News

By Marcus Daniels

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- People cannot change the weather, but they can take conservation steps to save money before colder temperatures arrive.

Jimmy Bonner, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said regardless of how high or low the nation's fuel levels and heating costs are, taking conservation measures are always a good idea.

By Hannah Watts

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Three tractor-trailer loads of supplies are North Carolina 4-H members' way of joining the Mississippi 4-H efforts to help the state's youngest residents struggling to rebuild their lives after Hurricane Katrina.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The recent cold front put a little spring in my step and gave me a fresh outlook. It is finally time to plant cool season flowers. One you may have noticed over the past couple of years is Redbor kale, a Fall 2005 Mississippi Medallion award winner.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Weeds and a strange animal that lives in the soil and feeds on roots are under attack by Mississippi State University researchers trying to give every advantage to the state's soybean producers.

Gary Lawrence, a nematologist with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, is working on the control of nematodes -- microscopic, worm-like animals in the soil that feed on the roots of plants.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina and Rita actually helped most of Mississippi's sweetpotato fields in 2005.

Bill Burdine, Mississippi State University Extension Service area agronomist in Chickasaw County, said although some isolated cases of rot may have occurred, none of the storms caused significant damage.

"Dennis, Katrina and Rita provided rains at mostly the right time for the crop's needs," Burdine said. "Katrina caused significant damage to area corn but helped the low-growing, ground-hugging sweetpotato plants."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hurricane Katrina caused several thousand Mississippians to lose their jobs along with their homes, and that sudden loss of income is still being felt.

Food, water, medical care and temporary shelter were the first priorities in the days and weeks following the storm. Once basic survival needs were met and things were a little less desperate, residents who lost everything turned their attention to more long-term financial matters.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Pace Seed Laboratory was one of about 12 buildings damaged when a tornado hit the Mississippi State University campus Sept. 25.

The building, which lost about half of its roof, houses the Life Sciences and Biotechnology Institute and the university’s mini-gin. The section of the roof above the gin was completely blown away by the tornado.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Moisture meters have arrived in coastal counties to help residents make building or repair decisions in water-damaged homes.

Mississippi State University Extension Service offices in 10 southern counties and at MSU’s Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi are loaning the meters to individuals who need them.

Herb Willcutt, Extension professor of agriculture and bioengineering, warned that it is a mistake to rebuild or repair before wood is sufficiently dry.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Livestock exhibitors from south Mississippi will find an additional reward at this year's State Fair in Jackson: therapeutic relief.

The 146th Mississippi State Fair will offer more than the traditional rides, good foods and entertainment. It will offer a sense of normalcy that many of the state's counties have been lacking since Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Gorgeous fall colors don't have to be limited to the yard or landscape, but can be artistically arranged as floral accents at any home's entrance. Some well-placed, colorful planters can welcome family and guests to your home even if you don't do a lot of gardening.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Disasters the size of Hurricane Katrina are almost impossible to fully prepare for, but the American Red Cross director in Tupelo credits 25 years of training and experience as a 4-H volunteer leader with helping her meet the enormous challenges.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi's row crops took strikes from hurricanes Dennis, Katrina and Rita, but are still in the game with statewide yield losses not expected to top 35 percent.

Hurricane Rita brought torrential rains to much of the state the last weekend in September, and winds as high as 43 mph in Greenville. State meteorologist Charles Wax said in the four-day period that coincided with Rita's presence, Natchez got 7.8 inches of rain, Cleveland 6.32 inches, Greenville 5.62 inches and Stoneville 6.88 inches.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Families feeling the impact of Katrina-related stress today may find it hard to believe their feelings and anxieties could get worse weeks or months down the road as the holiday seasons arrive.

Patsilu Reeves, family life education specialist with Mississippi State University's Extension Service, said some survivors of Hurricane Katrina may not show symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in the first months after the storm.

By Marcus Daniels

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hurricane Katrina continues to turn lives upside down, but neglecting nutritious eating habits can lead to a vicious cycle of depression and poor health.

Sharon Haynes, area nutrition and food safety agent with Mississippi State University's Extension Service based in Winston County, said healthy diets may sound unrealistic given the magnitude of the disaster, but they remain important.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- After extensive scientific research, at least one food scientist has reached a definite conclusion about freshwater prawns.

"They are just good," said Patti Coggins, director of the Garrison Sensory Evaluation Laboratory at Mississippi State University.

Coggins is one of a group of MSU scientists studying the feasibility of growing prawns in Mississippi, and she has data from formal sensory evaluation studies, including taste tests, to back her personal opinion.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

After Katrina, Rita, and almost endless tornado warnings, "Dr. Norman" has the perfect prescription for the blues -- the 27th annual Fall Flower & Garden Fest in Crystal Springs.

Scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15, this annual event at the Trucks Crops Experiment Station is without a doubt the best free horticultural activity in the South.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Asian rust began demanding the attention of soybean growers across the South last year, but it is not the only disease producers must consider when growing the crop.

Soybeans began to receive more attention in the late 1980s when average yields finally rose above the low 20 bushels an acre mark. Mississippi State University research and support of the industry, funded in part by the Soybean Promotion Board, was largely responsible.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Volunteers, eager to help in storm-ravaged areas, face health and safety hazards left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Jane Clary said volunteers often have a selfless attitude that is not preoccupied with personal risks they may face as they try to help others. Many "just pick up and go" to offer aid without taking some important precautions or considering the absence of medical care in some remote areas.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hurricane Katrina literally blew away millions of dollars of the state's horticulture industry centered in coastal counties hardest hit by the storm.

"Before the storm, Mississippi had close to a billion dollar horticulture industry," said Kerry Johnson, area horticulture agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in George County. "Several hundred retailers, greenhouses, landscapers and nurseries operated in south Mississippi, and the industry had rebounded from the setback it experienced after Sept. 11."

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A credit report can be a useful tool to individuals trying to put their lives together again after Hurricane Katrina turned them upside down.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, said a credit report is a good way to replace lost account and credit card information if these records were destroyed.