News

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Gardening enthusiasts can converge on Verona Sept. 20 for the annual North Mississippi Garden Expo.

The event, held at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, will feature columnist Felder Rushing and Nellie Neal, the "Garden Mama." The expo will occur from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

"We've planned an event that should have something for everyone at this year's garden expo," said Reuben Moore, center director. "This is a fun day for avid gardeners and families, and we expect about 1,000 people to attend."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Children can learn a lot on the field of athletic competition, but one thing they don't need to learn is how to harass other athletes.

Thousands of young Mississippians are take part in organized sports each year. These activities give children the opportunity to stay physically fit, learn teamwork, build self-confidence, master new skills and receive personal satisfaction. But too often they have become places for negative lessons as well.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippians put tremendous effort into their landscapes during the spring and summer, but fall is also a good time to give yards special attention.

Typical summer chores most gardeners think about are pruning, planting, fertilizing and watering. These activities should continue into late August and September.

Norman Winter, horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said shaping plants with trimmers or shears one last time before winter is a good idea, but avoid major pruning.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Golfers who travel the country in search of the perfect course may want to take a closer look at the playing surfaces offered in Mississippi.

Nationally recognized newsman and commentator Paul Harvey recently reported Mississippi was recognized for having the finest golf courses in the nation for the second consecutive year by The Golf Insider magazine.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Whether you want to call it a "spot of gold" or a "thread of gold," a new gardening trend will have you striking it rich. Your garden will be well rewarded with envious glances from your neighbors when you add plants the color of gold to your landscape.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's rice crop is progressing into harvest season with most growers optimistic that they will have reasons to celebrate National Rice Month in September.

Joe Street, rice specialist at Mississippi State University's Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, said the state's growers began harvesting 253,000 acres of rice in the middle of August.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Most people want to avoid federal offenses, but Mississippi bird hunters push their luck every year in illegal fields.

Jim Miller, outreach and research professor with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said state and federal wildlife regulations require any field management activities in a field for hunting doves or other migratory birds be within "normal agricultural practices." Grain or seed must be incorporated appropriately into the soil within the proper planting dates.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- One of the costs of operating a catfish farm is rebuilding ponds once a decade, but research is showing that if they are built deeper, they will last longer.

Jim Steeby, Extension aquaculture specialist with the National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Stoneville, spent much of the summers of 1999 and 2000 documenting the age of ponds and the depth of sediment accumulated on the bottom. Catfish ponds have historically been built about 4 feet deep and must be rebuilt every eight to 10 years.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A sophomore College of Veterinary Medicine student at Mississippi State University is one of only 50 students nationwide to receive a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Fellowship award.

Jennifer Marie Hughes of Olive Branch competed with about 1,500 other graduate applicants nationwide in this first year of the highly competitive award program.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Several new plants should make this fall a great one, and the newcomer that has everyone talking is the Amazon series of dianthus.

In our trials at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs, growers from several states were mesmerized by the size and beauty of these plants. It was the same at the Park Seed Trials in Greenwood, S.C., where the Amazon dianthus was the most photographed plant in the garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cotton is looking fairly good across the state despite a faltering start, but the message to growers is that their job is not over yet.

"We can't walk off and leave the crop," said Will McCarty, cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When considering clothing purchases this fall, the real challenge may be figuring out what's not in style.

Phyllis Miller, associate professor of human sciences at Mississippi State University, said "anything goes" as long as people express their own individuality in their clothing selections.

Styles...

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Several plants caught the eyes of growers from Mississippi and surrounding states who toured the flower trials during the recent Mid-South Greenhouse Growers' Conference at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station near Crystal Springs.

Silver Falls dichondra was one such stunning plant that offers a most unique, silver foliage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University recently named Steve Turner as the new head of the Department of Agricultural Economics.

Turner came to MSU from the University of Georgia where he was an associate professor and undergraduate coordinator in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. He assumed his duties at MSU Aug. 1.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University forest entomologist recently authored the Integrated Forest Pest Management section of a 246-page report by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Landowners and hunters can learn in-depth management techniques for planting and managing a field that will be legal to hunt and attractive to doves and other birds during an Aug. 23 event at the Black Prairie Wildlife Management Area in southern Lowndes County.

The free, three-hour demonstration begins at 9 a.m. and is co-sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The management area is about 10 miles south of Columbus at 744 Firetower Road outside Crawford.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- While too much rain hurt corn fields in north Mississippi, the rest of the state's crop is expected to set new record yield levels.

Much cooler conditions in June and July and well above average rainfall throughout the season are responsible for the high expectations. However, the excessive rainfall did cause yield reduction in northern counties, and too much more rain during harvest could be bad news.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Childhood obesity in Mississippi is a growing problem, but avoiding this common problem -- or reversing its effects -- is not as difficult as it may seem.

Very minor dietary and lifestyle changes can drastically improve the physical and emotional health of overweight children, who have a staggering 70 percent likelihood of becoming overweight adults.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- American teens spend an average of $104 a week and qualify for credit cards, but they don't necessarily know how to handle financial opportunity.

According to the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, high school graduates have the earning potential to make more than $1 million in their lifetime. When freshmen enter college, most have at least two credit cards, and by the time they graduate, they are carrying $20,402 in education loan and credit card debt.

STARKVILLE -- Bob L. Karr, associate dean for Mississippi State University's College of Forest Resources and associate director for the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, has been named interim dean and interim director.

Vance Watson, vice president for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine and George Verrall, the university's provost, announced the interim appointment effective June 9. This is the third time that Karr has served in an interim capacity in the college and center.