We had a great thread on here about spraying kudzu, but it was lost in one of the system crashes and I didn't save it. Hate to ask the same questions again, but here goes.

I've got several patches of kudzu on the farm, none of them over 1/4 acre at this point. Most of it is growing in the 33 yr old pine plantation. Escort was highly recommended in the previous thread by several of you that know what you are talking about, but being a cheapskate, I sprayed it last year with a gly/Weedmaster mix, simply because I already had it. It kilt the tops dead, but of course it came back. It looks pretty unhealthy right now, so I have bought some generic Escort (MSM 60) and am planning to spray it first chance I get.

The label says I need 4 oz per acre to kill kudzu, but I'm having a hard time deciding how much that should convert to when mixing it in a 4 gallon backpack sprayer. I've got some crop oil or top surf to mix with it, not sure which would be best. Any advice would be appreciated.

Good luck! You've got to estimate how much you will spray per acre. Misting sweetgums, for instance, runs around 5 gpa and spraying clearcut site prep with a backpack runs around 10 gpa. If you are going to soak it down I would guess maybe 20 gpa or so? I'll be doing it tomorrow with a spray crew and will assume something similar! If it is 20 gpa, a 4 gallon backpack will cover 1/5 of an acre or a little less than an ounce of MSM.

Thanks gobbler! Don't forget about me in August; no way an old man like me can cover all that I've got to do.

By the time they got out 200 gallons (mixed for 10 acres), I figured they were spraying closer to 40 gpa, so got pretty hot on the chemical. Will cut the rate in 1/2 tomorrow!!

Depending on the backpack, we used a rule of thumb of 50 gpa for most. However, many of the more expensive brands can actually be calibrated if you are walking a consistent speed. The problem with trying to figure how much per acre is that in spots with dense growth you will likely put out more than areas with a thinner stand. Much better way would be to base it on concentration. Often you will see it Escort recommended at 1 oz/1gallon when wetting the entire surface of the leaves. It does get tricky like this, however.

I know you are on a tight budget, but one of our new products (I am not with AU any longer, now working for DuPont), called Streamline, is tough on kudzu. It is a mix of Escort and a new product. From what I have seen and heard it is about the best thing since sliced bread on kudzu. I am heading over to MS this week to view some research and demonstration plots.

I know the EPA yanked "Imprelis" after all the trouble...did they not mess with this stuff too?

No. The products I work with are designed for noncrop weed, tree, and brush control. The Imprelis issue was really a matter of info not being passed up the line. Yards were sprayed and conifers were injured. Unfortunately what usually happens with new materials is that you can't possibly cover all situation and once released and spread in all types of situations by all types of people you have stuff pop up that research didn't show. Price you pay in this industry.

I spray lawns and my back packs average 4500-5000 s.f per 3 gallons. I use a teejet 8004 fan tip sprayer with a pressure setting abt mid way on a sp backpack

>>>I know you are on a tight budget, but one of our new products (I am not with AU any longer, now working for DuPont), called Streamline, is tough on kudzu.<<<

007 now knocking down the big bucks!

Congrats on the new gig, and I hope it works well for you. Maybe you can get DuPont to develop that RR Chufa I've been wanting for so long. Monsanto can't see a gold mine right under its face, so maybe you guys can. The market would be huge!

The FMC guy realized several years ago that I was a Master Chufa Grower and sent me a free bottle of Aim to try. I begged for a jug of Command, but never talked him into that one. So maybe you would like to send some of that Streamline to a Master Kudzu Killer to get my valuable endorsement? OK, I'm a rookie kudzu killer, but nobody has to know that.

I put out some of the generic Escort on a small patch late yesterday afternoon. I only had a few minutes before dark, so I put 3/4 oz in 3 gallons of water and got over the patch with it. There is no way to calibrate anything; it was a matter of stumbling, falling, and crawling to get around in that jungle to hopefully get some spray on most of it. I'll report back on how it works. I'll have to set aside a whole day for it to tackle the big patches.

Thanks for all the advice.

[quote=poorcountrypreacherI put out some of the generic Escort on a small patch late yesterday afternoon. .[/quote]

Generic Escort. Blasphemy!

Generic Escort. Blasphemy! [/quote]

Generic Escort (generic EVERYTHING). Smart and frugal like me

We fight this stuff regular, every summer. You already know the bad news, hard to get completely rid of, and needs 3-4 years of good control. Water volume is the key with Kudzu. And I would spray it when it's hot and sunny, not late afternoon and cloudy for sure. 4oz/acre with Escort is a good aerial rate when we spray 15 gpa with a helicopter - over pines. But it's not gonna hurt if you put out a little more than that, trying to get water volume out. If your spray is not going to come into contact with pine needles, and you don't care to kill woody, and herbaceous weeds also, there are better herbicides for Kudzu other than Escort. We just have to use Escort over pines, but some other stuff out there will control Kudzu better, it's just not as selective. The Dupont rep may push something he has, and that's fine. I'm not going to get into that. I would either talk with him more, or someone else in the biz. Again, if you are not going "over the top" of pines, you can find better herbicides for Kudzu.

Thanks for the info, turkey247. I know that Tordon will kill it a lot better, but I really don't want that stuff in my soil.

There was kudzu on the place when I was a boy, and it will still be there when I am dead. Maybe I can keep it from getting out of control.

Met PCP Friday. Had a great visit and was shown wonderful hospitality as he caught and cooked fish for lunch and showed me around his place. You could almost cut the memories there with a knife. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him. If any of you guys have a chance to meet him you should take the opportunity.

And I greatly enjoyed meeting you, 007! We are gonna kill some kudzu!

Kudzu doesn't like Streamline; put some out 2 weeks ago. It killed the kudzu dead everywhere it came in contact with the leaves. Sprayed a lot more yesterday; I think I'm gonna knock it way back this year, but will need to spray more next year too. There are areas in the center of some of the patches that I just can't reach.

Thanks for the sample, 007!

Glad to see it knocking it back! Stay after it and you will eventually get it (most of it, anyway).

We did about 15 acres early this year and did the following:
Ran a grinder (winter) through the whole patch to get everything on the ground - climbing vines and all. Hand sprayed 7 oz Milestone and 1 oz generic escort (per acre) in June. Did VERY little touch up (there was hardly any green sprouts) in August. This patch looks as dead as I have ever seen a kudzu patch in one year. We will burn it this winter and touch up any resprouting but I was impressed and am hoping that it is eradicated inside a 12 month period!!

Great info! I am really impressed with Milestone as a herbicide on broadleafs. At just 1 oz per acre, it kept my chufa patches cleaner than they have ever been. I can see where 7 oz of it would smoke kudzu, even if you didn't use the Escort.

It would take a grinder to get my worst area into shape so that it could be sprayed. Its only a couple of acres and pretty steep, so I'll probably just keep killing the edges every year and keep it from spreading. Its not solid kudzu, just patches of it here and there.

If its on you hunting dirt bush hog it to the ground and watch eat the new sprouts like crazy. Great protein levels and deer go nuts over the tender shoots.