News

By Norman Winter
Extension Horticulturist

Succulents are starting to catch on in landscapes everywhere, and one you need to keep your eyes open for is Mezoo Trailing Red.

To be honest, the weather has been making me a little grouchy. It's looked like the parting of the Red Sea when rain clouds approach my region. I wanted to write about a succulent that could withstand total abuse, and the Mezoo Trailing Red came to mind. Botanically speaking, it is Dorotheanthus bellidiformis.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- April's cold snap may have slowed watermelon production in Mississippi, but growers are still in great shape to cash in on the Fourth of July.

David Nagel, horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said the late spring frost damaged some transplants in the ground at the start of the season. Farmers worked hard to replant those fields and stay on schedule.

“We are seeing watermelons of good quality and size now that harvesting has begun,” Nagel said.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A female-dominated profession is getting some competition from men who have only begun to make their presence known in the scientific field of dietetics.

“We're starting to see more students who are interested in the health-care area, and that begins with nutrition,” said Benjy Mikel, head of Mississippi State University's Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion. “We're seeing some males enter this field.”

With roots in Europe …

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Interest in patio vegetable gardens and edible landscapes is going through the roof. We have known this explosion was going on in Europe and wondered if it would hit here, too.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- James “Wes” McPherson had his mind set on veterinary school three years ago when he began his freshman year at Mississippi State University, but his heart refused to listen.

The junior from Inverness grew up tending soybeans and corn on his stepfather's farm. The more he thought about leaving the Delta behind, the more it beckoned. This soul-searching caused McPherson to face facts and examine options. At stake were scholastic success and personal satisfaction.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi State University’s Institute for Digital Biology hosted a four-day international conference in May on avian genomics.

In hosting this conference, MSU joined a prestigious list of genetic research institutions that includes biomedical institutes in the United Kingdom, Japan and Spain, as well as the Stowers Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories in New York.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Farmers know what it's like to roll the dice and hope for good weather, low costs and high profits, but the stakes this year for corn producers are higher than usual.

“Farmers can't afford to have a train wreck with their crop, despite high crop market prices,” said Erick Larson, grain crops agronomist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “They are putting so much more into their crop than in years past. One significant hiccup in production could mean the end of their agricultural careers.”

By Steven Nalley
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A “to-go” box usually lets diners save restaurant food, but in disaster's wake, a different kind of to-go box can do the same for insurance, certificates and other documentation.

As hurricane season begins, it is important to keep copies of irreplaceable documents packed and ready for evacuation at a moment's notice.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's farmers are beginning the 2008 harvest of 450,000 acres of wheat, the most grown in the state in almost two decades.

In 1990, the state had 600,000 acres of winter wheat, but it was a drastically different time then. Wheat yields averaged 30 bushels per acre, and the 1990 price averaged $3.07 per bushel. At the same time, farm diesel averaged 94 cents per gallon, and urea nitrogen fertilizer was $192 per ton.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The 600,000 acres of 16th section land located in 67 Mississippi counties generate more than $45 million each year and supplement a budget of more than $2 billion for K-12 education.

Sixteenth section land is public acreage set aside when the state was first surveyed to help fund education and other programs. The 15 counties in north Mississippi that do not have school trust lands receive annual appropriations to compensate for this lost source of local education funding.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Just days remain for Mississippi farmers to be counted in the 2007 Census of Agriculture, a tally that actually impacts the agriculture industry in the state.

The ag census attempts to gather information from all farmers in the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts the survey every five years through the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Farmers have until June 18 to be counted in this census.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Hydrangeas are starting to bloom everywhere across the South and will soon burst with color farther north as summer weather takes hold.

The hydrangea is the most loved summer blooming shrub because of its huge, colorful blossoms. Despite the large blue or pink blossoms, the hydrangea has been mostly a generic shrub, and only recently have varieties started to gain attention.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dairy farmers would like to celebrate June as dairy month by toasting near-record prices with a glass of cold milk, but they can't afford it.

Bill Herndon, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said skyrocketing production costs have more than narrowed the gap between profit and loss; they have eliminated it. At the same time, the price of milk at the grocery story has climbed steadily, averaging near $4.50 per gallon, up from about $2.80 per gallon in 2003, and is expected to remain high through 2009.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The challenge has begun for Mississippi youth to make the next hundred years of 4-H more remarkable than the first.

More than 600 youth, their volunteer leaders and Mississippi State University Extension Service staff worked hard to make the 2008 4-H Congress successful. The event took place May 28-30 at MSU.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The trend toward green or organic production has made its way to many home gardeners, but Mississippi's climate makes it a challenging place to grow plants without harsh chemicals to control pests.

Lelia Kelly, consumer horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said a big part of growing organic gardens is being conscientious.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Dairy experts have planned a day of intensive education on issues related to dairy production in Mississippi, and everyone involved in the industry is encouraged to attend.

The Statewide Dairy Field Day is June 25 in Tylertown at the Southwest Events Center Conference Facility. There is no cost to attend this event, hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

By Norman Winter

MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A recent 4-H event at one of the most highly rated golf courses in the country included the opportunity to see an impressive display of cleomes all around the clubhouse. The incredible new varieties I saw at the course are one of the reasons the old-fashioned cleomes are seeing a revival.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Weather has been kind to Mississippi's hay and forage producers, but the economy has not.

An unusually cool spring, buffered by adequate rainfall, has increased growth in cool-season forages. Spring is the optimum period for nutrient and sugar content to develop in forages grown for hay, and Mother Nature's timing was good.

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.