News

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

I don't know if it has happened before in my lifetime. If it has, I don't remember, and I am sure it never happened during my brief football career. I am talking about the weather.

I have always been a proponent of planting some flowers in August, but with the recent weather, it should be a no-brainer. The weather, coupled with fresh crops of zinnias, marigolds and others arriving at your garden center, is making it fun to get back out in the yard and do a little digging.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Strong nationwide housing starts are helping the timber markets buck late summer traditions and remain strong heading into the fall months.

Bob Daniels, forestry specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said prices normally are lowest during the driest months when timber is most accessible for harvest.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The health and safety of the state, especially the agricultural sector in the Delta, is the primary focus of the newly formed Agromedicine Program.

The Agromedicine Program is a collaboration between the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and is designed to help prevent agricultural-related illness and injury in rural areas. The program is funded through the Delta Health Alliance, and the primary focus area is the Mississippi Delta.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Last night I was planting some new Dreamland zinnias for late summer and fall, and finished the job with the new red-dyed mulch. Even though the zinnias weren't blooming, the contrast of the red mulch and the green leaves sure looked impressive.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University researchers are seeking a balance between health concerns and effective pesticide use in a state where many residents depend on agriculture and often co-exist in areas where chemical use is common.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- While students enjoyed their summer vacation, many of their teachers themselves became students.

That was the case with eight high school agriculture teachers who trained at the new Agricultural and Environmental Science and Technology Laboratory on the Mississippi State University campus.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Market prices for catfish are up slightly from the record lows of recent years, but increased production costs are preventing growers from any major celebrations.

Jimmy Avery, Extension professor at the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, said this year's prices should average 8 to 10 cents more than in 2003 when prices averaged 58 cents per pound. Fuel, feed and other production expenses are adding 8 to 9 cents per pound to growers' production costs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A unique Web site is giving radio stations and the general public audio reports from Mississippi State University and several other land-grant universities.

RadioSource.net is a portal site that enables users to access and search the combined programming of the 19 participating universities. Information is available on a variety of topics, including gardening, agribusiness, environmental news, health and nutrition, and rural life.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An Extension program trying to identify future medical leaders in Mississippi is succeeding at its goal.

Rural Medical Scholars is a five-week summer program offered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service in cooperation with the state's 15 community and junior colleges through the Mississippi Rural Health Corps. It recruits students entering their senior year of high school, offering them a brief college experience and a taste of life as a medical doctor in Mississippi. To date, 144 students have completed the program.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Spraying chemicals is a significant part of the cost and control of modern farming, and calibrating the implements can make a difference in efficiency.

Herb Willcutt, agricultural engineer with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said calibration is a simple procedure that can potentially save thousands of dollars and protect the environment.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A reporter once asked me, "If you could convince all garden centers to sell one perennial, what would it be?" The answer was simple for me: the Joe Pye weed.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Entrepreneurs who dream of creating and manufacturing food products can learn how to make those dreams reality at a day-long workshop offered in Southwest Mississippi in September.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Horse enthusiasts will find a lot to like at the Sept. 25 Fall Horse Sale at the Mississippi Horse Park, AgriCenter and Fairgrounds.

Sale-day activities begin at 9:30 a.m. with an equine nutrition program, followed by a lunch sponsored by Cargill Animal Nutrition. The sale begins at 1 p.m. and features almost 50 horses from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station research herd.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Low shrimp prices and high fuel costs may share the blame for the reduction in commercial fishing boats in Mississippi waters.

Aerial surveys by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources on opening day June 9 revealed 538 shrimp boats in Mississippi waters compared to 1,067 on the first day last year.

Richard Gollott of Golden Gulf Fisheries in Biloxi said shrimp prices are at 1960s levels and fuel costs have skyrocketed.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Veterinary practices for years largely ignored dental problems, but a movement within the profession now is giving it the attention it deserves.

Dr. Bill Nalley, veterinarian with Animal Care Hospital in Long Beach, said periodontal disease is the most common disease in small animals.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University veterinary researcher is enlisting the help of mice to unlock the mystery of a mental disorder that affects more than 2 million American adults.

Jeffrey Eells, an assistant professor with MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, recently received a $55,000 grant from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. Eells' study focuses on a strain of mice that have a gene mutation similar to that found in schizophrenic humans.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station's annual Cattlemen's Field and Hay Day is scheduled for Aug. 14.

The experiment station is located off Hwy 18 west of Raymond in the Oakley community.

Registration is at 8 a.m. and the program begins at 8:30 with a beef quality assurance injection site lesion demonstration by Dr. Terry Engelken of Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Brandon Carter with Elanco.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two upcoming meetings will help prepare growers and vendors for the new farmers market coming to Jackson next spring.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce are organizing the evening meetings. The first meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 at the Forrest County Extension Office on Sullivan Drive in Hattiesburg. The second meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 at the Agriculture and Forestry Museum on Lakeland Drive in Jackson. Each meeting will last one hour.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

One of the lyrics in a Jimmy Buffett song says, "I have a Caribbean soul I can barely control," and I must admit to the affliction, too!

Sure, the water and the laid-back atmosphere are great, but the plant life is what I love. It was in the Caribbean that I first discovered a passion for gingers, especially hedychiums.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The battle against an inevitable soybean disease has begun in Mississippi, with researchers and specialists ready to attack rust once it appears in the state.

Soybean rust is a fungal disease spread by spores. It can be carried on the wind for hundreds of miles, transported on people or machinery, or spread by infected plant material. Left untreated, it completely defoliates and often kills a plant, reducing yields by as much as 80 percent.