News

I make a point every week to walk around our plant trial beds at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi to see how everything is growing. Lately, I’ve been impressed by some of the landscape plants with tropical-looking foliage that are putting on a late summer show right now.

POPLARVILLE, Miss. -- South Mississippi homeowners with private wells will have two opportunities next month to learn how to protect the quality of their drinking water sources.

Private well owners can get their water tested for bacteria and attend a workshop in Pearl River County to learn how to better manage, operate and protect their wells.

The Mississippi Well Owner Network, a program of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, will be held 6-9 p.m. Sept. 29 at the MSU Extension office at 417 Highway 11 North in Poplarville.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Wet, cloudy weather has put a lot of cotton bolls on the ground, but experts still expect an above average crop from Mississippi’s cotton acreage.

Darrin Dodds, cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said experts knew boll loss was coming after all the recent rain.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – There is no easy answer to the debate for the best type of bass to stock in a Mississippi pond.

The genetic differences between Florida bass, northern bass and hybrid bass are often relatively subtle. Fish management plays a greater role in meeting the pond owner’s desire for growing trophy bass, but the decision is still an important one.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi-grown foliage, flowers and value-added floral products will be the focus of creative demonstrations at Mississippi State University on Sept. 15.

The free demonstrations will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Bost Extension Center. Described as a “flower, farmer, florist spectacular,” the event is open to people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in growing, selling and designing natural arrangements.

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- More than 100 members of the U.S. military launched a health campaign, but local boots on the ground will work to keep it moving forward.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and numerous other agencies provided local support for the 13-day wellness event at the Alcorn State University and Copiah-Lincoln Community College campuses in Natchez.

Since this is August, we are now officially in the dog days of summer.

Extreme heat and humidity cause lots of problems for both garden plants and gardeners. For those gardeners who enjoy the vegetable garden bounty, this time can be especially troubling, as many of our vegetable plants tend to shut down for a while.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Food safety professionals who work for meat, poultry and other food processors can earn certification mandated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service during an upcoming workshop.

Experts with the USDA, Mississippi State University Extension Service, and MSU Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion will teach participants how to comply with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, or HACCP, regulations.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- With few problems this year, Mississippi’s peanut growers should see a good crop.

“Overall, peanuts are doing very well,” said Jason Sarver, Mississippi State University Extension Service peanut specialist. “Peanuts in south Mississippi received consistent rain throughout the season. We were really dry for a while across northeast Mississippi and the Delta. But between days 70 and 80, we started catching some rains across both regions that helped make a nice crop.”

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” Most Americans over the age of 30 will recognize this line from the “Wizard of Oz.” Dorothy and her friends were traveling the Yellow Brick Road through the dark and wild forest, worried they might encounter these fearsome creatures.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University Extension Service entomologists and others are scouring the state for the mosquito species that carry the Zika virus.

By Michaela Parker
MSU Extension Service

STARKVILLE, MISS. -- Toddlers who like to bite are a common source of concern for parents, but moms and dads can help their children manage this behavior.

Biting is a normal developmental step that begins when a child starts teething, said Karen Benson, Neshoba County coordinator for the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

PONTOTOC, Miss. -- Mississippi State University faculty and specialists will update producers at a field day in Pontotoc Aug. 24 on recent sweet potato research.

Sweet potato producers, researchers, agriculture industry representatives and crop consultants can view research plots and variety trials at the MSU-Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station during the program.

Personnel with the MSU Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will present information on weed management, crop fertility and sweet potato varieties.

DURANT, Miss. -- Early child care educators, families and other residents in the Durant area now have a new place to visit and borrow educational books, toys and games.

On Aug. 2, the North Central Mississippi Resource and Referral Center celebrated its grand opening, becoming the 18th center of its kind in the state.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Mississippians interested in working with the state’s natural resources can get in-depth education and certification through an eight-week course.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium will host the Coastal Mississippi Master Naturalist Program from Sept. 2 to Oct. 21.

Participants will meet once a week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to learn basic principles of natural resource ecology and management through classroom instruction, field activities and team exercises.

In the past, I’ve expressed my love for chili peppers -- the hotter the better. But there are only so many ghost, Trinidad Moruga and Carolina Reaper peppers I can eat. Lately, my gastrointestinal tolerance for their heat is waning.

BILOXI, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service employee recently received a national award for his significant contribution to the floral industry.

Jim DelPrince, an Extension floral design specialist, accepted the American Institute of Floral Designers Award of Distinguished Service to the Floral Industry during the organization’s annual National Symposium in July.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion in the Mississippi State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences places an emphasis on outreach that is shown through more than a dozen programs offered in conjunction with the MSU Extension Service.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- The hottest days of the summer may drive many people indoors to the air conditioning, but bird-watchers know it is a great time to go outside to see some of Mississippi’s most colorful visitors.

PELAHATCHIE, Miss. -- Rankin County forage producer Jeff Adams anticipates an average hay harvest this year, but he has sprayed twice for fall armyworms in just three weeks.

“I’ve used two different sprays that are supposed to give you a 20-day residual between applications,” he said. “Neither one got me through more than seven.”