News From 2010

By Dr. Walter Mullen
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Pet owners need to realize that Christmas decorations attract more than human eyes during the holidays, and many of those items can pose hazards to curious animals.

When new plants are brought into the home, they can interest a mischievous pet. Unfortunately, some festive holiday plants can poison pets.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi State University scientists have found a new way to turn wood into highly absorbent charcoal and automobile parts.

While wood has been used to manufacture charcoal since the early 1600s, the new technique can create charcoal and other carbon-based products with a higher absorption capacity. Charcoal has been used widely to treat water and clean up chemicals, but the production of magnetic charcoal creates new possibilities. Magnetic charcoal is more efficient in cleaning environmentally hazardous chemicals.

When the cooler months arrive, many home gardeners think it is time to put away thoughts of fresh vegetables on the table and settle for the local grocery store’s offerings. If this describes you, I hope to change your mind by giving you tips on growing fresh lettuce during the winter months.

The cool months of winter are the perfect time to grow lettuce as it can tolerate frost and light freezing temperatures. It doesn’t get bitter from the heat of summer. You don’t even have to grow it in your normal vegetable garden.

By Dr. Joel D. Ray Jr.
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- As gifts, travel companions or left-behind loved ones, pets need special attention by responsible owners during the holidays to ensure their long-term health and happiness.

By Dr. Joel D. Ray Jr.
MSU College of Veterinary Medicine

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- The holiday season is a fun time for family and friends to celebrate, but it is also a time when pet owners should be aware of holiday dangers for dogs, cats and other beloved pets.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Mississippi cotton, soybean and corn producers who take advantage of a three-day short course in December will receive valuable information about how to succeed in agriculture.

Registration for the Dec. 6-8 Row Crop Short Course is free until Nov. 26 and $40 a person after that. The event is hosted by Mississippi State University’s Extension Service and will be held on campus in the Bost Extension Center. The program begins with lunch at noon on Dec. 6 and concludes with lunch on Dec. 8.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A Dec. 9 workshop at Mississippi State University will delve into the increasingly important world of risk management in agriculture.

The event is free to those who preregister and $20 per person for those who register at the door. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in MSU’s Bost Conference Center and is being coordinated by John Michael Riley, MSU Extension Service agricultural economist.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Dozens of poinsettia varieties and holiday plants will be available at the Dec. 3 holiday plant sale hosted by Mississippi State University’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

The MSU student horticulture club will sell poinsettias and other holiday plants from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the campus greenhouses behind Dorman Hall on Stone Boulevard. Thirty-two varieties of poinsettias in shades of red, pink and white will be available in 6-inch pots and 10-inch baskets.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Two Mississippi State University biochemistry and molecular biology students won top honors in the Maroon Edition’s “Three Cups of Tea” essay contest, which was open to all MSU freshmen.

Liza Hudspeth of Walnut and Ryan Stockman of Hurley took first and second place, respectively.

Maroon Edition is MSU’s campus-wide reading initiative, which seeks to foster discussion by encouraging freshmen to read the same book in a limited timeframe. This year’s book was Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea.”

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Three Mississippi State University students spent three weeks in China studying that country’s extensive involvement with season-extension agriculture.

Season-extension technology allows a crop to be grown beyond the normal production window typically allowed by weather. One method gaining popularity in Mississippi is growing crops in high tunnels, which are unheated greenhouses that capture the sun’s heat, allowing crops to be grown earlier or later than normal.

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Several Mississippi State University student groups recently waged war on hunger by bagging sweet potatoes for food pantries in the Golden Triangle area.

The Society of St. Andrew, a grassroots, nonprofit organization that recruits volunteers to gather leftover crops, located farmers willing to donate produce. The 15,000 pounds of Beauregard sweet potatoes that arrived at the Palmeiro Center on Nov. 12 for the event known as the sweet potato drop came from Dawson Farms of Delhi, La.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- People expect veterinarians to offer quality care to their pets, but they may be surprised to discover the depth of the doctors’ concern for animals and their owners.

Dr. Joey Burt is chief of community veterinary services with Mississippi State University’s Animal Health Center. Beginning when he was in private practice in Ohio, he has felt an emotional connection with pet owners when they lost pets.

Some of my favorite spring flowers are annual and perennial dianthus, with their wide variety of pinks, whites, and purples, but you don’t have to wait for warmer temperatures to enjoy colorful dianthus.

Annual landscape dianthus hybrids, such as Telstar dianthus, will add color and interest to your landscape right through fall and winter.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The holiday season reminds many people to give to others and perform service for communities and the needy, but at least one youth organization practices these principles year-round.

By Karen Templeton
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – The pressures of the holiday season can be challenging for anyone, but for divorced parents and their children, this time of year can be particularly stressful.

“Divorce is tough on the whole family, and issues that it causes can get amplified during the holidays,” said Cassandra Palmer, a professional counselor working in Starkville. “Parents generally do not want to miss any time with their children, and the children can pick up on negative feelings the parents are experiencing.”

By Patti Drapala
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Making daily tasks easier for people with physical limitations can be a meaningful gift to them at the holidays or anytime.

Routine tasks, such as cooking, cleaning and bathing are generally easy for those who can move freely. When health or age put a person in a wheelchair or a walker, accomplishing these tasks takes thought and planning. Changes in vision, hearing or speaking present even more challenges.

By Kaitlyn Byrne
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Finding creative and affordable holiday gifts can be difficult, but one possible solution to this dilemma is to make scrapbooks for loved ones.

Alana Cecil of Independence, who has been scrapbooking for seven years, said a scrapbook can be a special gift that will still be meaningful to the recipient years down the road.

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- School organizations, scouts and churches are among the groups that have found holiday plants make great fund raisers, and in some cases, excellent learning opportunities as well.

Richard Harkess, professor of plant and soil sciences at Mississippi State University, said the student horticulture club holds several plant sales during the year to raise money to travel to regional and national meetings. Any additional funds go into community service projects for the club.

When you consider that violas tolerate winter weather and can thrive in both the landscape and containers, it is no wonder they are a favorite bedding plant for Mississippi gardeners.

The viola, which is related to the pansy, will grow from Thanksgiving to Easter and beyond. In fact, violas are often more hardy than pansies.

Violas are known botanically as Viola cornuta but are commonly called Johnny Jump Ups. They are prolific seed producers, and it is quite common for viola to act as a perennial in the home garden.

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Lex, a U.S. Marine Corps bomb-sniffing dog who lost his handler in Iraq, is getting help facing the challenges of aging with war injuries.

Lex was injured in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Fallujah that killed his handler, Cpl. Dustin Lee of Quitman. Lee’s parents, Jerome and Rachel Lee, adopted Lex when he was granted retirement from duty.

Lex came to Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in late October. Dr. John Thomason, a CVM small animal internal medicine resident, is his attending clinician.