News

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The snapdragon is one of the most beautiful plants for cool season color, and it thrives through winter until late spring or early summer heat arrives. Snapdragons love temperatures in the low 40s at night and low 70s by day, which make them ideally situated for fall in the South.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Shishi Gashira is without a doubt the finest landscape camellia on the market, and it has been chosen as a 2002 Mississippi Medallion award winner for the fall. These drop-dead gorgeous camellia sasanquas are waiting for you now at your local garden center.

Their waxy, leather leaves coupled with blooms that are as pretty as roses reveal that these camellias are not only good as shrubs but also for use as foundation plantings.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- State Christmas tree growers had an excellent growing season this year and have high hopes for a happy holiday.

Steve Dicke, Christmas tree specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the trees were able to use nearly all the heavy rains that came throughout the year.

"We hope it dries out sometime so the customers can get out in the fields and cut their own trees, but until harvest, we're not really concerned about it," Dicke said.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As you shop for daffodils and pansies, pick up a flat or two of dianthus. The new hybrid pink dianthus offers months of cool-season color for the landscape. They would be a worthy purchase even if they are annuals, but many gardeners find these newer varieties will give three, four or more seasons of bloom.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Spatial technologies have provided producers and agribusinesses new methods to manage their crops, animals and land, but the same technologies have also presented a number of challenges, including how to manage the information generated.

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station scientists are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help growers face these problems.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Growing row crops, turf and ornamental plants is big business in the state, and supporting these industries through research and education is a high priority at Mississippi State University.

Because of Mississippi's climate and growing conditions, the state produces a wide variety of crops. Some of these, such as cotton, soybeans and rice, have a significant impact on the state's economy individually. Others crops, such as pecans, flowers and home garden vegetables, are smaller but still significant to the state when considered as a whole.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi pecan growers are harvesting a mixed bag this year as weather, diseases, insects and poor market prices leave little incentive for the harvest effort.

James Chiles of Clarksdale is president of the Mississippi Pecan Growers Association. He said growers in some parts of the state are reporting crop failures due in part to dry conditions near the end of July that caused trees to shed nuts. Insects and diseases also have been a problem in some orchards.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researchers are determining whether fungi are responsible for some of the seedling diseases and low grain yields seen in Mississippi.

Larry Trevathan, MAFES plant pathologist, is identifying fungal species common to corn production systems in Mississippi and looking for a link between fungal occurrence in the roots of this crop and subsequent seedling disease.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Fall and winter gardens need color to liven up landscapes, and local garden centers are loaded with great new selections that will do just that.

If you haven't tried Redbor kale or Red Giant mustard, then you have missed some of the best. Look also for new pansies like Ultima Apricot Shades or Delta Fire.

Redbor kale is a large selection producing wavy, deep burgundy leaves. Red Giant mustard produces foliage in burgundy and green that is beautiful and edible.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Handling food safely is a science, and those preparing food should make sure they have the tools needed to do it right.

Melissa Mixon, human nutrition specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said bacteria can grow rapidly when food is between 40 and 140 degrees. Perishable foods in this temperature zone have a two-hour window in which they are safe.

"The rule of thumb is that anytime a food has been in that temperature zone for two hours or more, don't eat it," Mixon said.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Top quality beef cattle will move through the auction ring Nov. 21 as Mississippi State University releases more than 100 surplus cattle and 26 horses to the highest bidders.

MSU and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will host the 20th annual Production Sale at the Mississippi Horse Park, AgriCenter and Fairgrounds, which is located on Poorhouse Road south of Starkville. Lunch will be served at noon, and the sale will begin at 1 p.m. Cattle can be viewed beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing until the time of the sale.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Growers of freshwater prawns, one of the state's smaller and newer crops, wrapped up harvest in early October with what appears to be profitable yields.

Mississippi has at least 1,000 water acres in commercial prawn production in the state. There is no state yield estimate, but Lou D'Abramo, professor with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, said several growers reported yields of 800 to 1,000 pounds an acre.

PASCAGOULA -- Professional loggers and anyone interested in logging have an opportunity to learn more about the industry through a Nov. 20 and 21 logger education program developed by Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

The two-day program consists of three classes. An introduction to sustainable forestry will begin at 8 a.m. on the first day, followed by a logger safety class at 2 p.m. A class on best management practices will begin at 8 a.m. on the second day. Classes will take place at the La Font Inn at 2703 Denny Ave. in Pascagoula.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A grant exceeding $1 million will enable researchers to study the extent food-safety pathogens exist in the poultry production process to determine the best point to concentrate treatment efforts.

By John Hawkins

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Specialists met in Starkville recently to study a subject that most people would find rather questionable: how to raise and keep insects alive and well.

"Growing quality insects is crucial to many areas of entomology and integrated pest management," said Frank Davis, Mississippi State University emeritus adjunct professor of entomology and workshop coordinator.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Shop quickly if you expect to get any Belgian mums this fall because they are disappearing like snow cones in July.

Chrysanthemums have always been the premier fall plant, but this year the Belgian mums have added an even greater furor for these boldly colored flowers. They are popping up on porches and patios everywhere bringing a festive look to the landscape.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- It was easy to see how above-ground crops suffered from back-to-back tropical storms, but those growing below ground took a less obvious beating.

Projections at mid-October were that the state lost at least 10 percent of its sweet potato crop from heavy rains in the middle of harvest. Mississippi has about 15,000 acres of sweet potatoes and typically harvests these from the second week of August until early November.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Less than two years after test results identified the first West Nile virus case in the state, two Mississippi laboratories are working hard to identify hot spots needing increased control efforts by the state Health Department.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The fountain grasses are among the prettiest plants in the landscape at this time of the year. They transition well from working with summer flowers to fall mums and ornamental kale and cabbage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Forty-two Mississippians received the highest honor the U.S. Congress gives to young people when they were given Congressional Awards Sept. 29 in Jackson.

Two young people received the gold award, 11 the silver and 29 the bronze. They earned these awards by meeting goals they set for themselves in community service, personal development, expedition/exploration and physical fitness.