News Filed Under Crops

VERONA, Miss. -- Producers come across issues each season that need to be addressed, whether they require new research on a problem or a commodity specialist who can help identify timely solutions.

For those people, February is the month to speak up. Specialists and scientists with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are available specifically for them at three different MSU Research and Extension Center locations throughout the state during annual Producer Advisory Council meetings.

When managing insects and diseases in row crops, growers typically act after a problem appears, but there are no reactive treatments for some pests, including soil insects that attack seeds and developing seedlings.

Management such as seed treatments or in-furrow insecticides for these pests has to be applied at the time of planting. Mississippi State University researchers say seed treatments make good sense for many crops.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Producers in Mississippi can provide feedback and input on the agricultural research and educational programs offered by Mississippi State University during the upcoming producer advisory council meetings. Hosted by MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station personnel, the Producer Advisory Council meetings will be held in February. These meetings allow producers to learn about current research and educational opportunities, as well as to communicate their needs in these areas.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host two free educational workshops for blueberry growers in January -- one in person and another online.

The in-person workshop will be held Jan. 24 at the MSU Extension Forrest County office at 952 Sullivan Drive in Hattiesburg from 1-4 p.m. The virtual workshop will be Jan. 26 from 2-4 p.m.

VERONA, Miss. -- Current and prospective greenhouse vegetable producers are invited to attend the Mississippi State University Greenhouse Vegetable Short Course March 7 and 8, 2023, in Verona, Mississippi. The short course, formerly known as the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course, will be offered at the MSU North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Time is running out to preregister for the 2022 Mississippi State University Row Crop Short Course.

The course, scheduled for Dec. 5-7 at the Cotton Mill Conference Center in Starkville, is hosted by the MSU Extension Service and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Online registration is available at http://extension.msstate.edu/row-crop-short-course. Preregister by Nov. 27 for free admission to the conference, which includes all meals. Registration on or after Nov. 28, including at the door, is $40.

Mississippi pecan producers faced a particularly challenging year with drought and then rain at the wrong time, but irrigated orchards are making a good crop.

Eric Stafne, fruit and nut crop specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the dry summer did one very good thing: It helped control pecan scab, a disease that is often a problem for the state’s pecan trees.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Larry Haley is expecting a busy year at his Christmas tree farm in Saucier. Haley said he sells about 500 trees per year. That may sound like a lot, but they go fast. Families who want to be sure to get the perfect tree should visit their local tree farm as early as possible.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Lorin Harvey has heard from several Mississippi sweet potato growers that the quality of this year’s crop is the best they have seen in 20 years.

“The high quality of the crop is what stands out to me this year,” said Harvey, sweet potato specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “We have to see how things hold up in storage, but I have high hopes.”

“Snow” appearing on the sides of highways and bare ground visible for miles is a sure indication that row crop harvest in Mississippi is well underway. As of early October, the majority of the 2022 crop was already harvested, although much work remains for certain crops.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Mississippi peanut producers should see an average year in terms of crop quality and yield. Mississippi producers planted about 14,500 acres of peanuts. That number is down about 20% from 2021 acreage because of higher commodity prices for other crops at planting time. Yield is expected to be between 4,000 and 4,200 pounds per acre.

As you travel Mississippi roads, it’s common to spot a corn field or two during your travels. Corn is the fourth ranked crop in the state, bringing in over $700 million each year!

The state’s corn crop suffered through a very hot and dry summer after a later-than-usual planting season, so yields will be lower this year -- but not much lower overall. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the crop was 71% harvested as of Sept. 11. Frequent rains in late August and early September slowed harvest considerably, but growers have been making tremendous progress when sunny weather allows.

Most cotton in Mississippi got off to an excellent start in May, received the heat needed in June and July, and now is ready for sunny skies so growers can harvest a potentially above-average crop. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 56% of the crop is in good or excellent shape, with another 38% estimated at fair. As of Aug. 28, bolls were opening on an estimated 25% of the crop.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Portions of central Mississippi and the lower Mississippi Delta saw more than 1 foot of rain between Aug. 21 and 25, and flash flooding will affect some agricultural commodities in these areas.

Torrential downpours dropped 8-13 inches of rain in much of Leake, Neshoba, Scott, Kemper, Hinds and Newton counties, as well as parts of surrounding counties, prompting road closures and evacuations.

With figs in season, they’re on my mind a lot these days. The sweet, Southern decadence is quite the treat! I associate figs with my grandparents since they had a tree in their backyard. I remember helping them pick buckets full of figs when I was younger and eating them soon after they were picked. 

Mississippi rice producers and crop specialists are optimistic about the state’s 2022 harvest despite a high population of rice stink bugs that were difficult to treat.

If you’re a homeowner who loves your bermudagrass lawn, be on the lookout for fall armyworms. These caterpillars can eat voraciously, devouring yards within just a day or two. These pests show up every year from late summer to early fall, and you never know exactly when or how many there will be.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The condition of Mississippi’s soybean crop in early August literally depends on where you stand.

“We have some really good-looking irrigated soybeans that were planted in the optimum planting window and have made it to this point of the season with very few issues, other than extreme heat,” said Trent Irby, soybean specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “We even have some nonirrigated soybeans that could fall into that same description after catching several timely rains.

Mississippi pastures, hay fields and lawns are threatened annually by fall armyworms, and close observation and quick action are the only ways to successfully battle the pests again this year. Keith Whitehead works in Franklin County with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. He said no one knows each year how bad the fall armyworm problem will be or when the insects will show up.