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Tropicals mixed in these beds showed that nothing can transform a garden as does the inclusion of plants grown for their large foliage.
August 13, 2001 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Never underestimate the power of foliage in the landscape. Mass plantings of coleus, cascading sweet potatoes and Joseph's Coats that provided an exciting contrast in color and leaf texture inspired me during recent trip to the Southern Nurserymen Convention in Atlanta.

August 13, 2001 - Filed Under: Pesticide Applicator Certification

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Producers and pesticide applicators trying to find the safest ways to use pesticides and reduce spray drift may find the answer blowing in the wind, say scientists involved in pesticide drift research.

"We've found that downwind distance is by far the most important variable that affects ground, boom spray drift," said David Smith, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station agricultural engineer.

August 10, 2001 - Filed Under: Soybeans

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Much of the state's soybeans, like Mississippi's other row crops, are benefitting from August showers, but some fields still are lacking.

"The rains have been very variable. Everyone doesn't want rain on the same day or in the same amount," said Alan Blaine, soybean specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service. "We really needed (tropical storm) Barry to come right through the middle of the state the first week of August and provide a good general rain, but that didn't happen."

August 6, 2001 - Filed Under: Pests

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Old railroad crossties are basic elements in many landscapes, but in some cases they are helping spread the Formosan termite.

Formosan termites are a subterranean species that require moist environments to live. They are a tropical species from the Far East which tunnel from location to location to prevent them from drying out when exposed to above-ground conditions.

August 6, 2001 - Filed Under: Other Vegetables, Peas and Beans, Sweet Corn, Tomato Pepper and Eggplant, Vegetable Gardens

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Just as Good Friday signals the time to get the spring garden in the ground, August's heat is the indication that it's time to plant the fall garden.

David Nagel, horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said now is the time to plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, sweet corn, peas and beans.

"Summer gardens typically wind down in early August when the temperatures start being consistently above 95 degrees," Nagel said. "That's when you clean the garden out and plant the fall garden."

August 6, 2001 - Filed Under: Pets

By Carrie Reeves

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippians consider mosquitoes a nuisance during the summer months, but to their pets, these swarming pests can be deadly.

Heartworms are a life-threatening disease that affect dogs and cats, although they are most common in dogs. The disease is caused by the presence of the adult stage of the parasite Dirofilaria immitis.

August 6, 2001 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

While the hot muggy dog days of summer make you want to forget gardening and board an Alaskan cruise, it should signal you to get out and plant. The planting I refer to is sowing seeds of some great fall-blooming plants, namely zinnias and marigolds.

August 3, 2001 - Filed Under: Corn

MISSISSIPPI STATE - Nature gave corn a hand this year with moderate temperatures and scattered rains, and Mississippi producers are expecting to harvest near record-high yields.

Erick Larson, grain specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said the crop should be ready for harvest on schedule by mid-August. Favorable weather and low insect and disease pressure mean harvests should approach the record high 117 bushels an acre set in 1999.

Botanically, the summer poinsettia is Amaranthus tricolor, also known as Joseph's Coat.
July 30, 2001 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The old fashioned looks often catch the eyes of new gardeners. Such was the case at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station last October during the Fall Flower and Garden Fest. One of the plants that kept visitors gawking was the summer poinsettia.

July 30, 2001 - Filed Under: Insects-Crop Pests

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Five years of eradication efforts are making the boll weevil a scarce pest in Mississippi cotton.

The most recent counts show the state has less than 1 percent of the boll weevils it had in fields last year. By late July 2000, about 1.1 million boll weevils had been trapped in Mississippi's cotton fields. This year, 10,442 have been captured. Last year's numbers were down more than 50 percent from the previous year.

July 30, 2001 - Filed Under: Health

By Carrie Reeves

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Swimming provides a great way to relax and have fun during the summer, but swimmers should be aware of pool-related infections and ways to prevent the spread of these in public pools.

The most serious germs which might be found in swimming pools are cryptosporidiosis, also known as crypto; giardiasis; and Escherichia Coli 057:H7, also know as E-Coli 057:H7. All of these infections are passed through feces.

July 29, 2001 - Filed Under: Crops

VERONA -- Dr. Lester Spell, Mississippi's Commissioner for Agriculture and Commerce, will be the featured speaker along with other activities at the upcoming North Mississippi Research and Extension Center Agronomic Row Crop Field Day.

Farmers can learn the latest research results and recommendations at the Aug. 8 event from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.at the Lee County AgriCenter on Highway 145, south of Verona.

July 27, 2001 - Filed Under: Forages

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hay producers across most of Mississippi could not have timed the rains any better if they controlled the weather themselves.

Summer thunderstorms are bringing enough moisture to most parts of the state to grow good summer grasses. The rain is stopping to let farmers cut, dry and bale the hay before starting again.

"The rain comes at just the right time and quits at just the right time," said Malcolm Broome, forage specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

July 23, 2001 - Filed Under: Animal Health

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Vaccine and pharmaceutical combinations are being used in aquaculture production as the first line of defense against disease-causing organisms.

July 23, 2001 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Earning a college degree is a rather traditional pursuit, but Mississippi State University offers several degrees in some fairly non-traditional fields.

In addition to engineering, education, mathematics and science, MSU students can earn degrees in such varied areas as sports turf, precision agriculture, cotton ginning, landscape architecture, retail floristry and food science.

July 23, 2001 - Filed Under: Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cooking skills are bringing some widespread attention to a Mississippi volunteer organization.

Three recipes from the Mississippi Homemaker Volunteers' own cookbook, "Down Home Dining in Mississippi," were featured in a new cookbook, "America's Best Recipes -- A 2001 Hometown Collection." This cookbook is produced by Oxmoor House Inc., the parent company of Southern Living magazine.

If you step outside this evening and listen, you will hear one of the most wonderful songs in nature, a nighttime melody coming from the green tree frogs.
July 23, 2001 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If I were to list the things I love about Mississippi such as spring, fall, the people and my church, it would take up the whole column. But if you step outside this evening and listen, you will hear one of the most wonderful songs in nature, a nighttime melody coming from the green tree frogs. This is on my list of the things I love about Mississippi.

July 20, 2001 - Filed Under: Catfish

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The recent market's demand for larger catfish has helped the industry become more efficient, but it also increases the risk to producers.

Harvest-ready catfish today weigh between 1 1/4 to 3 pounds and average 1 1/2 pounds. Until recently, catfish averaging 1 1/4 pounds were considered market-size fish.

July 16, 2001 - Filed Under: Animal Health

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The search for an economical means to produce a parasite vaccine for livestock led a Mississippi State University researcher to look at the guts of the problem.

Cody Coyne, a researcher with MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, has developed a method for growing intestinal cells from nematode parasites for use in vaccines.

July 16, 2001 - Filed Under: Catfish

By Linda Breazeale

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University researchers are working to reduce the health challenges mass production of catfish can bring, which are similar to the issues faced by other food animals such as poultry and swine.

"Anytime you have intensive management situations, you can have various outbreaks of disease or parasite problems," said Dr. Linda Pote, parasitologist with MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine.

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