News

We are certainly experiencing troubling and scary times right now. “Quarantine,” “pandemic” and “social distancing” have become frequently used words, at least until we get a handle on COVID-19.

As a result, garden and landscape shows are being cancelled all across the South out of an abundance of caution. But that doesn’t mean that gardening has been cancelled.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service has postponed all of its in-person events, trainings and meetings across the state through May 10 amid public health concerns surrounding COVID-19.

All Extension offices and units will remain open, and basic operations will continue as normal until further notice. This includes the Bost Extension Center on the main campus in Starkville, the four regional Research and Extension Centers and each of Extension’s 82 county offices. Online educational programming will also proceed as scheduled.

Sometimes it seems I need a larger garden landscape because, sadly, I don’t have room for every great plant I write about. But one group of plants I make sure to save space for is perennial salvia.

The Dicamba Applicator Training required for individuals who plan to apply dicamba herbicide products in Xtend cropping systems is open online and scheduled at several sites across Mississippi.

The online modules are available at http://auxintraining.com.

The face-to-face workshops will be March 16-17 in Tunica, Coahoma, Hinds, Lee and Washington counties.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippians looking to learn more about county government have a free, up-to-date resource at their fingertips. 

The Mississippi State University Extension Service has released the sixth edition of its publication “County Government in Mississippi.”

A collaborative effort between the MSU Extension Center for Government and Community Development and the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, the book is available at https://gcd.extension.msstate.edu/.

Believe it or not, urban landscapes can provide enough plant diversity to sustain honeybee colonies, making beekeeping a suitable hobby for both city and country dwellers. Jeff Harris, beekeeping specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said both locales have their pros and cons when it comes to growing healthy honeybee hives. “Many urban landscapes contain ornamentals and other flowering plants that provide a better and more diverse diet than monoculture crops,” Harris said. “Just like humans, bees are healthier when their food comes from many different sources, not just cheeseburgers -- or in the bees’ case, 3,000 acres of corn.”

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Rylee Plemons was one of several Mississippians who met at the Mississippi State Capitol Feb. 26 to tell their stories and raise awareness about living with a rare disease.

The 10-year-old Stone County 4-H member was diagnosed with Multiple Epiphyseal Dysplasia, or Fairbank’s disease, five years ago. He began sharing information about the degenerative joint disease through the Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program.

March 1 was the meteorological first day of spring, and I found my thoughts wandering to those summer annuals I love so well. One of my cool-season favorites doesn’t last long past the last days of spring, but I know I have summer replacement.

Angelonia is a close relative of snapdragon that blooms all summer and into the fall. It is hard to believe that a plant in the snapdragon family relishes our summer heat and humidity, but this one does. Angelonia is a fantastic, easy-care annual that doesn’t need deadheading, which is always a positive in my garden choices.

STONEVILLE, Miss. -- Pathologists with Mississippi State University will be monitoring a relatively new plant disease in state cotton fields once the growing season is in full swing.

Cotton leafroll dwarf virus, or CLRDV, was first reported in Alabama in 2017. It is closely related to a cotton virus known to occur in South America. Historically, that virus has caused up to 80 percent yield losses in Brazilian cotton fields.

Beef cattle producers looking to improve their farms’ herd and forage production are invited to a field day March 26. 

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Farmers in Monroe and Tunica counties can dispose of unused hazardous agricultural products at two separate events.

The Waste Pesticide Disposal events, organized by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, will accept insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. Household chemicals, rinsates, and empty and bulk containers will not be accepted.

A Mississippi State University Extension Service educator has been selected to participate in the nation’s second oldest statewide leadership training program aimed at strengthening Mississippi’s quality of life.

Zinnias are annual flowers that perform extremely well in our hot and humid Mississippi gardens and landscapes. In fact, home gardeners can have these beautiful flowers blooming from May all the way to frost in fall.

One group of zinnias that I can’t get enough of is the Zinnia elegans. These zinnias are the long-stemmed kind that are perfect for the cutting garden.

2020 marked Bill Fitts’ 27th consecutive appearance at the annual North Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will offer multiple opportunities March 3-5 for Delta row-crop producers to get help with an important irrigation planning tool.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Once every decade, Mississippians have the chance to make a difference at the local, state and national levels.

Participating in the U.S. Census has a large impact on daily life. Being underrepresented as a state leads to reduced representation in Congress and less federal funding for education, infrastructure, emergency response and wellness programs. In short, there are long-term negative effects of not participating in the census.

As some of the top predators in the ocean, sharks fill vital roles by regulating food web dynamics and maintaining balance in their ecosystems.

I’ve promoted the 2020 Mississippi Medallion winners Colorblaze coleus, beautyberry and Luscious lantana for the last three weeks. Now, I want to tell you about the fourth and final 2020 selection, Garden Gem tomato.

This will come as a surprise to the Southern Gardening Nation, but I think I’m starting to like eating fresh tomatoes. I’m certainly looking forward to picking fresh Garden Gem tomatoes this summer.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi women who want to grow their farm and agribusiness skills are invited to an upcoming conference in Starkville.

“Small Farm Success in a Global Market,” the 2020 conference of the Mississippi Women for Agriculture organization, will be held March 6 and 7 in the Bost Extension Center on the Mississippi State University campus. Mississippi Women for Agriculture is organized through the MSU Extension Service and provides information and education to help female agribusiness employees and owners build skills.

The romantic idea of owning and riding horses often does not match the costly and time-consuming reality of maintaining them, a discrepancy being addressed in workshops aimed at making horse ownership more rewarding.

Clay Cavinder, horse specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, offers a one-day workshop and a six-week program to address the tremendous amount of information that a horse owner must absorb.