News

By Norman Winter

MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A recent 4-H event at one of the most highly rated golf courses in the country included the opportunity to see an impressive display of cleomes all around the clubhouse. The incredible new varieties I saw at the course are one of the reasons the old-fashioned cleomes are seeing a revival.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Weather has been kind to Mississippi's hay and forage producers, but the economy has not.

An unusually cool spring, buffered by adequate rainfall, has increased growth in cool-season forages. Spring is the optimum period for nutrient and sugar content to develop in forages grown for hay, and Mother Nature's timing was good.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

VERONA -- Home gardeners want to share their dirty little secrets.

They will forego any inconvenience if they feel they can help even one person. Such enthusiasm for plants and nature is why some people across the state will drive a good distance to exhibit at or attend field days, such as the recent Spring Garden Day at the North Mississippi Extension and Research Center in Verona.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The South is alive with incredible displays of larkspurs, and it is time to revel in their beauty. Normally, I write about plants that should be going into the ground right then or some that would make excellent additions to landscapes. This week is a good time to enjoy larkspurs and contemplate where you can make great use of this reseeding annual.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Nothing about rain has been normal in Mississippi in the last three to four years, and the state went from a serious deficit in 2007 to continually soggy ground this spring.

2007 was a hot, dry year, and row crop farmers had to irrigate extensively in places to keep their crops growing. Catfish producers saw pond water levels drop dangerously, and hay dried up on pastures, which increased feed costs for cattle producers.

May is National Egg Month

By Courtney Coufal
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Demand for poultry products remains strong, but high production costs continue to put a strain on producers' pocketbooks.

John Anderson, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said production costs have soared to historic levels because of high feed prices and climbing diesel fuel prices.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Former 4-H'er Samantha Webb dreams of opening a specialty boutique of women's clothing made from cotton, wool, linen and other natural fibers grown in Mississippi.

Webb, who plans to graduate with an apparel, textiles and merchandising degree from Mississippi State University in December, said she visualizes a business that incorporates her passion for fashion with a desire to promote the importance of agriculture through the fabrics she chooses for her clothes.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In September 1977, the three commercial television networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- launched 22 new shows, most of which did not survive the season. While it was not on one of the big three networks, a show premiering that fall has survived and continues to inform and entertain its target audience.

By Norman Winter

MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Most people think of all spiraeas as the old-fashioned white bridal wreath spiraea, but across the South today, there is another group dazzling spectators called the Japanese spiraeas.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The biennial Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show is celebrating its 25th year of showcasing the newest technology and machinery used to advance the South’s timber industry.

With more than 6,000 people from 20 states and two Canadian provinces attending the last show in 2006, this year’s show, scheduled for June 6-7, promises to be just as popular.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Fee fishing, fee hunting, horse trail riding and sporting clays are outdoor recreational businesses based on Mississippi’s natural resources that will be discussed at a May 29 workshop in Noxubee County.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cotton offers strong profit potential for growers even though it no longer rules as king among the state's row crops.

In 2008, two crops are posting more acreage in Mississippi than cotton's predicted 420,000 acres: soybeans, with 2.05 million acres, and corn, with 670,000 acres. Exceptionally strong markets have lured growers away from their reliable favorite and over to grain crops.

Cotton offers strong profit potential for growers even though it no longer rules as king among the state’s row crops.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Roses are among the most popular additions to home landscapes, and the Veterans Memorial Rose Garden at Mississippi State University provides a panorama of traditional and new rose varieties.

The garden is located at the Highway 182 entrance to the R. Rodney Foil Plant Science Research Facility.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's “Arc of Slabs” is a prime destination for families or individuals seeking a day of good fishing or a whole vacation on the water.

The Arc of Slabs, a term recently coined by In-Fisherman magazine, refers to the four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control reservoirs along the Interstate 55 corridor in north Mississippi. These water impoundments are Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid and Grenada lakes. The reservoirs are known for their quality white and black crappie populations and the fishing opportunities they produce. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Spaces remain available in Mississippi State University’s bug camps this summer, offering a different kind of family vacation.

The 15th annual 4-H Entomology Camps, often referred to as “Bug Camp,” will be June 15-19 at Crow’s Neck Environmental Center in Tishomingo County and July 13-17 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. These camps offer an intergenerational experience the whole family can enjoy.

Bug camp experiences will include insect collecting, plant and insect interaction hikes,

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Teachers have a unique opportunity in June to join a group of experts from around the world to study butterflies and moths.

The Lepidopterist Society is holding its 59th annual meeting at Mississippi State University June 23-27. Members from around the world will attend this meeting, and others are gathering for the annual meeting of the Lepidopterists of the Tropics and the Southeast Lepidopterists Society.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Since the invention of air conditioning, patios and decks have not seen as much entertaining and relaxing activities as they now are seeing. Along with outdoor cooking and eating, container gardening with petunias in decorative pots and lush hanging baskets is soaring in popularity.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi growers are looking forward to the 2008 rice crop because of news of a potential world rice shortage.

Nathan Buehring, rice specialist at Mississippi State University's Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, said the state's rice acreage has been expanding in recent weeks.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's initial planting intentions report released March 31 forecast Mississippi's rice acreage to decline about 5 percent from last year.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University students collected more than 1,500 pounds of canned goods in their War on Hunger food drive at semester's-end to help stock local pantries in the Mississippi Food Network.

The Committee of 19 campus organization sponsored the food drive, held the last week of April. Although many students had to study for final examinations, they honored their commitment to make a difference, said Chiquita Briley, committee faculty adviser and MSU Extension Service nutrition specialist.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Everyone is pulling cool-season annuals from mixed containers and looking for plants to make a dramatic, warm-season impact. I am seeing a revival of geranium use in containers and in much more creative combinations than I had ever considered.