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March 28, 2002 - Filed Under: Crops

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Growers normally make planting decisions well before planting time based on their crop rotation plans and the markets, but this year's Farm Bill debate and the weather are throwing a monkey wrench into growers' plans.

Jim Quinn, marketing specialist with Farm Bureau and Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said without a finalized Farm Bill, bankers are withholding loans until they know how much governmental support to expect.

March 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Trees

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Not all award-winning plants for 2002 are new, and the Mississippi Medallion Plant Selections Committee is announcing this spring that a small, heirloom tree is a 2002 winner.

Vitex, or lilac chaste tree, is native to Sicily and is a member of the verbena family. It was recognized by the Greeks for its medicinal properties, and it is recorded to have been in cultivation in British gardens since 1570.

March 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Catfish

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Catfish producers have an updated tool to help them remain afloat in financial hard times.

Fishy 2002 is the latest version of computer software developed in 1982 at Mississippi State University to aid the aquaculture industry. Wallace Killcreas, Fishy programmer and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station agricultural economist, said the program aids management and decision-making.

March 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Waste Management

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A study of the practice of land application of poultry litter suggests copper and zinc may accumulate in amended soils using current nutrient management strategies.

Billy Kingery, soil scientist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, has completed a study to determine the effect of long-term application of poultry litter on the amount and distribution of these metals in soil.

Ruellia has bluish-purple flowers that radiate color from the plant. The deep-green foliage with hints of burgundy is attractive and works well in combination plantings.
March 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Few plants are as tough or more deserving of a place in the Mississippi flower border than the ruellia. In our high heat, it not only endures but is also a star performer and one of those plants that gives everyone the green thumb.

March 18, 2002 - Filed Under: Soils

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The array of numbers on a fertilizer bag can intimidate gardeners into either applying the fertilizer indiscriminately or deciding to let the plants do without.

In order, the numbers represent the percentage of nitrogen, phosphate and potash contained in the bag. Varying amounts of these three macronutrients are essential to the survival of plants.

Larry Oldham, soil specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said the numbers make it possible for gardeners to supply the correct amount of these nutrients to the soil.

March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Vegetable Gardens

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Gardeners wanting a backyard success this summer can do more than hope it will happen.

Sonja Skelly, consumer horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said a soil test and drainage assessment will go a long way to ensuring a successful garden.

"The very first thing you should do is take a soil test from whatever part of the landscape you want to plant something in," Skelly said. "Take soil from several locations to be sure it is representative of the area you will be planting in."

March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: City and County Government

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Municipal officials across the state have another tool in their arsenal to provide efficient public service with the publication of the second edition of Municipal Government in Mississippi.

Published by the Mississippi State University Extension Service's Center for Governmental Training and Technology, the 412-page edition offers the latest thinking by 19 contributing authors and editors P.C. McLaurin Jr., Extension professor of local government, and Michael T. Allen, Extension governmental training officer.

The fiery red Lucifer, a variety of crocosmia, looks exceptional in a tropical garden with bananas and cannas or in a perennial garden with daylilies and salvias.
March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Since many of you are shopping for summer blooming bulbs, I want to break from telling you about new plants to remind you of one that is old and wonderful - the crocosmia, or monbretia.

Botanically speaking, it is known as Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora and is related to the gladiola. Its name comes from the Greek words "krokos" meaning saffron and "osme" meaning smell, referring to the saffron aroma the dried flowers give off when immersed in water.

March 11, 2002 - Filed Under: Waste Management

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Researchers at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are evaluating the environmental and economic impacts of land application of poultry litter as part of an ongoing effort to support the poultry industry.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Crops, Lawn and Garden

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Homeowners and growers should not overreact to potential damage to plants in home landscapes caused by extreme cold snaps, such as the one that hit Mississippi the last week of February.

By transplanting certain plants such as this basil, gardens can harvest a crop much sooner than by growing plants from seed.
March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Vegetable Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As vegetable gardening season rapidly approaches, it's time to decide whether to use transplants or direct seed. If you are as anxious as I am to get underway, then you might consider growing transplants.

Almost everything can be sown directly into the garden, but there are some vegetables that do better when transplanted. These include several of the most popular vegetables.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

By Ashley Crawford

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Granting outdoor wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses was a dream Bruce Brady never saw materialize, but the program developed in his memory carries out his dreams.

Catch-A-Dream is a wish-granting program that was founded to memorialize Brady, a long-time resident of Brookhaven. The program grants once-in-a-lifetime outdoor experiences to children under the age of 18 who have life-threatening illnesses.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A report from the National Science Foundation ranks Mississippi State University fifth in the nation in funding for research in the agricultural sciences.

The university generated $68.4 million in research and development expenditures for the agricultural sciences in fiscal year 2000, an increase of almost 18 percent over fiscal year 1999 figures. MSU previously ranked eighth in agricultural sciences research.

March 4, 2002 - Filed Under: Biofuels

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi manufacturers, agricultural producers and economic developers can learn ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels during an April 30 to May 1 conference in Starkville.

Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Biomass Council are sponsoring the Mississippi Alternative Fuels Conference, which includes a tour of a local paper mill. Registration fees are $140 for the conference and tour, $95 for the conference and $45 for the tour.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Cotton

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cotton producers can learn about the latest developments in disease, insect and weed control during an upcoming Advanced Cotton Pest Management Short Course.

The seminar will take place March 20 at Mississippi State University's Bost Extension Building. The program will feature topics related to weed science, plant pathology and entomology. Sessions will address weed control, diseases affecting cotton production, nematodes in cotton, plant bug biology and discussion of stink bugs.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Clarence E. Watson Jr., interim head of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University, has been named associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station effective Feb. 19.

As associate director, Watson will be responsible for planning and managing the Experiment Station's research efforts. He joins Marty Fuller, MAFES associate director for external affairs, and Vance Watson, MAFES director, in leading the research organization.

Many people find Pride of Mobile azaleas irresistible. They are not alone as butterflies, such as this swallowtail, are attracted to the Southern Indica group of azaleas including Pride of Mobile, Formosa, G.G. Gerbing, Judge Solomon and George Lindley Tabor.
February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With all the new neighborhoods springing up everywhere, I'm sure I'm not alone in the panic that we will soon miss out on the floral displays of this spring's azaleas. Some disparage the azalea, but I am not one of them; I need azaleas at my new home.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Animal Health

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The pooled resources of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine may help establish Mississippi State University as a leader in imaging technologies for the agricultural and veterinary sciences.

February 25, 2002 - Filed Under: Rural Health

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An intense summer program aims to entice high school juniors into family medicine as Mississippi approaches a critical need for medical professionals.

With one out of five Mississippi physicians over the age of 60, the Rural Medical Scholars program's aim is to identify the state's future primary care doctors and help them become members of the medical school class of 2011.

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