Saturday, January 24, 2026

mississippi state university

Soil Properties And Runoff

• By Dr. Larry Oldham, Mississippi State University • Soils are the environmental regulators of rain: When it falls, soil properties determine if it goes into the soil (infiltration) or across the surface (runoff). In the runoff water, there may be sediment...

Mississippi cotton acreage tumbles as soybean, peanut acres climb

Cotton and corn acreage in Mississippi are more than 30% below March projections, while growers of soybeans and peanuts planted much more than initially forecasted. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service released a report at the end...

Meet The New Cotton Guys

Editor’s note: Two new cotton specialists, Drs. Ben McKnight and Brian Pieralisi, have been appointed by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Mississippi State Extension Service, respectively. Be sure to check out their comments each month in our Specialists...

Drier weather helps Mississippi growers catch up

Row crop growers in Mississippi used a relatively dry May to make up for planting time lost earlier in the spring due to wet weather and soggy fields. As of May 24, planting progress for the state’s four major row...

Survey of 2019 Mississippi backwater flood helps reveal 2020 losses

A sharper focus on the economic impact of the lower Delta backwater flood of 2019 helps predict the implications of continued flooding this year. Mississippi State University Extension Service researchers compiled data on the overlooked costs of the backwater flood...

Got hog damage? There’s an app for that

According to a Mississippi State University research study, feral pigs cause $66 million in property damage in the Magnolia State each year. With the wild hog population increases and damage estimates constantly changing, it’s now easier to report and...

Expect another challenging year in the Delta from bollworms

• By Jeff Gore, Angus Catchot, Don Cook and Whitney Crow• The 2019 season was one of the most challenging years we have had from a bollworm standpoint in both cotton and soybeans. The issue was not from a numbers...

Mississippi State University Extension names new cotton specialist

The Mississippi State University Extension Service has a new cotton specialist. Brian Pieralisi was appointed to that role April 1. He replaced Darrin Dodds, who took the helm of the university’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. Pieralisi will work with...

Thomasson returns to MSU as ag & biological engineering head

A precision agriculture and cotton ginning expert is the new head of Mississippi State’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. J. Alex Thomasson will take the reins of the MSU department effective July 1, pending approval of the State Board...

COVID-19 crisis could modify Mississippi planting intentions

Weather always plays a role in the spring planting decisions of Mississippi row-crop producers, but the market impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is another variable they will have to consider in 2020. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Prospective Plantings...

2020 recommendations for controlling thrips in cotton

• By Whitney Crow, Angus Catchot, Jeff Gore and Don Cook • Not much has changed since last year in regards to thrips control via insecticide seed treatment. Thrips are considered the No. 1 pest of seedling cotton. Tobacco thrips are...

5 things to know about cotton leafroll dwarf virus

Pathologists with Mississippi State University will be monitoring a relatively new plant disease in state cotton fields once the growing season is in full swing. Cotton leafroll dwarf virus, or CLRDV, was first reported in Alabama in 2017. It is...

The Look, The Feel Of Cotton

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” When asked this question in my younger years, my response was never “a farmer.” Not because I didn’t want to be one, but back in the day, not many...

Dec. 2-4 Mississippi Row Crop Short Course offers myriad of topics

Nearly 500 people have already pre-registered for the 2019 Row Crop Short Course. The program, complete with CCA credits, can be downloaded by clicking here. The 2019 Row Crop Short Course will be held at the Cotton Mill Conference Center...

Late season heat, dry weather aided Mississippi cotton

Parts of Mississippi’s landscape are turning white, but unlike some northern areas, this coloration is caused by cotton bolls opening for harvest, not snow accumulation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that nearly a quarter of Mississippi’s cotton crop had...

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