Why aren't more pumpkins grown in Mississippi?
Pumpkins wanted for Halloween should be planted in late June, or early July, for a late September harvest. However, planting this late allows a large population increase of thrips, aphids, and other insects. These insects are vectors for viral diseases. The severity of viral diseases may prevent harvest of a single pumpkin from a field.
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Vegetable producers across the Southeast are invited to the 2025 Vegetable Field Day on July 23 at the Mississippi State University station in Verona, Mississippi.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- A large group of agricultural producers and industry professionals met with Mississippi State University personnel during the 2025 Central Mississippi Producer Advisory Council meeting Feb. 18 in Raymond at the Central Mississippi Research and Extension Center. The annual forum provides clients, MSU administrators, researchers, specialists and Extension agents an opportunity to meet in small commodity groups to discuss the research and educational needs of producers in the region.
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Mississippi State University Extension Service plant pathologist Rebecca Melanson was recently recognized for her work to further the development and implementation of integrated pest management in the cucurbit industry. The Emerging Viruses in Cucurbits Working Group, or EVCWG, received the 2024 Friends of IPM Pulling Together Award. Melanson and Bill Wintermantel, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, co-chair the group that was established in 2022.
