News

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University has launched a Web site to promote its development of high-quality turfgrass cultivars and help consumers find vendors for commercial varieties that result from this research.  

The site, http://www.msuturf.com, highlights several new and improved varieties of bermudagrass and St. Augustine grass researched and developed by the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

By Rebekah Ray
Delta Research and Extension Center

STONEVILLE -- Peanuts have become a good commercial crop for Delta farmers, and Mississippi State University researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of a group of insecticides on hard-to-control pests that impact these little jewels.

Even though it’s cold outside, now is a good time to stroll through your yard with pencil and paper in hand, noting what worked and what didn’t in your landscape last year. Viewing it during the bare-bones winter season will help you see where changes should be made.

Now, I know you’re thinking you’re not a designer, but I say you are. This is your garden, so do what looks pleasing and functional to you. There is a tremendous amount of information on landscape design available in books and on the Internet, but you are the judge of what works for you.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Hats once were an essential element of a woman’s wardrobe, but some Mississippi State University students have reinvented this accessory as cutting edge fashion for their design class. 

Phyllis Bell Miller, MSU associate professor of apparel, textiles and merchandising, teaches a course every fall called Visual Design in Dress. Students learn basic design and marketing principles of fashion in this class. 

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The Internet may be a great tool for finding wedding gown styles, but it is an unsatisfactory way to buy one because of fashion counterfeiters and fraudulent businesses lurking in cyberspace.

Wanda Cheek, associate professor of apparel, textiles and merchandising in Mississippi State University’s School of Human Sciences, is concerned about the burgeoning counterfeit industry. She is currently researching fashion counterfeit and leads many class discussions on the ramifications of this issue.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – A bride who wants her wedding flowers to symbolize her personality and taste may want to work with a graduate of Mississippi State University’s floral management program.

Trendiness does not cut it with these professors, and weddings may never look the same again as more MSU graduates enter the workforce.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Different priorities, philosophies and background experiences are among the reasons many couples cross swords over family finances, but several options exist to help reduce some of this conflict.

Bobbie Shaffett, family resource management specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said programs, newsletters and publications are available to help couples address finances in a healthy manner.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Marriage is all about new beginnings, and this beginning is the ideal time to take care of business related to the end.

A will is the legal document that specifies how a person’s assets and property are to be disbursed after death. A prenuptial agreement is a legal document that specifies the division of property and assets if a marriage is dissolved.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Setting up housekeeping is a huge task for newly married couples, and young people with limited experience on their own can benefit from gift items for the kitchen.

Pamela Redwine, nutrition and food safety area agent with the Mississippi State University Extension Service in Yalobusha County, said every kitchen needs tools, but keep the personality of the user in mind when buying gifts for the kitchen.

Numerous landscape plants have attractive foliage mixed with colorful berries, but few can match the brilliant luster of a holly.

The striking, dark green leaves of hollies provide a beautiful backdrop for their deep red and orange berries. Another reason these plants are so popular in the landscape is their ability to adapt to environmental conditions.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE –Although many pets and livestock grow heavy winter coats and have thick foot padding, they still need human protection when temperatures drop.

Animal specialists at Mississippi State University have tips that pet owners and livestock producers can follow to keep their animals healthy and comfortable in extremely cold weather.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippians have experience coping with extreme heat, but the opposite end of the thermometer is unfamiliar and equally dangerous territory for them.

Jane Clary, health specialist with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service, said health and safety concerns increase when weather conditions go to extremes. The first step in coping with the conditions is to prepare for them.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Neshoba and Lauderdale counties are participating in a pilot program aimed at turning the tide on poverty by recruiting community members to work together on unique solutions.

“Turning the Tide on Poverty” is an initiative of the Southern Rural Development Center that works in 13 Southern states and is headquartered at Mississippi State University. The initiative has identified sites in five of the region’s states for the pilot programs.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Four qualified 4-H'ers who want to learn more about Mississippi government will have the chance to be legislative pages for one week in March for the Mississippi Senate or House of Representatives.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H program and the Center for Governmental Training and Technology are sponsoring the opportunity for 4-H youth to serve in the Legislative Page Internship Program March 15-19. Program coordinators hope to select two male and two female 4-H’ers for the positions.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mississippi, you are the best, and that makes it extra hard to tell you I have accepted an offer to become vice president for college advancement at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Ga. 

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As we ease into 2010 firmly in the grip of winter, it is fun to look at new plants heading our way, and new petunia colors and patterns will stretch our comfort zones.

A new Supertunia by the name of Pretty Much Picasso tops the list of unusual petunias coming this spring. I wasn’t quite sure how to describe its unique color, so I went to the Proven Winners Web site and saw they list the color as “various.” I suppose that’s correct.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Lately I’ve been writing a lot about indoor plants and thought it was time to switch to the outdoors. Then I got a better idea and decided to tell you about the fatsia japonica, a great plant that performs in both places.

The fatsia, also known as Japanese aralia, is one of the most-loved shade garden plants in the South. Large palmate leaves similar to a philodendron make the fatsia at home in the tropical garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Charitable gifts to Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine offer comfort and hope to those who cherish all kinds of animals.

Susan Kuykendall, an administrative assistant in the CVM’s clinical sciences department, oversees the Fund for CARE, which stands for Companion Animals Require Excellence. The fund was created several years ago to help fill in the gaps between state appropriations and needs at the veterinary college.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi agriculture has changed a great deal in the last 25 years, and the challenges of 2009 reminded many farmers that there is still much to learn.

To address the growing needs of the state’s farmers, the Mississippi State University Extension Service redesigned its 25-year-old annual cotton short course and offered a two-and-a-half day meeting dedicated to all state row crops instead. The expansion to other crops and the recent historic losses helped triple attendance numbers over recent years.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Hundreds of growers, crop consultants and scientists meet in Stoneville on Jan. 8 at the 53rd annual Tri-State Soybean Forum.

The event is sponsored by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Louisiana State University Ag Center, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and the United Soybean Board, among other supporters of the soybean industry.