. It is a climbing or trailing perennial vine with dark green leaves, large tuberous roots and purple flowers. Plant pest co-ordinator John Mather describes the plant as “extremely vigorous”, with stems able to grow up to 30m in a season. Tauranga plant pest officer Walter Stahel found the first, and largest, site of kudzu vine at Pahoia near Tauranga. A second site of 1000 square metres is located by State Highway 2 near Te Puke with a third smaller site, now controlled, in a garden at Matata. Mr Mather does not know how the plant was introduced to the Bay of Plenty as it is prohibited for entry into New Zealand. Kudzu considered for cropping - samples sold locallyA quick glance throught Growing Today magazines from 1992 reveals that the Kudzu vine was investigated here for its various properties ten years ago, and in 1994 a Te Puke plant nursery (since closed) was advertising the tubers, despite it being well documented as an acute problem weed in North America. And we complain about recent lack of freedom to introduce plant material to our country? Perhaps this is a good example of how some of us shoot everybody else in the foot...
http://www.treecrops.org.nz/news/news02q2/kudzu.html |
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