News

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist

Geraniums were among the showiest plants at the recent Jackson Garden and Patio Show. Exhibits had just about every color and kind you could want, including scented ones. Judging from the carts going out the door, they were a hit with the shoppers, too.

Large containers of geraniums welcomed visitors to front doors in landscapes all over the state last year. Whether a container is all geraniums or mixed with other spring-bloomers, these are showy flowers that can be admired from a great distance.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A catfish hatchery owner with a little time on his hands developed a cheap and easy solution to a problem that nags producers.

Hatcheries typically place catfish egg masses in mesh baskets in metal troughs, and flow water over them with rotating metal paddles placed between the baskets. The paddles move water to simulate the care male fish give eggs.

Jim Steeby, aquaculture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said this technique, while simple and effective, poses some danger to workers.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cheryl Read's biology students are enthusiastic about their new outdoor classroom because their high school "doesn't even have windows."

The recent winners of the Governor's Award for the Community Pride program, members of the Raleigh High School 4-H Envirothon Team said they can study many subjects around their fish pond. First, they name topics such as plants, fish and insects, but eventually they will tell of the valuable lessons they learned about community.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Flowers blooming and birds courting are signs of spring's arrival, but swarms of termites are the more ominous indicators.

Blake Layton, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said termite colonies normally remain unseen, shunning light and quickly plugging any holes or openings to the outside world. But each spring, well-established colonies send out swarmers to reproduce, spread and begin new colonies.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When homeowners look out in the spring and see more weeds than grass, it's time to take action to beautify the lawn.

Winning the battle of the weeds begins with a two-part effort. Eliminate existing winter weeds in yards and apply pre-emergence herbicide to prevent summer weed seedlings from establishing.

"If you've not done anything before, you've got to jump in at some point in time if you want a well-groomed, manicured lawn," said John Byrd, weed specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two Mississippi State University veterinary science researchers hope to help prevent a portion of the 76 million cases of food poisoning in the United States each year.

Hart Bailey and Bob Wills are researchers in MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine Department of Pathobiology and Population Medicine. They focus their research efforts on preventing food-borne illnesses during the production phase.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Designing mixed containers has become a frenzied passion nationwide, and I have to admit I'm hooked, too. Nothing can liven up a porch, patio or deck like a large container filled with several species of blooming flowers.

Part of the appeal of mixed containers is that they allow those of us with cement-like soil to grow beautiful bouquets with ease. There are hardly any rules to container gardening, but good drainage is of paramount importance.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Red-leafed bananas and citrus of all sorts were among the hottest plants at the Gulf Coast Garden and Patio Show in Biloxi.The Jackson Garden and Patio Show has expanded to three days, March 11-13, and looks to have jaw-dropping displays as well as highly sought-after plants.

By Linda Breazeale

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- One Mississippi State University researcher is hoping electromagnetic fields hold the key to reducing the side effects of traditional cancer treatments.

"In addition to the life-threatening aspects, many people may fear cancer diagnoses because of the necessary levels of chemotherapy and radiation that can make patients very sick and then drastically reduce their quality of life," said Dr. Cody Coyne, a researcher at MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Ignoring safety precautions when using hand or power tools can turn a routine task into a painful or even deadly experience.

Herb Willcutt, a Mississippi State University Extension Service safety specialist, knows from personal experience the importance of using safety equipment when operating power tools. He was using a portable grinder one Saturday afternoon when a sliver of metal lodged in his eye.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Fruit and vegetable growers can learn how to produce the safest food possible during upcoming workshops in north and south Mississippi.

The workshops are slated for April 15 in Waynesboro and April 20 in Hernando. Each workshop will review food safety issues including good agricultural, handling and manufacturing practices that will meet food safety requirements during production, harvesting and grading. The afternoon sessions will be devoted to each producer developing an individualized manual and documentation needed for their food safety programs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service specialist with almost 20 years' experience working with the state's soybean producers has received the Mississippi Society of Agronomy's top honor.

Extension soybean specialist Alan Blaine was named the organization's Agronomist of the Year during the Feb. 15-17 Mississippi Crop College at MSU.

A native of McCool, Blaine earned a bachelor's degree in animal science and a master's and doctorate in agronomy at Mississippi State.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Look around and you will quickly spot the old and still wonderful heirlooms we prize in today's garden. Mississippi and much of the South provide some outstanding old homesteads with long-standing plants announcing spring's arrival.

VERONA -- M.D. Phillips will celebrate his 90th birthday this year. For more than half of those years, he has been a member of the North Mississippi Producer Advisory Committee.

The committee meets annually to give input to the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station on the research and education needs of agricultural producers in 27 north Mississippi counties.

Phillips was at the first committee meeting in 1953 and was one of about 160 producers attending the 2005 gathering.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Weed control is synonymous with glyphosate use to many row crop producers, but a resistant weed in the Delta is making producers change their management strategies.

John Byrd, weed scientist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said mare's tail or horseweed has become resistant to glyphosate applications in the Delta. Tennessee and Arkansas are fighting resistant strains of this weed, too, and Arkansas has just confirmed glyphosate-resistant populations of common ragweed.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It's rose-planting time all over the South, and garden centers are loaded with just about every type under the sun -- hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, shrub roses, climbers, antiques, English roses and many others.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi youth are applying for grants to help them gain pride in themselves and in their communities through an environmental improvement program.

Community Pride is a grants and awards program sponsored by the ChevronTexaco Companies and administered by Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- When the new head of Mississippi State University's Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering assumed his duties in January, he already knew a lot about the department's work.

William D. Batchelor's background is in plant growth and development modeling.

"A lot of that technology was developed here at MSU," he said. "Most of my previous work has been with corn and soybeans, and I look forward to working with cotton."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Nothing quite matches the freshness of home-grown vegetables, and gardeners can ensure a successful backyard crop of their own with proper planning.

Rick Snyder, vegetable specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said finding the right location is one of the first and most important steps in planning a vegetable garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Lambs and goats sold for more in the state than ever before Thursday at the Dixie National Sale of Junior Champions, where an overall sales record also was set.

Thirty-six champion steers, hogs, lambs and goats sold at auction for $238,693, breaking the record set in 2004 by about $46,000. These much-higher-than market prices bring to just under $3 million the reward generous buyers have given youth for their efforts since 1970.