BIOFUEL AND KUDZU

By the headlines and what we are seeing in the stores, it looks like those few voices crying in the wilderness who were warning not to use food crops for biofuels.

I had wondered why KUDZU was not being used for producing biofuels, but figured it must be the wrong type of plant.  KUDZU is amazing stuff.  I first saw it in the mid 1970s when working on Bekin Van Lines, I took a break from college and working on a cross country moving van was a great way to see the country, plus get paid for it.  And I learned more on that trip than I did in most college classes.  KUDZU is something out of a science fiction movie covering forests, roads, houses, cars, telephone poles.  I wouldn't have believed it if I had not seen it. The locals would kid us 'foreigners' about not pulling off the road to sleep in a KUDZU infested area as we would be covered by morning.  I could almost believe it.

 

 This is a pine forest that has been completely covered over in Kudzu, That is a house is the very center.

With the stories of food shortages and large price increases, it made me once again curious if anyone had done any research on KUDZU as a biofuel.  After all, congress is throwing very large sums of money to produce fuel from food crops, and the Law of Unintended Consequences looks like it is in full operation. 

Kudzu covers an old factory in Rockingham, N.C., in this 1999 file photo. (Chuck Burton/Associated Press)

Which lead me to this study from the United States Dept. of Agriculture --  Agriculture Research Service.

Publication Date: October 24, 2006
Citation: Gjerstad, D.H., Ziska, L.H., Runion, G.B., Prior, S.A., Torbert III, H.A., Rogers Jr, H.H. 2006. The Potential Use of Kudzu as a Biofuel [Abstract]. Alternative Energy Solutions from Alabama's Natural Resources Conference. CDROM

Technical Abstract:

Recently, tremendous effort has been put forth to identify plants with potential to be used as biofuels. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata [Willd.] Ohwi), while native to the Orient, has proliferated as an invasive weed throughout the Southern U.S. It is currently at or near the top of invasive species lists for virtually every southern state. Kudzu, as a member of the Fabaceae family, is a natural nitrogen fixer and, thus, grows rapidly across the landscape with no inputs (e.g., fertilizers). Given its perennial growth habit, its rapid growth rate, and the fact that kudzu has a high starch content (particularly its root system), its potential as a biofuel could be tremendous. However, to date, this potential has gone unstudied. We propose to initiate an investigation into this potential by quantifying above- and belowground kudzu biomass production, and associated starch and nutrient content. This initial work will lead to more in-depth studies of potential kudzu production systems, harvesting techniques, and cost/benefit analyses. (Last Modified: 04/21/2008)

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Those used to be trees, and that used to be open grassland.

So if I understand this, it would seem that our beloved congress, who only look out for the good of The People, have us bent over again, as they give our money to corporate farms and biofuel producers.  When if KUDZU does deliver on the potential the Research Service thinks it will, we would have an unlimited supply of Kudzu and  even return some of our Southern States lands to pre Kudzu use.  Does anyone from the South have any input or anything to add, Please do.