News

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Trends toward richer colors during the holiday season may be one reason Plum Pudding, a new maroon poinsettia, will be in demand this year. Excelling in consumer and grower trials, this beauty also is sure to delight lots of Mississippi State University fans who still want to show their school colors during the holidays.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi has earned a first-place rank that no state would envy: highway deaths.

The National Safety Council Accident Facts 2001 ranked Mississippi first in three categories for motor vehicle deaths. The state had the greatest number of traffic deaths per million miles driven, per 10,000 vehicles registered and per 100,000 population.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A new 4-H horticulture curriculum is taking root in classrooms across Mississippi, and students are gaining a new appreciation for gardening.

Lelia Kelly, area Extension horticulturist in Verona, said test results from the first Junior Master Gardeners have some educators and youth workers enthused about the program's potential. Administered by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, 11 schools and six after-school clubs took part in a pilot program in the spring of 2001.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Yosemite National Park is famous for its majestic waterfalls, but it was a babbling brook that my family appreciated there last summer during a hike through a forest. We sat down to watch, listen and appreciate for 30 minutes or so. That mood and pleasure created by this active water can be duplicated in any landscape.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Farmers' markets are finding their niche in community economies across the state as producers and customers develop mutually beneficial relationships.

"Farmers' markets have a place in communities who have an appreciation for fresh produce," said David Nagel, horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service. "Prices are similar to grocery stores, but the produce is fresher. Most of the produce is grown within a 25-mile radius of the market. Grocery produce may be from as far as 2,000 miles away."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Vance H. Watson, director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, has been named interim vice president of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine and interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State University. The appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2002, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Three cattlemen in northeast Mississippi recognized the value of combining forces in the quest for a better product and higher profits.

Chip Waterer of Circle W Ranch in Chickasaw County and brothers Mike and Rick Howell of Holly Ridge Farm in Lee County merged their registered Angus and commercial cattle operations in the fall of 1999. The offspring are being combined into a new production company called Southern Shine Pastures.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE--Environmentalists and citizens concerned about agricultural chemicals moving into the environment from farms may take heart from a project investigating the fate of pesticides.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

When you see some camellia japonicas blooming earlier, larger and more colorful than others, you may be seeing the results of a horticultural technique known as gibbing.

As camellia shows start to pop up in malls and other public places, it becomes apparent that some experts know something that the basic gardener may not.

By Norman Winter
MSU Extension Horticulturist

Many of us have toured someone's yard only to find they have the same flowers that are growing in our own beds, but something is dramatically different. Theirs is a special garden that makes us shoot a picture, either real or mentally. We leave either energized to do better or feeling a little depressed.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you are ready to try something new in the cool season flower garden, you had better start shopping because this fall looks to be the best in quite some time for new, heirloom or unusual plants.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

VERONA -- Research at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center may one day extend the shelf life of floral arrangements purchased in Mississippi.

Crofton Sloan, horticulturist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, is searching for flower species and cultivars that may be used to establish a cut-flower industry in Mississippi. A local source could mean fresher blooms in the state's florist shops.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- There are just some things veterinary students cannot learn even in the best American classrooms.

Dr. Philip Bushby, professor and director of the Office of Educational Innovation at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, said senior students are encouraged to pursue educational opportunities overseas, but the cost is often prohibitive. While veterinary students who are not in their senior year do not receive educational credit for such pursuits, a small number of underclass students journey outside the country as well.

By Bethany Waldrop Keiper

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Automobile hazards, sudden temperature drops and dietary concerns are just a few of the dangers pets face even during the South's relatively mild winters.

Antifreeze, which is vital to cars during cold weather, presents pets with both a hazard and a temptation, said Dr. Thomas Lenarduzzi, associate clinical professor at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

By Allison Matthews
Southern Rural Development Center

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- More adults in the South are reaching a higher educational status than in past years and job numbers have increased significantly over the past decade, but rural citizens may be less likely to see the same economic improvements that are occurring in metropolitan areas.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Researchers believe the discovery of new uses for poultry litter will expand the market for this byproduct.

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researchers are working with the Southwest Mississippi Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. One new application they are considering is the use of litter as a horticulture fertilizer.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Some of our prettiest landscape plants for fall and winter are sitting in black plastic containers at garden centers across the South. Unfortunately, flowering kale and cabbage seldom receive the same attention as pansies, violas and snapdragons.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A three-day short course in early December will give Mississippi cotton, soybean and corn producers valuable information about how to succeed in agriculture.

Registration for the Dec. 5-7 Row Crop Short Course is free until Nov. 25 and $40 a person after that. The event is hosted by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and will be held on campus in the Bost Extension Center.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

I always dread the first frosty morning when I look out at yesterday's glorious bed of colorful lantanas and salvias and see instead a colorless, tumbleweed-like mess. It is especially frustrating if the mess is near the main entrance.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Bicycles are such popular items on wish lists and under Christmas trees that it's easy to forget that these can be dangerous gifts.

Linda Patterson, health education specialist at Mississippi State University's Extension Service, urged parents to make sure their children have the equipment and training necessary to make bike riding a safe experience.

"A bicycle is not a toy. It's a vehicle," Patterson said. "Every year about 1,200 bicyclists are killed, and more than a half million others are injured in bicycle-related accidents."