News From 2006

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This year's poinsettia crop is without a doubt the best I have ever seen, and as usual, our growers are on top of the curve in quality, variety and innovation.

In late summer, I told many of you via television and newspaper articles about the hot new Diamond Frost euphorbia. This is a tough-as-nails plant that produces hundreds of tiny flowers and is related to the poinsettia.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Freezing foods before company arrives can reduce stress during the holiday crunch.

Brent Fountain, a nutrition professor with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said cooking ahead of time and freezing dishes is much easier than exhaustive efforts the day before or the day of a large holiday meal. Proper wrapping for freezer storage is important in maintaining the food's quality.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Two Egyptian food safety officials have visited Mississippi State University as part of the Cochran Fellowship Program.

Dr. Abdel Azim A.E. Bayoumy and Dr. Safwat A. El Hadded were in Mississippi almost two weeks during November for training sessions and tours of agricultural facilities.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Just a couple of months ago, many of us worried the drought was going to drop most of the leaves before fall colors had a chance. Today, we are awestruck by the awesome colors on display.

It has been and is a banner year all over the state. In late October, I was with my son at a golf tournament in Tupelo, and it felt like we were in North Carolina.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

When you think about holiday decorating, think about your front door. I recently urged readers to consider holiday plantings near the front entrance to a home. Now I want to take everyone up the steps, on the porch and even to the door.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Christmas tree growers are facing a new and welcomed challenge in the coming years: keeping up with the increasing demand for their fresh products.

Steve Dicke, forestry specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said growers have been surprised by the recent surge of interest in live trees.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Christmas trees need special attention before, during and after their magical season under the lights.

Steve Dicke, forestry specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said producing Christmas trees is labor intensive. Growers have to be good retailers during the holiday season, and good farmers during the entire year.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- With attention focused on the many football games played during the holidays, people might not realize they may need their own game plan when it comes to eating.

Brent Fountain, human nutrition specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said as the number of tempting foods during the holidays increase, so should the effort to make wise food choices. Consider quantities, quality and frequency of foods consumed.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Grandparents and even children can feel on the outside of the consumer whirlwind that seems to pick up intensity at the holidays.

Retailers tell consumers that the holidays are about spending lots of money to buy fabulous presents. Mississippians participate in this buying frenzy, and many spend more money than they should but still don't get the peace and goodwill they want on Christmas.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Gift cards are gaining on clothing as the most popular gift to give at the holidays, but this seemingly fail-proof present often is not as popular with those who receive them.

Consumer Reports found in a recent survey that more than 23 million Americans have unused gift cards from last year worth a total of at least $972 million. Almost 1 in 5 of those who received a gift card in 2005 has not yet cashed it in for merchandise.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi’s fruit and vegetable growers can take part in the annual Deep South Fruit and Vegetable Conference and Trade Show Dec. 6-7 in Mobile, Ala.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A new endowed scholarship has been established at Mississippi State University in honor of Mississippi Farm Bureau president David Waide of West Point.

The scholarship is in recognition of Waide’s commitment to and efforts on behalf of Mississippi agriculture, said Vance Watson, MSU vice president for agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine.

By Robert H. Wells
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE -- A new antibiotic for aquaculture may become twice as useful against deadly bacterial infections plaguing farm-raised catfish if it receives proposed additional labeling.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

With the holidays practically upon us, time is running short to plant cool season flowers that will welcome friends and family. Serious frost across much of the state took the beauty from some favorite perennials. In many cases, these plantings are right near the front door, porch or main entryway.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- While more than one singer has longed to “go home with the armadillos,” most Mississippians just want the annoying beasts to leave their yards alone.

Jerry Jeff Walker popularized the line in “London Homesick Blues,” but homeowners with a yard full of divots each morning feel no such love.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- With just the click of a mouse, furniture manufacturers can “test drive” a management system to make their factories more productive. 

A computer simulation training model developed by researchers at Mississippi State University will be demonstrated during a Nov. 15-16 workshop at the Franklin Center on the MSU campus. The Simulating Lean Transformation in the Furniture Industry Workshop will include training with “lean production” principles. Lean production refers to the ability to produce more with less.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Teaching and research capabilities in Mississippi State University’s Poultry Science Department have been expanded with the opening of a new poultry processing laboratory.

The facility is a scaled-back version of what students will find when they begin working in the poultry industry, said research coordinator Donnie Zumwalt.

“The laboratory contains the same type of equipment that industry is using and some they will use in the future,” he said. “It will give our students real-world experience while they are on campus.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- With demand for biodiesel on the rise, researchers are looking for ways Mississippi agricultural production can contribute more to this growing market.

Brian Baldwin, a Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station researcher, is identifying alternative crops that can grow in Mississippi and produce large quantities of oil. The highest oil-producing crops are tropical, but there are other plants that can be grown in Mississippi and yield more oil per acre than those currently being grown.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My repeated encouragement to take advantage of pansy planting time in the South may have motivated you to purchase these beautiful cool-season plants, but also left you wondering what to plant with them. Pan American Seed, one of the industry leaders, has come up with a novel approach to this question called Pansy Pals.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- There are always exceptions from one field to another, but Mississippi's cotton should produce near the five-year average despite the summer's drought, mostly because irrigated land boosted yields.

Mississippi farmers will harvest 1.21 million acres of cotton, which is about 10,000 acres more than last year. The predicted yield average is 833 pounds per acre, which is just under last year's yield and the five-year averages of 859 pounds and 869 pounds, respectively.