Feature Story

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

VERONA -- Home gardeners want to share their dirty little secrets.

They will forego any inconvenience if they feel they can help even one person. Such enthusiasm for plants and nature is why some people across the state will drive a good distance to exhibit at or attend field days, such as the recent Spring Garden Day at the North Mississippi Extension and Research Center in Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- In September 1977, the three commercial television networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- launched 22 new shows, most of which did not survive the season. While it was not on one of the big three networks, a show premiering that fall has survived and continues to inform and entertain its target audience.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The biennial Mid-South Forestry Equipment Show is celebrating its 25th year of showcasing the newest technology and machinery used to advance the South’s timber industry.

With more than 6,000 people from 20 states and two Canadian provinces attending the last show in 2006, this year’s show, scheduled for June 6-7, promises to be just as popular.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Fee fishing, fee hunting, horse trail riding and sporting clays are outdoor recreational businesses based on Mississippi’s natural resources that will be discussed at a May 29 workshop in Noxubee County.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Former 4-H'er Samantha Webb dreams of opening a specialty boutique of women's clothing made from cotton, wool, linen and other natural fibers grown in Mississippi.

Webb, who plans to graduate with an apparel, textiles and merchandising degree from Mississippi State University in December, said she visualizes a business that incorporates her passion for fashion with a desire to promote the importance of agriculture through the fabrics she chooses for her clothes.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Roses are among the most popular additions to home landscapes, and the Veterans Memorial Rose Garden at Mississippi State University provides a panorama of traditional and new rose varieties.

The garden is located at the Highway 182 entrance to the R. Rodney Foil Plant Science Research Facility.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Spaces remain available in Mississippi State University’s bug camps this summer, offering a different kind of family vacation.

The 15th annual 4-H Entomology Camps, often referred to as “Bug Camp,” will be June 15-19 at Crow’s Neck Environmental Center in Tishomingo County and July 13-17 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. These camps offer an intergenerational experience the whole family can enjoy.

Bug camp experiences will include insect collecting, plant and insect interaction hikes,

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Teachers have a unique opportunity in June to join a group of experts from around the world to study butterflies and moths.

The Lepidopterist Society is holding its 59th annual meeting at Mississippi State University June 23-27. Members from around the world will attend this meeting, and others are gathering for the annual meeting of the Lepidopterists of the Tropics and the Southeast Lepidopterists Society.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's “Arc of Slabs” is a prime destination for families or individuals seeking a day of good fishing or a whole vacation on the water.

The Arc of Slabs, a term recently coined by In-Fisherman magazine, refers to the four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control reservoirs along the Interstate 55 corridor in north Mississippi. These water impoundments are Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid and Grenada lakes. The reservoirs are known for their quality white and black crappie populations and the fishing opportunities they produce. 

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Ongoing efforts to track Asian soybean rust and minimize its threat to Mississippi soybean acres led researchers to note that some kudzu, a rust host, resists the disease.

Billy Moore, plant pathologist emeritus working part time with the rust program for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the team searching for rust in the state examines soybeans and kudzu plots for signs of the fungus. They use global positioning system coordinates to note the location of each plot searched for rust.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University students collected more than 1,500 pounds of canned goods in their War on Hunger food drive at semester's-end to help stock local pantries in the Mississippi Food Network.

The Committee of 19 campus organization sponsored the food drive, held the last week of April. Although many students had to study for final examinations, they honored their commitment to make a difference, said Chiquita Briley, committee faculty adviser and MSU Extension Service nutrition specialist.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A recent incident on the Gulf Coast involving angry European honey bees reminds Mississippians to be prepared for the likely arrival of more aggressive Africanized honey bees.

On March 6 in Pascagoula, a swarm of bees attacked and killed a dog and stung the dog's owner when he tried to rescue it. The swarm was destroyed, and DNA from the bees was tested.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An upcoming event will offer guidance to the many Southern gardeners compelled by beautiful spring weather to work -- or play -- in their yards.

Mississippi State University’s Spring Garden Day will be from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on May 17. The annual event will take place at the Hiram D. Palmertree North Mississippi Research and Extension Center on Highway 145 South in Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Jac Varco of Starkville has assumed duties as the interim department head of Mississippi State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Varco assumed the responsibilities after the departure of Michael Collins on March 31. The department provides instruction, research and outreach for MSU and the state in agronomy, horticulture, soil science and weed science.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Horse owners and others wanting to learn more about equine nutrition will have two options for attending a conference May 8-9: online or in Memphis.

The Southeast Equine Conference, “Horse nutrition for the future,” is sponsored by the Extension Services of Mississippi State University and the University of Tennessee. Participants can attend in person at the Agricenter in Memphis, located on the corner of Walnut Grove Road and Germantown Road, or online with an interactive Webcast.

By Robert H. Wells
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE -- A multi-state project to reveal genetic markers for some of the Mid-South's best rice breeding lines in history is underway with the goal to produce a genetic map of about 470 of the most successful rice varieties.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University Extension Service clientele have access to a new national resource that offers information and innovative resources beyond what is possible online at MSUcares.com.

In late February, eXtension.org went live as an online educational partnership between 74 universities. The interactive Web site offers a wealth of knowledge in 16 content areas, known as communities of practice. Three more areas are in development, and more are being added each month.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Reuben Moore has been named the interim head of the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona.

As director, he will oversee the daily operations of this regional facility, one of four strategically located across the state to meet the local information, research and programming needs of Mississippians. The center serves as a hub of Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and Mississippi State University Extension Service research and outreach activities.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Scott Willard has been named head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Mississippi State University.

He will assume this position May 1, although he has held it in interim status for a year. Since 1999, he has been in MSU’s Department of Animal and Dairy Science as a professor of reproductive and environmental physiology.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The new interim associate dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine said he plans to continue the successful programs of his predecessor.

Stephen Pruett, head of the CVM Basic Sciences Department since July, assumed his new responsibilities Feb. 25. He succeeds Jerald Ainsworth, who retired after 28 years of service.

“I want to maintain a stable, efficient office that meets the needs of our faculty and students,” Pruett said.