News From 2002

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Gardeners wanting a backyard success this summer can do more than hope it will happen.

Sonja Skelly, consumer horticulture specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said a soil test and drainage assessment will go a long way to ensuring a successful garden.

"The very first thing you should do is take a soil test from whatever part of the landscape you want to plant something in," Skelly said. "Take soil from several locations to be sure it is representative of the area you will be planting in."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Municipal officials across the state have another tool in their arsenal to provide efficient public service with the publication of the second edition of Municipal Government in Mississippi.

Published by the Mississippi State University Extension Service's Center for Governmental Training and Technology, the 412-page edition offers the latest thinking by 19 contributing authors and editors P.C. McLaurin Jr., Extension professor of local government, and Michael T. Allen, Extension governmental training officer.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Since many of you are shopping for summer blooming bulbs, I want to break from telling you about new plants to remind you of one that is old and wonderful - the crocosmia, or monbretia.

Botanically speaking, it is known as Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora and is related to the gladiola. Its name comes from the Greek words "krokos" meaning saffron and "osme" meaning smell, referring to the saffron aroma the dried flowers give off when immersed in water.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Researchers at the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station are evaluating the environmental and economic impacts of land application of poultry litter as part of an ongoing effort to support the poultry industry.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi manufacturers, agricultural producers and economic developers can learn ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels during an April 30 to May 1 conference in Starkville.

Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Biomass Council are sponsoring the Mississippi Alternative Fuels Conference, which includes a tour of a local paper mill. Registration fees are $140 for the conference and tour, $95 for the conference and $45 for the tour.

By Ashley Crawford

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Granting outdoor wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses was a dream Bruce Brady never saw materialize, but the program developed in his memory carries out his dreams.

Catch-A-Dream is a wish-granting program that was founded to memorialize Brady, a long-time resident of Brookhaven. The program grants once-in-a-lifetime outdoor experiences to children under the age of 18 who have life-threatening illnesses.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As vegetable gardening season rapidly approaches, it's time to decide whether to use transplants or direct seed. If you are as anxious as I am to get underway, then you might consider growing transplants.

Almost everything can be sown directly into the garden, but there are some vegetables that do better when transplanted. These include several of the most popular vegetables.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A report from the National Science Foundation ranks Mississippi State University fifth in the nation in funding for research in the agricultural sciences.

The university generated $68.4 million in research and development expenditures for the agricultural sciences in fiscal year 2000, an increase of almost 18 percent over fiscal year 1999 figures. MSU previously ranked eighth in agricultural sciences research.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Homeowners and growers should not overreact to potential damage to plants in home landscapes caused by extreme cold snaps, such as the one that hit Mississippi the last week of February.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi is one step closer to a better diagnostic facility for the state's $1.5 billion poultry industry.

Groundbreaking for a $500,000 Poultry Research and Diagnostic Laboratory took place on March 18 in Rankin County. Following the construction of this 2,000-square-foot building, officials plan to begin the second phase of the project which will culminate with the construction of a 40,000-square-foot diagnostic facility for all animal species with a total cost of more than $18 million.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Cotton producers can learn about the latest developments in disease, insect and weed control during an upcoming Advanced Cotton Pest Management Short Course.

The seminar will take place March 20 at Mississippi State University's Bost Extension Building. The program will feature topics related to weed science, plant pathology and entomology. Sessions will address weed control, diseases affecting cotton production, nematodes in cotton, plant bug biology and discussion of stink bugs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- An intense summer program aims to entice high school juniors into family medicine as Mississippi approaches a critical need for medical professionals.

With one out of five Mississippi physicians over the age of 60, the Rural Medical Scholars program's aim is to identify the state's future primary care doctors and help them become members of the medical school class of 2011.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Clarence E. Watson Jr., interim head of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University, has been named associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station effective Feb. 19.

As associate director, Watson will be responsible for planning and managing the Experiment Station's research efforts. He joins Marty Fuller, MAFES associate director for external affairs, and Vance Watson, MAFES director, in leading the research organization.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With all the new neighborhoods springing up everywhere, I'm sure I'm not alone in the panic that we will soon miss out on the floral displays of this spring's azaleas. Some disparage the azalea, but I am not one of them; I need azaleas at my new home.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The pooled resources of the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine may help establish Mississippi State University as a leader in imaging technologies for the agricultural and veterinary sciences.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

BILOXI -- Any visitor to Mississippi's Gulf Coast can attest to the quality of its seafood, and scientists at the Coastal Research and Extension Center are working to ensure the continued availability of this food crop and the sustainability of Mississippi's seafood industry.

One such effort is led by marine resources specialist David Burrage, who is studying the inshore shrimp industry for the Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My 11-year-old son, James, went for a bike ride late last spring in our new neighborhood filled with forested areas, creeks, bogs and even deer. He came back out of breath from riding to tell me with excitement about a patch of flowers he discovered.

Though he had never seen them before, he immediately recognized them as something special. He was right. They were native Indian Pinks, known botanically as Spigelia marilandica.

JACKSON -- Greenhouse tomato growers should mark their calendars for a tomato short course to be held in Jackson on March 14 and 15.

The 2002 Greenhouse Tomato Short Course will be held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson. It is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

By Linda Breazeale

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Therapeutic riding is gaining in popularity with therapists, community volunteers and among people with disabilities.

"The primary focus of therapeutic riding is to foster independence for people with special needs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's in-home child-care businesses can take part in training to advance them to the next level in quality child care and in business techniques.

Mississippi State University's Extension Service offers the Nurturing Homes Initiative for home child-care providers. The Mississippi Department of Human Services' Office for Children and Youth funds the project, which is entering its second year in Mississippi.