News

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University is offering online high school courses for credit, giving a helping hand to students trying to get ahead or catch up on graduation requirements.

Health, economics, geometry, Mississippi studies, U.S. government, U.S. history, advanced world geography and two English classes are available through the MSU Center for Continuing Education. Costs are $150 for a half credit and $300 for a full credit.

BILOXI, Miss. -- Evidence showing the effects of climate change on coastal wetlands has been hard to come by, so a new study method developed by a team of Southeastern researchers is making waves in the environmental science community.

One of my goals for this column has always been to promote the planting of ornamental varieties -- and to some extent vegetable varieties -- in our Mississippi landscapes and gardens. Sometimes, these plants are tried and true favorites of mine; other times, they are new to market and deserve a chance to shine and be enjoyed.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Almost 200 4-H members are planning to compete in the poultry project during the 2015 Mississippi State Fair in October.

Jessica Wells, a poultry science instructor with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said organizers are limiting each exhibitor to visual presentations and just one bird for showmanship.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- The cold, wet spring slowed cotton development by about 10 days, and now producers are battling plant bugs, bollworms and dry weather to bring their crops to harvest this year.

Darrin Dodds, cotton specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said bolls on most of the cotton across the state should begin to open by mid- to late August.

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Chemical companies have added a new bee hazard icon on labels of certain insecticides to protect pollinators from chemicals hazardous to their health.

Blake Layton, an entomologist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the icon and the accompanying pollinator protection box are required on labels of systemic insecticides that contain imidacloprid, dinotefuran or thiamethoxam or clothiandin.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Lighting has increased human productivity by extending the functional time during a given day to work, play and relax. Exterior lighting for streets and walkways allows us to safely enjoy our cities and communities during the evening hours, which is especially pleasant during the hot summer months in Mississippi.

CLARKSDALE, Miss. -- Delta growers and agricultural consultants can carve out a few hours from their busy schedules to learn some of the latest issues impacting corn, cotton, grain sorghum, peanuts, rice and soybeans.

Mississippi State University Extension Service specialists and county agents will host a “turnrow talk” on Aug. 25 in Coahoma County at Stovall Farms Shop, located at 4146 Stovall Road in Clarksdale. The free event will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude with lunch at noon.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi’s two land-grant universities welcomed representatives from sister universities and a national council July 31-Aug. 2 in Starkville.

CLEVELAND, Miss. -- Organizers of Mississippi’s 2015 Rice Tasting Luncheon are adding cooking competitions to the Sept. 18 event.

Each year, this well-known Delta luncheon provides more than 300 dishes prepared by rice-growing families and Delta restaurants. Health screening and nutrition booths with many exhibits and door prizes are also part of the event.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Freezing vegetables can be a tiresome and difficult task, but the end result is always worth the effort.

Natasha Haynes, an agent in Rankin County for the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said one important step is often forgotten when freezing vegetables. Before freezing, vegetables need to be blanched, which means scalding them in boiling water before cooling them down quickly.

A little planning and planting early in the season can really pay off with big color during the dog days of summer that we’re “enjoying” right now. One of my newest favorite groups of plants for hot summer and fall -- yes, I said fall -- are ornamental peppers.

Ornamental peppers begin setting fruit as the temperature rises, and they keep producing through fall. These peppers are quite versatile garden performers and work well in combination containers or massed planted in the landscape.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi forage producers are taking the good with the bad and dreading the ugly. The state’s pastures have produced ample grass, but they have also suffered from abundant weeds and stem maggots, and fall armyworms may soon cause even more problems.

Rocky Lemus, forage specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said summer rains have produced good growing conditions for pastures and hay production across the state. Mississippi has about 760,000 acres in hay production.

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The Crosby Arboretum in Picayune recently received a Five Star grant to help create habitat for an endangered plant community and educate the public about Gulf Coast ecosystems.

The $21,938 grant will help create a 900 square-foot Quaking Bog Educational Exhibit on land formerly used for agricultural and forestry production. The Crosby Arboretum, a unit of the MSU Extension Service, is the Southeast’s premiere native plant conservatory.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Myths abound in every culture. Stories of fairies, snow monsters and mermaids are great entertainment, but it is important to be able to separate fact from fiction.

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Parents know car seats are essential for children’s safety, but the task of choosing and installing one can be overwhelming for even the most savvy moms and dads.

“There are many different types of car seats, and parents should do a little research before going to the store,” said Lydia Bethay, associate director of the Mississippi State University Extension Service Early Learning Network. “The most important thing is to get the right seat for your child and to use it properly every time you get in the car, even on short trips.”

PONTOTOC, Miss. -- Sweet potato producers, researchers, industry representatives and crop consultants are invited to attend a field day on Aug. 27.

The event will be at the Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station, located at 8320 Highway 15 South. Specialists and researchers with the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will present the field day.

CHOCTAW, Miss. -- Farmers can learn about fall crop production during the Aug. 21 field day organized by the Alliance for Sustainable Agricultural Production.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will host the first of several rotating field days at their Farm I location, between Carthage and Kosciusko. Subsequent field days will be held at different farms throughout the state.

During the annual dog days of summer, it’s a really good thing to have reliable plants in the garden and landscape. One of my hot summer go-to plants is the lantana with its nonstop color.

Lantanas are versatile plants that will thrive in the heat and humidity, like the 118-degree heat index we had in Ocean springs this past week. Whew! There are many great lantana selections available for our gardens, from 4-foot specimens to sprawling ground-cover choices, which come in too many colors to list.