STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service turf grass expert will lead the Extension portion of a multistate effort to address herbicide resistance in a common weed.

Jay McCurdy, who has served as Extension turf specialist since 2014, is part of a $5.6 million grant project involving researchers and Extension specialists in a 16-state effort to limit the impact of annual bluegrass.

If your lawn, landscape, or garden look a little sickly, it might be time for a soil health checkup. (Photo by Jonathan Parrish/Cindy Callahan)

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Coaches win championships, teach high school classes and are expected to maintain perfect playing surfaces on their athletic fields, so sometimes they get help from the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Michael Richard, an Extension associate in turf grass management, has begun offering clinics to help high school coaches, park and recreation directors, and others maintain the playing surfaces they oversee.

Even if you preventatively treat your yard periodically through the year for fire ants, you’ll still see mounds pop up.

There are two ways to treat these mounds: liquid drenches and dry powders. (File photo by MSU Extension Service.)

Fire ant mounds always pop up right where you don’t need them – in the flower bed you planned to weed tomorrow, next to the mailbox that needs to be reset, and near the patio where you are throwing a party tonight. (Photo by Brian Utley/Cindy Callahan)