News

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you thought masses of single-colored daylilies wouldn't put on a show, look around because it's happening everywhere. The daylily has risen to star landscape status, and I'm not just talking about Stella d'Oro.

Whatever color scheme you want to use, mass-planting daylilies can add sizzle to the flower bed when combined with annuals or perennials, or used in drifts in front of evergreen shrubs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dry conditions during March enabled growers to plant much of the 2004 rice crop ahead of schedule and produce hopes for another good season -- this year with better price potential.

Mississippi rice growers harvested a record average in 2003 of 6,800 pounds per acre. The average price for the market year was $6.65 per hundredweight, which was a couple dollars more than the previous two years, but still low.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A leadership program that focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses offers individuals the opportunity to handle issues and problems that arise in their communities.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Melissa Mixon is the new associate vice president of Mississippi State University's Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, pending approval by the board of trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning at their June meeting.

Her responsibilities will include initiating Division procedures for planning and resource development, goal setting and the execution of programming within the Division. Special emphasis is to be placed on multi-disciplinary collaboration across the university.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A veteran crop scientist has been named head of Mississippi State University's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Michael Collins assumed his new duties in April, following more than 25 years in research, instruction and administration at the University of Kentucky and the University of Wisconsin.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Wholesale greenhouse growers, retailers and landscape professionals from Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas will benefit from an upcoming conference at Hinds Community College in Raymond.

The Mid-South Greenhouse Growers' Conference at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center will begin with a 1 p.m. general session on June 8 and conclude at noon on June 10. The educational programs are co-sponsored by Mississippi State University's Extension Service, the Louisiana State University AgCenter and the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

In the last 10 years in Mississippi, I have witnessed an incredible explosion in the petunia's popularity. Growers love its toughness and much longer season of performance.

Petunias make great landscape plants that you can set out any time during our growing season, even in the fall. So if you find high-quality transplants at the garden center, don't hesitate to buy and plant them.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some of the state's cotton crop suffered significantly from recent rains, while for other fields it was an easy hurdle to overcome.

In the Delta, one of the least affected areas, some cotton is behind in development but should catch up by the time it reaches maturity.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Keeping up with equine vaccination schedules may seem like an expensive inconvenience, but protected horses likely will avoid more serious and costly health problems.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University experts say applying fertilizer to plants should be neither random nor intimidating, and offer homeowners a few recommendations on how to take the guesswork out of the job.

Norman Winter, horticulturist with MSU's Extension Service, said knowing when and what kind of fertilizer to apply is not that difficult. The first step is to get a soil test.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If I remember correctly, it was Juliet who wondered, "What's in a name?" When it comes to flowers, a name can be quite important.

Take, for instance, one of my favorite salvias, the bog sage. This beautiful, sky blue, spiky flower has to suffer the indignation of being called the bog sage.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi is growing the earliest crop of soybeans it has ever planted as weather has been very cooperative through mid-May.

Alan Blaine, Extension soybean specialist with Mississippi State University, said farmers started planting soybeans around March 10 rather than the end of March, when planting usually begins. Nearly 80 percent of the crop was planted by the end of April. As of May 9, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service reported 89 percent of the crop in the ground.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's population is reflecting national trends as it undergoes a generational shift in assets, and that means a lot of forest land is changing hands without clear ownership.

Glenn Hughes, forestry professor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Purvis, said a recent survey indicated that many Mississippi landowners do not have a written will and are unprepared for the transfer of land and other assets.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Garden centers all over the state are offering some incredible baskets of plants, often with several species of plants rather than just a few petunias. The baskets might hang and gently swing in the breeze or attach firmly to a fence, wall or balcony.

This look started years ago in the Pacific Northwest and has now exploded all across the South. You see them in cities like Branson, Mo., New Orleans and Birmingham.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- For most people dirt is just dirt. Farmers, however, know all too well that soil properties can mean the difference between the success or failure of a crop.

Soil scientists also don't take dirt for granted. That's especially true of a group of Mississippi State University and Canadian researchers changing the way natural organic matter in soil is studied.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Catfish producers saw actual profits last year after two years of losses, and are hoping feed prices in 2004 won't put their operations back into red ink.

Jim Steeby, Extension aquaculture specialist with the National Warmwater Aquaculture Center in Belzoni, said feed prices have made it difficult to see a profit in the catfish industry.

"Last year, our average feed price was $230 a ton," Steeby said. "This year's feed prices are going to be at least $50 a ton above that price."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The itching and scratching associated with poison ivy rashes can sometimes be avoided if those seeking the outdoors learn to identify and kill the vine.

John Byrd, weed scientist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said a mild winter and early warm weather allowed poison ivy to be more advanced earlier in the year than it normally is.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Efforts to increase financial literacy among Mississippi's high school students are beginning to pay off.

National surveys were conducted in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2004 for the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy by Lewis Mandell, a professor of finance at the University of Buffalo School of Management. The survey demonstrates students' aptitude and ability to manage financial resources such as credit cards, insurance, retirement funds and savings accounts.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Keep your eyes open when shopping at local garden centers and you just may find Honey Bee Blue agastache. Herb lovers have been growing this plant, also known as anise hyssop, for years and relishing in not only its beauty but also its tough nature.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Entrepreneurs who dream of creating and manufacturing food products can learn how to make those dreams reality at a day-long workshop offered in two locations across the state in June.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service is sponsoring Food as a Business workshops at the county Extension offices June 2 in Greenwood and June 29 in Starkville.