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News From 2009

Bright Lights Swiss chard partners well with the giant Taro elephant ear. Bright Lights can be eaten like fresh spinach and its stems cooked like asparagus. While we grow it for its tropical foliage, some cultures cook the giant taro's roots as a starch substitute, calling it "poi" or "dasheen." (Photo by Norman Winter)
August 27, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Quick. What is colorful, architecturally interesting and tasty? Up until “tasty,” lots of answers come to mind, but one that fits all three descriptions is edible landscape plants.

Norman Winter, horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said edible plants are often grown for their looks rather than for the table.

August 21, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Crops, Cotton

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi’s small cotton crop was looking good by late August, but with prices below break-even levels, producers will hold their breath until harvests are in.

John Michael Riley, Extension agricultural economist, said cotton harvest cash prices in Mississippi in mid-August were about 53-55 cents a pound. MSU crop budget estimators indicate the “average Mississippi producer” needs prices above 62 cents a pound to be in the black in 2009.

August 20, 2009 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A research scientist with more than two decades of experience with cropping systems is the first recipient of an endowed chair in Mississippi State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Daniel B. Reynolds, a professor of weed science at MSU, has been named the first Dr. Glover B. Triplett Endowed Chair in Agronomy. The Triplett Endowed Chair recognizes major contributions to Mississippi State by Triplett and his wife Imogene.

August 20, 2009 - Filed Under: Soybeans, Plant Diseases

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University Extension Service specialists are hopeful that incidences of soybean rust across the state will continue to be minor and only occur after plants have passed the at-risk growth stage.

Dean Schmidt , 15, uses a special tool to cut watermelons at his family's farm near Okolona.
August 20, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Farming

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

OKOLONA -- Chickasaw County farmer Jay Schmidt wants to leave a lasting legacy for his four children, so slumping catfish prices and volatile row crop markets made him step outside his comfort zone to find a solution.

Jay has grown soybeans, corn and catfish for many years. He, his wife, Sonya, and their children, Andrea, 13; Dean, 15; Laura Beth, 10; and Emily, 5; have worked hard to make the farm a family operation.

Dr. David Christiansen , a large animal reproduction specialist at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, answers questions on herd health during a recent livestock field day in Winston County.
August 20, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Animal Health

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- For almost 25 years, a Winston County self-help cooperative has been doing what its name implies -- helping people help themselves -- by providing educational information and establishing partnerships with experts.

A partnership with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine are an important part of the co-op’s monthly programs. The partnership also makes it easier for specialists to assist producers when needed. Such was the case when the co-op hosted a recent cattle field day for its members.

Fireworks gomphrena is tall and works well toward the back of the border. Here, it is complemented by the spiky blue blooms of Velocity salvia and the lime green leaves of ornamental sweet potato. (Photo by Norman Winter)
August 20, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

“Simply unbelievable” is how I would describe the new Fireworks gomphrena. Gomphrena, sometimes called globe amaranth or bachelor’s button, is already considered a tough plant and you would think it would be hard to improve on it, but Fireworks is like none other.

August 20, 2009 - Filed Under: Community

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Dreams often drive the will to live and the courage to endure, and one organization based at Mississippi State University is helping fuel these dreams for young people across the country who face life-threatening health conditions.

The Catch-A-Dream Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides special hunting and fishing expeditions to young people age 18 and under with a disease or condition that will become terminal if not cured or interrupted. Marty Brunson is a professor with MSU’s Extension Service and director of the foundation.

August 14, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Turfgrass and Lawn Management

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Though cool temperatures and excess rain kept many Mississippi row crops from getting a good start this spring, they actually helped sod production.

Extra water allows many growers to cut back on irrigation. Once the sod establishes, there is not much else for growers to do, other than mow at regular intervals and maintain their market base.

Mississippi State University researcher Craig Tucker collects catfish from ponds, immediately fillets and microwaves them and then tastes the product for any off-flavors. (Photo by MSU Delta Research and Extension Center/Rebekah Ray)
August 13, 2009 - Filed Under: Catfish

By Rebekah Ray
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE — Consumers expect nothing less than the best from Mississippi’s pond-raised catfish industry, and this keeps researchers at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center conducting taste tests on the popular fish.

Mississippi State University animal scientist Brian Rude, left, and graduate student Jonathan Greene of Trussville, Ala., feed Peaches the steer a ration containing refined distillers grains. The two studied the ability of cattle to digest this substance. (Photo by Kat Lawrence)
August 13, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Beef

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Corn-to-ethanol manufacturing has created huge amounts of a byproduct suitable as an ingredient in cattle feed, and Mississippi State University researchers want to know if a more refined version packs the same nutritional punch.

Elena is a lime green elephant ear with a little purple in the veins near the center of the leaf. Here, it is partnered with orange SunPatiens and King Tut papyrus for an exotic, tropical but fine-textured look. (Photo by Norman Winter)
August 13, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

We count on tropical plants to be the stalwart landscape performers when August heat rolls in, and one you need to consider is an elephant ear named Elena. In case you haven’t noticed, elephant ears have changed; in addition to their big, coarse or bold-textured foliage, they offer exciting color, too.

August 10, 2009 - Filed Under: Fruit

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service are hosting a Muscadine Field Day Aug. 21 at the McNeil Experiment Station Vineyard which has been set up as a repository of muscadine varieties.

The field day is from 9 a.m. to noon. The vineyard is located at the McNeil Unit of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in Pearl River County.

August 10, 2009 - Filed Under: Soybeans, Plant Diseases

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Soybean rust was found in Mississippi in two fields near Thornton on Thursday, but experts are not recommending producers spray fungicide for the disease.

August 7, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Catfish

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Catfish pond acreage in Mississippi continues to decline, with the high cost of production and poor prices partly to blame.

Jim Steeby, aquaculture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the entire U.S. catfish industry is downsizing. As of late July, Mississippi had 70,000 acres of catfish ponds, down from the high of 113,000 acres the state had in 2001.

August 6, 2009 - Filed Under: 4-H

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program received a $10,000 grant to improve the state’s after-school programming by training 500 of its providers.

The MetLife Foundation and the National 4-H Council provided the grant. Mississippi was one of 11 states to receive the grant aimed at improving after-school programming offered across the state.

U.S. farm-raised catfish are being netted out for harvest from this Mississippi pond. The state's catfish industry is facing obstacles from very high feed prices, declining acreage and imported fish. (Photo by Marco Nicovich)
August 6, 2009 - Filed Under: Agriculture, Catfish

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The state’s catfish industry is facing some major obstacles as producers are dealing with very high feed prices, declining acreage and fierce competition from imported fish.

John Anderson, Mississippi State University Extension Service agricultural economist, said the most significant influence on catfish prices since the fall of 2008 has been the condition of the overall economy.

The rose color radiating like a starburst from the center of the Zahara Starlight Rose partners very well with the new Bouquet Rose dianthus. (Photos by Norman Winter)
August 6, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Gardeners can rejoice because there are two great new choices for yellow zinnias in the landscape: Zahara is available now, and gardeners can buy Profusion next year.

MSU landscape architectural professor Robert Brzuszek, left, and ornamental horticulture professor Richard Harkess examine Black-eyed Susans, which can be a good choice for landscapers who desire to use native plants. (Photo by Kat Lawrence)
August 6, 2009 - Filed Under: Environment

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The Southeast has an opportunity to capitalize on the green movement, according to a Mississippi State University consumer survey.

Richard Harkess, an ornamental horticulture professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, and Robert Brzuszek, a landscape architecture professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Contracting, wanted to determine if the green movement is influencing the purchase and use of native plants.

Gregory A. Bohach
August 3, 2009 - Filed Under: About Extension

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A senior agriculture administrator at the University of Idaho is the new vice president for one of Mississippi State University's oldest academic units.

MSU President Mark Keenum announced Monday [Aug. 3] that Gregory A. Bohach is being named vice president for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. His appointment is pending formal approval by the Board of Trustees, State Institutions of Higher Learning.

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