News From 2001

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Some state dairy producers have been given the opportunity to manage risk through cost share participation in the milk futures market.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Ornamental grasses are easy to grow, but there is a mystique that surrounds their use in the landscape. The mystery is all in the imagination of the gardener who has yet to try them.

By Carrie Reeves

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Whether baked, boiled, stir-fried or steamed, vegetables are a vital part of a healthy daily diet, and the storage and preparation methods are the keys to retaining nutritional value.

Melissa Mixon, human nutrition specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said vegetables are important to healthy diets, but their nutritional value depends on how they are prepared.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Confirmed cases of encephalitis and the potential for the West Nile Virus in Mississippi have health officials at a state of heightened awareness to the threat of mosquito-borne illnesses.

MISSISSIPPI STATE &endash; A better-than-expected national forecast for cotton production is not helping the troubled price outlook for growers as they approach the harvest season.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released production estimates on Aug. 10. The outlook for corn and soybeans appears more favorable than that for cotton. The report predicts a 7 percent national decrease in corn production compared to the 2000 crop. Soybeans are only increasing slightly, up 4 percent nationally. Cotton will make the biggest national increase, up 16 percent.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Producers and pesticide applicators trying to find the safest ways to use pesticides and reduce spray drift may find the answer blowing in the wind, say scientists involved in pesticide drift research.

"We've found that downwind distance is by far the most important variable that affects ground, boom spray drift," said David Smith, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station agricultural engineer.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Never underestimate the power of foliage in the landscape. Mass plantings of coleus, cascading sweet potatoes and Joseph's Coats that provided an exciting contrast in color and leaf texture inspired me during recent trip to the Southern Nurserymen Convention in Atlanta.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- People spend a lot of time and money trying to keep their tax burden as low as possible, but when it comes to timber sales, many Mississippians pay too much in taxes.

Debbie Gaddis, assistant Extension professor of forestry at Mississippi State University, said proper record keeping and management can lower tax bills by allowing timber owners to take advantage of special tax programs available to them.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Much of the state's soybeans, like Mississippi's other row crops, are benefitting from August showers, but some fields still are lacking.

"The rains have been very variable. Everyone doesn't want rain on the same day or in the same amount," said Alan Blaine, soybean specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service. "We really needed (tropical storm) Barry to come right through the middle of the state the first week of August and provide a good general rain, but that didn't happen."

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

While the hot muggy dog days of summer make you want to forget gardening and board an Alaskan cruise, it should signal you to get out and plant. The planting I refer to is sowing seeds of some great fall-blooming plants, namely zinnias and marigolds.

By Carrie Reeves

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippians consider mosquitoes a nuisance during the summer months, but to their pets, these swarming pests can be deadly.

Heartworms are a life-threatening disease that affect dogs and cats, although they are most common in dogs. The disease is caused by the presence of the adult stage of the parasite Dirofilaria immitis.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Just as Good Friday signals the time to get the spring garden in the ground, August's heat is the indication that it's time to plant the fall garden.

David Nagel, horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said now is the time to plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, sweet corn, peas and beans.

"Summer gardens typically wind down in early August when the temperatures start being consistently above 95 degrees," Nagel said. "That's when you clean the garden out and plant the fall garden."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Old railroad crossties are basic elements in many landscapes, but in some cases they are helping spread the Formosan termite.

Formosan termites are a subterranean species that require moist environments to live. They are a tropical species from the Far East which tunnel from location to location to prevent them from drying out when exposed to above-ground conditions.

MISSISSIPPI STATE - Nature gave corn a hand this year with moderate temperatures and scattered rains, and Mississippi producers are expecting to harvest near record-high yields.

Erick Larson, grain specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said the crop should be ready for harvest on schedule by mid-August. Favorable weather and low insect and disease pressure mean harvests should approach the record high 117 bushels an acre set in 1999.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Five years of eradication efforts are making the boll weevil a scarce pest in Mississippi cotton.

The most recent counts show the state has less than 1 percent of the boll weevils it had in fields last year. By late July 2000, about 1.1 million boll weevils had been trapped in Mississippi's cotton fields. This year, 10,442 have been captured. Last year's numbers were down more than 50 percent from the previous year.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The old fashioned looks often catch the eyes of new gardeners. Such was the case at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station last October during the Fall Flower and Garden Fest. One of the plants that kept visitors gawking was the summer poinsettia.

By Carrie Reeves

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Swimming provides a great way to relax and have fun during the summer, but swimmers should be aware of pool-related infections and ways to prevent the spread of these in public pools.

The most serious germs which might be found in swimming pools are cryptosporidiosis, also known as crypto; giardiasis; and Escherichia Coli 057:H7, also know as E-Coli 057:H7. All of these infections are passed through feces.

VERONA -- Dr. Lester Spell, Mississippi's Commissioner for Agriculture and Commerce, will be the featured speaker along with other activities at the upcoming North Mississippi Research and Extension Center Agronomic Row Crop Field Day.

Farmers can learn the latest research results and recommendations at the Aug. 8 event from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.at the Lee County AgriCenter on Highway 145, south of Verona.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hay producers across most of Mississippi could not have timed the rains any better if they controlled the weather themselves.

Summer thunderstorms are bringing enough moisture to most parts of the state to grow good summer grasses. The rain is stopping to let farmers cut, dry and bale the hay before starting again.

"The rain comes at just the right time and quits at just the right time," said Malcolm Broome, forage specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If I were to list the things I love about Mississippi such as spring, fall, the people and my church, it would take up the whole column. But if you step outside this evening and listen, you will hear one of the most wonderful songs in nature, a nighttime melody coming from the green tree frogs. This is on my list of the things I love about Mississippi.