News

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Ongoing efforts to track Asian soybean rust and minimize its threat to Mississippi soybean acres led researchers to note that some kudzu, a rust host, resists the disease.

Billy Moore, plant pathologist emeritus working part time with the rust program for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the team searching for rust in the state examines soybeans and kudzu plots for signs of the fungus. They use global positioning system coordinates to note the location of each plot searched for rust.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Few growers remain in the strawberry business in Mississippi, but consumers still like to buy local produce because of its fresh taste.

“It tastes like a strawberry,” said Allen Eubanks, who with his wife, Janice, owns Eubanks Produce in Greene County. “All our strawberries are handpicked, and they are packed, cooled and shipped out the same night. From the time we pick to the time they are in stores is about two days maximum.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A recent incident on the Gulf Coast involving angry European honey bees reminds Mississippians to be prepared for the likely arrival of more aggressive Africanized honey bees.

On March 6 in Pascagoula, a swarm of bees attacked and killed a dog and stung the dog's owner when he tried to rescue it. The swarm was destroyed, and DNA from the bees was tested.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Rush varieties are rounding out this year's Mississippi Medallion winners that are all tough-as-nails and offer impressive design features in flower borders and mixed containers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An upcoming event will offer guidance to the many Southern gardeners compelled by beautiful spring weather to work -- or play -- in their yards.

Mississippi State University’s Spring Garden Day will be from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on May 17. The annual event will take place at the Hiram D. Palmertree North Mississippi Research and Extension Center on Highway 145 South in Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Freezing temperatures, slugs and crawfish sound more like biblical plagues than problems for Mississippi's early corn. Nevertheless, those are among the challenges growers are reporting to the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Erick Larson, Extension small grains specialist, said although a mid-April frost likely will cause little damage across much of the state, many other problems are being reported.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Jac Varco of Starkville has assumed duties as the interim department head of Mississippi State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Varco assumed the responsibilities after the departure of Michael Collins on March 31. The department provides instruction, research and outreach for MSU and the state in agronomy, horticulture, soil science and weed science.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Horse owners and others wanting to learn more about equine nutrition will have two options for attending a conference May 8-9: online or in Memphis.

The Southeast Equine Conference, “Horse nutrition for the future,” is sponsored by the Extension Services of Mississippi State University and the University of Tennessee. Participants can attend in person at the Agricenter in Memphis, located on the corner of Walnut Grove Road and Germantown Road, or online with an interactive Webcast.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Many gardeners want plants that will bloom right up until frost. Some past options have been New Gold lantana or the award-winning Diamond Frost euphorbia, and now gardeners can add Sun Parasols mandevilla to that list of summer-long bloomers.

VICKSBURG -- Gambling on the river takes on a different meaning every spring for a handful of farmers.

Warren County Extension director John Coccaro said hundreds of acres, some of the county's best cropland, are 10-12 feet under water because of heavy rains well north of Mississippi. Most of the fields were planted in winter wheat last fall when the state was in a seemingly endless drought. Still, the fields have a history of flooding, which makes them too risky for insurance coverage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University Extension Service clientele have access to a new national resource that offers information and innovative resources beyond what is possible online at MSUcares.com.

In late February, eXtension.org went live as an online educational partnership between 74 universities. The interactive Web site offers a wealth of knowledge in 16 content areas, known as communities of practice. Three more areas are in development, and more are being added each month.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Durability and “everlasting” beauty are two of the reasons All Around Purple gomphrena has been selected as a 2008 Mississippi Medallion Award winner.

Known botanically as Gomphrena globosa, this Joseph's Coat relative is native to Panama and Guatemala. All Around Purple is the first plant selected as a winner that may be called an “everlasting” because of its ability to be cut, hung upside down to dry and then used in a vase.

By Robert H. Wells
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE -- A multi-state project to reveal genetic markers for some of the Mid-South's best rice breeding lines in history is underway with the goal to produce a genetic map of about 470 of the most successful rice varieties.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Reuben Moore has been named the interim head of the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona.

As director, he will oversee the daily operations of this regional facility, one of four strategically located across the state to meet the local information, research and programming needs of Mississippians. The center serves as a hub of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and Mississippi State University Extension Service research and outreach activities.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Scott Willard has been named head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Mississippi State University.

He will assume this position May 1, although he has held it in interim status for a year. Since 1999, he has been in MSU’s Department of Animal and Dairy Science as a professor of reproductive and environmental physiology.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The new interim associate dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine said he plans to continue the successful programs of his predecessor.

Stephen Pruett, head of the CVM Basic Sciences Department since July, assumed his new responsibilities Feb. 25. He succeeds Jerald Ainsworth, who retired after 28 years of service.

“I want to maintain a stable, efficient office that meets the needs of our faculty and students,” Pruett said.  

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's soybean growers are not alone in their enthusiasm for planting a large crop this year, and the market knows it.

Soybean growers are expected to plant more than 2 million acres in soybeans, the largest state soybean crop since 1998. The national crop, once expected to be near 71 million acres, is now forecast closer to 75 million acres.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- David Jones has joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service as the first forest products specialist. 

Jones, a wood quality expert, formerly worked as a postdoctoral associate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in forestry. He received a bachelor’s degree in forest resources from Clemson University, a master’s from Stephen F. Austin State University, and a doctorate in forestry from the University of Georgia. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Bob Ratliff of Starkville is serving as the interim department head of Mississippi State University’s Office of Agricultural Communications.

Vance Watson, serving as MSU’s vice president for agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine, appointed Ratliff to the interim task after the retirement of Tom Knecht on Feb. 29.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University alumnus and forest products faculty member is the new head of the university’s forest products department.

Rubin Shmulsky, who assumed his new duties April 1, will lead the largest state-funded laboratory of its kind in the United States. His appointment was approved during the March meeting of the state Board of Trustees for the Institutions of Higher Learning.