DIRECTORne of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station’s stated goals is to conduct

research that addresses real-life problems. In practice,this has meant being responsive to the needs of ourclients and shaping our research programs to meetthese needs. MAFES research programs are constant-ly evolving to help keep Mississippi producers viableand competitive.

Each year brings new challenges as well as oppor-tunities for our producers. In recent weeks, House

and Senate Farm Bill conference attendees reached an agreement on the termsof a new Farm Bill, which will undoubtedly have an effect on producers inMississippi and elsewhere in the nation. The six-year deal will increase agri-cultural spending by 70 percent and should help producers who have beenfaced with record low prices for the past five years.

In Mississippi, the effects of the new Farm Bill will mean equitable pay-ments for our cotton and rice producers. Cotton and rice production is verycapital intensive, and cotton and rice farms are usually larger than Midwestcorn and soybean fields to offset this large investment of capital. The paymentlimitations set by the Farm Bill should mean a much stronger safety net forour producers.

Counter-cyclical payments introduced in the bill will also boost farm com-modities in Mississippi. Farmers will still have planting flexibility because pay-ments will be based on base acreage and yield and not on what was actuallyproduced, but assistance will be built in when market prices are below targetprices.

Another positive aspect for Mississippi farmers is the requirement for coun-try-of-origin labeling on meat, fish and produce in two years. This shouldallow our state’s catfish producers to continue to provide consumers with thehighest quality product that they have come to expect from Mississippi Deltafarm-raised fish.

Altogether, the new Farm Bill promises something for all the farmers in ourstate. MAFES scientists will work hard to ensure that farmers will have theresources they need to make the most of the opportunities presented by thislegislation.

This issue of Highlights features research geared toward effective disease andpest management, an ever-present challenge facing producers.

Millions of dollars are spent every year to control diseases and pests, andmillions more are lost as a result of the damage caused by these invaders infarm plots. In some cases, these pests are old enemies that have adapted totraditional means of control; in others, the organisms involved are only nowbeing identified. In all cases, MAFES researchers are finding ways to limit thedamage to crops, meat, fish and our food supply, while keeping an eye toenvironmentally friendly methods.

I’m confident you’ll find that MAFES research supports Mississippi farmersas they go about the business of feeding and clothing our society.

Volume 65, Number 2Spring 2002

MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURAL ANDFORESTRY EXPERIMENT STATION

Vance H. Watson, Director

J. Charles Lee, Interim President

Vance H. Watson, Interim Vice PresidentMississippi State University

EDITOR

Charmain Tan Courcelle

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Robyn Hearn

GRAPHIC DESIGN & LAYOUT

Mary Howell

PHOTO EDITORS

Jim Lytle Marco Nicovich

WRITERS

Linda Breazeale Bonnie Coblentz

PHOTOGRAPHY

Linda Breazeale David Winton

MAFES Research Highlights, a quarterlypublication of the Mississippi Agriculturaland Forestry Experiment Station, is availablefree to Mississippi residents upon request.

Mention of a trademark or commercial prod-uct does not constitute nor imply endorse-ment of the product by the MississippiAgricultural and Forestry Experiment Stationor approval over other products that also maybe suitable.

Requests for this, other MAFES publica-tions, or change-of-address notificationshould be addressed to

HIGHLIGHTS

Office of Agricultural Communications

Box 9625

Mississippi State, MS 39762-9625

Mississippi State University does not discriminate

on the basis of race, color, religion, national ori-

gin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.

Available on the World Wide Web

msucares.com/pubs/highlights

from the

O

Vance H. WatsonDirector

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

ring up the subject of Delta agriculture in a conversation and you’re likely to hear talk of cot-

ton and soybeans. But those in the know would tellyou that the Mississippi Delta has also become amajor national player in rice and farm-raised catfishproduction in recent decades.

Work at the Delta Research and Extension Center(DREC) has evolved to meet the changing needs ofarea producers. Whether it’s been determining the bestvarieties of cotton, soybean, rice or corn to grow inthe region or defining best management practices forcrop and aquaculture production systems or solvingcrop disease and pest questions, DREC researchers

Bhave the goal of increasing economic profitability andimproving the quality of life for Delta producers andresidents. Following is a description of some of theresearch programs at the DREC.

CONTROLLING EMERGING PESTS NEEDED

PART OF NEW INSECT MANAGEMENT

SCHEME

DREC researchers are developing insect manage-ment strategies to help cotton producers faced with acase of trading pests.

Bt cotton — cotton with built-in insect resistance— and the Boll Weevil Eradication Program havehelped cotton growers reduce the amount of pesticidesused for tobacco budworm, bollworm and boll weevilcontrol. But reducing pesticide use has had an unin-tended side effect — the emergence of tarnished plantbugs and stink bugs as pests of cotton fields.

“On the one hand, it’s a good thing that we’vereached the point where we have low-insecticide man-agement systems,” said Aubrey Harris, MAFES ento-mologist. “But we’ve also opened the door for otherpests to create problems. We’ve seen this to be particu-larly true for the tarnished plant bug and stink bug incotton.”

Harris said in the past, insecticides used for caterpil-lar pests and the boll weevil deprived occasional pestslike tarnished plant bugs and stink bugs of the oppor-tunity to flourish. For example, in 1995, before theintroduction of Bt cottons and the Boll WeevilEradication Program in Mississippi, 95,218 acres ofthe state’s cotton fields were infested with stink bugs.In 2001, with lower pesticide inputs, 800,000 acreswere infested, elevating the stink bug to the status ofan “emerging pest.”

Finding a solution to these emerging pests that bal-ances environmental conservation with economicpracticability is the goal of Harris’ work. Last year, thescientist began assessing the use of crops, such as soy-beans, as traps for stink bugs.

“Stink bugs prefer maturing soybeans to cotton,”Harris said. “We wanted to find out whether we could

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Marco Nicovich

The Mississippi Delta is a majorrice-producing area in the U.S.

Flowering weeds, such as this vetch, harbor thetarnished plant bug, a cotton pest.

Marco Nicovich

Research Center

manipulate soybean planting dates and varieties sothat any stink bugs present in a field stay in soybeansand out of cotton.”

In 2001, Harris and his team tested this hypothesisusing soybean maturity groups IV and V as theirdecoy crop. The group sampled soybeans and cottonfor stink bugs during that year’s growing season.

Results from this preliminary work were encourag-ing, Harris said. “We managed to keep stink bugs insoybeans and away from cotton.”

Harris said the same strategy of varying plantingdates will not work for tarnished plant bugs, whichhave a wide host range — more than 300 host plantsare known — and move from wild host plants or cornto cotton early in the growing season. Instead, hethinks a strip or border of soybeans planted betweencorn and cotton plots may act as a temporary bufferto help manage this pest.

As part of his studies on tarnished plant bugcontrol, Harris is determining how the order in whichdifferent crops are planted influences pest numbersand developing management schemes based on hisfindings. Nonchemical pest management strategies areespecially important because the tarnished plant bug isresistant to a number of insecticides used in itscontrol.

“Newer insecticides may eventually be developedfor efficient control of the tarnished plant bug. Butthese same new products will probably be highly spe-cific for one class of insects, increasing the cost ofinputs from the need for multiple pesticide products,”Harris added. “Management becomes more central toeffective and economical pest control.”

Harris said he hopes results from his studies willallow the full benefit of the Boll Weevil EradicationProgram and insect-resistant crop technology to berealized.

“Eliminating key pests like the boll weevil andtobacco budworm removes the need for aggressiveintervention. This means that simple, environmentallyfriendly solutions including trap crops and the use ofnatural pests can be explored,” he said.

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Close-up of a cotton plant

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SURVEY SAYS — NEMATODES ON THE RISE

Another threat to cotton comes from pests so tiny that their presence is hard torecognize except by the trained eyes of laboratory personnel. Worse yet, commer-cially available cotton varieties have little to no resistance to these minusculeinvaders. A fact that has DREC scientists searching for the best and most accuratemethod to track and manage these pests.

Cotton nematodes are microscopic plant-parasitic worms that live in soil andfeed on the roots of cotton. Nematode root damage to cotton plants results instunting and can cause yield loss. Two of the most economically important speciesof these worms in Mississippi cotton fields are reniform and root-knot nematodes.

“The reniform nematode is a tropical nematode that has moved into Mississippiin the past 20 years and become a serious cotton pest,” said Gabe Sciumbato,MAFES plant pathologist. “Cotton yields have been decreasing for a number ofyears, and these nematodes may be one reason why.”

Soil analysis for nematodes is the best way to determine whether reniformnematodes are present in high enough numbers to cause yield losses. Becauseeffective nematode control depends on the accurate identification of the type andnumbers of nematodes in a field, Sciumbato and research assistant Fanny Liuassessed different methods of isolating nematodes from soil for lab analysis.

The scientists compared three common methods of extracting nematodes fromsoil samples. In one method, known as the Baermann funnel technique, soil sam-ples are placed on a filter held up by a screen over a funnel. Nematodes in thesample move through the soil, past the filter and into the funnel where they arecollected. A second method uses centrifugation and separates nematodes from soilparticles and organic matter based on their densities. The third technique com-bines sieving through a series of wire meshes, a process called elutriation, with cen-trifugation to concentrate the number of nematodes collected from a soil sample.

“Our results have shown that the combination of elutriation and centrifugationprovides the most efficient and reliable technique for us to extract reniform nema-todes,” Liu said.

Sciumbato and Liu have received a Research Enhancement Grant to survey fornumbers and species of nematodes in cotton-growing counties in Mississippi. DonBlasengame, retired Mississippi State University Extension Service plant patholo-gist, conducted the previous nematode surveys and is collecting soil samples forthe current effort. Three counties (Sharkey, LeFlore and Coahoma counties) weresurveyed in fall 2001, and an additional seven counties will be surveyed each yearafter.

“Sharkey County was the most heavily infested,” Liu said. “An estimated 88percent of the cotton fields were infested with reniform nematodes. We also founda slight increase in nematode populations for LeFlore and Coahoma counties com-pared with survey data from 10 years ago.”

The team is also working with help from research assistant Bart Freeland to mapeach collection site using global positioning systems (GPS) technology, which willallow the same site to be surveyed in the future. Survey results and GPS data willbe used to develop maps showing the location, numbers and species of nematodepresent.

In addition, Sciumbato is collaborating with Harris to develop nematicide treat-ment protocols for cotton growers. Crop rotation is the best method of nematodecontrol; however, this can be economically prohibitive unless a profitable nonhostcrop can be grown as an alternative. Sciumbato and Harris are working toward

Research assistant Fanny Liuprepares a soil sample for nematodeanalysis.

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Close-up of an elutriator. DRECresearchers use a combination ofelutriation and centrifugation toisolate nematodes.

This image shows a reniformnematode under a light microscope.

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other methods that growers can use to control nematodesand still make a profit.

“We’re looking for things that farmers can use rightnow to manage nematodes, including the incorporationof nematicides and the use of anhydrous ammonia as anitrogen source,” Sciumbato said. “Until cotton varietieswith nematode resistance are available commercially,crop rotation is the best method of nematode control.However, if crop rotation is not feasible, nematicidesmay be needed to reduce yield losses.”

OLD AND NEW TECHNIQUES FIGURE IN RICE

BREEDING

Producers know that the weather, diseases and pestscan wreak havoc in even the best managed fields, andrice farmers are no exception to this. MAFES researcherDwight Kanter is leading a rice breeding effort at theDREC to develop rice varieties that can stand up tothese challenges.

With more than 300,000 acres of rice fields — almostall of them in the Delta — Mississippi is the fifth largestrice-producing state in the nation. Kanter is working onfinding new rice varieties that have improved yield andgrowth characteristics, disease and pest resistance andbetter milling quality, traits that he says will help the riceindustry continue to grow in Mississippi.

“We’re continuously trying to raise the yield bar forrice and developing superior cultivars with tolerance orresistance to disease and insects without sacrificing onquality characteristics,” Kanter said.

Using locally adapted varieties and breeding lines, thetop breeding lines from other states, the national andinternational rice germplasm banks and what he calls hispersonal elite lines as his source of parental materials,Kanter has made thousands of crosses all in the name ofmaking improvements to currently available rice vari-eties.

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One major accomplishment from Kanter’s work wasthe development of the rice variety Priscilla. Priscilla isthe first semidwarf rice variety in Mississippi with fieldtolerance to sheath blight — a fungal disease thatreduces yields and milling quality. It yields an average of16 bushels per acre more than Lemont, which has beenthe most popular variety in the state for many years. In2000, three years after its commercial release, Priscillaaccounted for 27 percent of the state’s rice acreage.

Kanter said Priscilla took about 10 years in develop-ment using conventional breeding techniques. In recentyears, a winter nursery has been established to reducedevelopment time. In addition, Kanter hopes a one-yearmultistate collaborative project funded by the RiceFoundation will provide another technique to facilitatethe rice breeding process.

The project involving Mississippi, California, Florida,Missouri and Texas will explore the use of marker-assist-ed selection for economically important characteristics.In marker-assisted selection the location of known genet-ic sequences, so-called markers, are used to locate genescontrolling desirable traits.

The group will focus on plant type, blast disease resist-ance and grain quality (aroma) initially. Kanter said thetechnique offers the potential to more efficiently developnew rice varieties.

“In the case of blast disease resistance, for example, it’soften difficult to tell whether you have a variety that istruly resistant. The right field conditions have to be pres-ent during each test for a good blast infection,” Kantersaid. “Marker-assisted selection removes the environmen-tal variable. By looking at the markers present, you canpositively determine if a cultivar has the trait you’reinterested in.”

MAFES rice breeder Dwight Kanter examines arice variety growing in the DREC winter nursery.

Close-up of a maturingrice head.

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new fescue

By Linda Breazeale

esearchers are looking for the best of both worlds as they evaluate the benefits and risks of two

types of fescue when consumed by broodmares.Tall fescue is an important forage grass for horses

and is grown extensively throughout the southern andnortheastern United States. In the late 1980s, horseowners noticed increased foaling problems in marespastured on fescue infected with an endophyte (fun-gus). The endophyte is beneficial to the grass but pro-duces ergot alkaloids that are toxic to livestock andhorses. Horses are most susceptible to toxic fescueduring pregnancy.

“Some of the pregnancy complications include pla-cental thickening, prolonged gestations, complicateddeliveries, the absence or reduction of milk produc-tion and high foal mortality,” said Peter Ryan, assis-

tant professor at Mississippi StateUniversity and MAFES animal anddairy scientist. “Foal mortality isdue to dysmaturity and oxygendeprivation that may result frompoor blood flow to the placenta.Other problems with late-termfoals include larger body size,abnormal and excessive hoof devel-opment and a higher incidence ofstillborn births.”

MAFES researchers are in thethird year of a project to study theeffects of toxic, endophyte-infectedfescue; nontoxic, endophyte-infect-ed fescue; and endophyte-free fes-cue on pregnancies in horses.

R Late-term complicationsThe effects on late-term pregnancies were the focus

for researchers in the first two years. During 2000 and2001, 11 mares were grazed on toxic, endophyte-infected fescue, 11 were on nontoxic, endophyte-infected fescue and 12 were on endophyte-free fescue.Researchers collected blood and urine samples to per-form hormone (progesterone and prolactin) and ergotalkaloid analyses. Newborns and the placenta wereweighed at birth, and animal scientists watched forany abnormalities.

“Of the 11 mares on the nontoxic endophyte grass,only two had complications that were unrelated to fes-cue toxicity. Among the 12 mares on the endophyte-free pasture, only one required assistance during foal-ing,” Ryan said. “Among the 11 mares on the toxic,endophyte-infected grass, all but one experiencedcomplications, including retained placenta, prolongedgestation, reduced milk production (agalactic) andabortion, that were consistent with fescue toxicity.”

Data from both years confirmed an increased risk tothe foal when mares grazed on toxic fescue and mini-mal risk from the nontoxic, endophyte-infected fescueor the endophyte-free fescue.

Early-term exposureIn 2002, the third year of the study, researchers

placed eight mares on each type of pasture before theywere pregnant and kept them on those grasses toexamine complications. Mares were monitored forearly embryonic losses during the first 150 days ofgestation.

Ryan said early-term exposure has never been stud-ied thoroughly. The researchers wanted to determine ifpregnancy complications depended on when mareswere placed on the grasses.

“By mid to late spring of the first year, mares on thetoxic fescue were performing poorly; of the five marestested pregnant, two had lost their embryos. In thenontoxic fescue pasture, six mares were determined tobe pregnant and progressing normally,” Ryan said.

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foalingmay resolve

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CVM professor RichardHopper, left, MSU studentMarc Seitz, center, and MAFESanimal and dairy scientistPeter Ryan examine a pregnantmare pastured on nontoxic,endophyte-infected fescue.

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“The 2002 results of early-term exposure suggestincreased difficulties impregnating mares grazing toxicfescue. But we don’t have data from open mares moni-tored before and throughout their entire pregnancies,”he said. “This study will be repeated in the spring of2003.”

Past challengesThe need for this type of research was magnified by

extensive foal losses in Kentucky during the 2001foaling season. Ryan said 5 to 10 percent of the 2001foal crop was lost in Kentucky and neighboring states.An anticipated drop of 20 to 22 percent of the 2002crop is expected due to the higher-than-normal inci-dence of early embryonic loss in the spring of 2001.

“Scientists have not found conclusive evidence forwhat caused the massive losses in 2001. Weather pat-terns, tent caterpillar infestations and cyanide fromwild cherry trees have all been considered, as well astoxic fescue,” he said. “Bluegrass is more sensitive tocold weather, so there may have been more fescuethan normal last year.”

Future hopesOther universities have conducted studies on the

effect of fescue on horses and cattle, but MSU is thefirst to study the effect of nontoxic, endophyte-infect-ed fescue on horses. The grass is marketed byPennington Seed under the name Max-Q. PenningtonSeed and MAFES are cosponsoring the study.

David Lang, associate professor of plant and soil sci-ences, is part of the team analyzing the grass. Jessup isone of two varieties of nontoxic, endophyte-infectedfescues developed by Mississippi native and MSUalumnus Joe Bouton, now a professor of agronomy atthe University of Georgia. Researchers are monitoringthe toxicity in fescue throughout its use from pastureto hay.

“In the toxic, endophyte-infected fescue, the toxinis present throughout the growing process and even inthe hay after harvest. In the nontoxic varieties, the

toxins remain near zero throughout the entire growingperiod,” Lang said.

“Endophyte-infected fescue has greater standsurvival, increased yield, improved seedingperformance, increased insect resistance and enhanceddrought tolerance,” Lang said. “The hardy nature ofthe endophyte-infected fescue seems to make it theideal choice for livestock forage. However, cattle,sheep and horses all exhibit various problems relatedto fescue toxicosis.”

Sheep that are grazed on infected pastures havereduced reproductive efficiency, but they are less criti-cally affected than cattle. Fescue toxicosis in cattle ele-vates body temperature and respiration rates and leadsto reduced milk production and poor reproductiveperformance. Vascular constriction, or reduced bloodflow to extremities, can cause cattle to lose parts oftheir ears and tails and lead to hoof sloughing.

“We need to find the best of both worlds — a grassthat is hardy in hot, humid areas, yet will not causehealth problems in livestock,” Lang said.

Study partners“You cannot do a study of this magnitude without

the help of many people. Countless students and oth-ers took part in late-night foal watches and data gath-ering,” Ryan said. “Other researchers from the animaland dairy science department include Brian Rude andScott Willard. From the College of VeterinaryMedicine, David Christiansen, Richard Hopper andDan Scruggs were very important in the research.”

Researchers at other universities also were involved.“Ergot alkaloids were sent to Nick Hill at the

University of Georgia for analysis, and Carol Bagnellat Rutgers University studied the relaxin componentthat impacts placental dysfunction,” Ryan said.

Jim Lytle

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

military strategist would tell you that know-ing your enemy is critical for success on the

battlefield. MAFES scientists are applying this strategyto wage a war on a marauding pest.

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermesformosanus, is a nonnative species of termite. Expertsconsider it to be one of the most aggressive anddestructive species of termite in the world.

It’s believed this pest first entered the southeasternUnited States on crated military supplies returningfrom the Pacific theater after World War II. Sincethen, Formosan subterranean termites have spreadfrom their initial points of entry in New Orleans andLake Charles, La.; Galveston and Houston, Texas; andCharleston, S.C., into nine Southeastern states.Formosan subterranean termites are also present inCalifornia and Hawaii, and it appears that this termitemay be spreading beyond these borders, furtherthrough the country.

MAFES and other Mississippi State University sci-entists are working to determine the extent and severi-ty of Formosan subterranean termite infestation inMississippi and changes to the population over time,and to assess methods of termite management andcontrol. These studies may uncover a chink in the ter-mite’s armor that could be used in the development ofmethods to control this pest.

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Neighborhood watch targets intrudersOne method of termite control that is being evalu-

ated is an area-wide management strategy. CathyHollomon, MAFES environmental scientist, is part ofa team at the Coastal Research and Extension Centerthat is assessing this strategy in partnership withOperation Full Stop, the national campaign againstFormosan subterranean termites led by the U.S.Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural ResearchService (ARS).

Unlike native subterranean termites, Formosan sub-terranean termites do not have to return to under-ground nests after foraging. If sufficient moisture isavailable, for example from leaking pipes, this speciescan build nests above ground in walls or live trees.Formosan subterranean termites are not restricted todead trees and processed wood for food — any materi-al containing wood fiber, or cellulose, is a potentialfood source for this species. And because of the largesize of Formosan subterranean termite colonies, thispest consumes more wood than its native cousin.

To prevent further destruction and infestation byFormosan subterranean termites, project scientists havedesigned and are assessing an area-wide termite controlapproach. This strategy protects all structures within agiven area or neighborhood by eliminating or reducingthe size of the termite colony. Conventional barriertreatment methods only protect individual structuresand don’t reduce or eliminate a colony.

Formosan subterranean termites are social insectsthat forage over wide areas and develop more extensivecolonies than native species. Because of this behavior,scientists say treating single buildings to manageFormosan subterranean termite activity is not an effec-tive method of control. The colonies continue to growand the termites find sustenance elsewhere, destroyingbuildings and infrastructure along the way.

“With an area-wide approach to termite control, theentire colony is affected, not just individual termites.So, this approach should eliminate or at least reducethe threat of further infestation,” Hollomon said.

In earlier studies, Hollomon and colleagues investi-gated the extent of the Formosan subterranean termite

control introduced control introduced

Jennifer Carroll, CREC

Research technician David Lee checks an under-ground bait station for termites.

termites

problem in Mississippi. Using sticky trap monitoring stations to survey for alates —the winged, reproductive form of termites — the team confirmed the presence ofFormosan subterranean termites in Mississippi. Ongoing annual surveys are providinga measure of the spread and severity of Formosan subterranean termites in the state.

“Based on our survey for the presence of alates, we also determined the locations forthe area-wide management studies,” Hollomon said.

The scientists established 12 study sites within neighborhoods at the Keesler AirForce Base in Biloxi and began monthly monitoring for Formosan subterranean ter-mites in September 2000. Each study site has underground bait stations placed in agrid pattern around centers of high alate capture. Since March 2001, monitoring sta-tions with positive hits for Formosan subterranean termites have been baited. The baitused is made up of a matrix developed by ARS scientists, and laced with difluben-zuron, a toxin that disrupts formation of the termite’s outer shell. Hollomon said forag-ing worker termites, which provide food for the colony, bring the toxin back to thenest and contaminate other members of the colony.

“The toxin eventually kills termites that have visited the baited monitoring stationsand consequently others in the colony, including the queen,” she said.

“So far, our preliminary data look promising, but we need to continue with thesearea-wide studies to see how effective the method is.”

In the meantime, alate monitoring studies to track the occurrence and spread ofFormosan subterranean termites in Mississippi continue each spring. As a result of thiswork, Hollomon and coworkers have also confirmed the spread of Formosan subter-ranean termites into forested areas.

“This is the first time we have seen spread from urban areas into naturally forestedareas,” said Jennifer Carroll, MAFES research associate. “We’re excited about this find-ing because these colonies provide us with a ‘field lab’ to study the behavior ofFormosan subterranean termites in natural environments, away from man-made struc-tures.”

Scientists involved in the project hope their studies in the “field lab” and with thearea-wide management systems will lead to effective baiting techniques and methods todetect termite activity and to eliminate Formosan subterranean termite populations.

Planned reunion brings termites and natural enemies togetherBecause the Formosan subterranean termite is not native to the U.S., it has no natu-

ral predator in this country. MSU forest products scientist Susan Diehl is working withARS scientists to identify organisms from the termite’s original home that might beused as biological control agents.

In its native land, enemies like the fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveriabassiana keep the Formosan subterranean termite in check. Diehl is screening fungi iso-lated from soil and termite samples collected in China by her ARS collaborators forthese and other natural foes. SPR

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Research assistant Lynn Prewitt inoculates anagar plate with a candidate termite biologicalcontrol agent.

Visiting research scientist Larry Etheridge prepares a sticky trapfor the alate monitoring studies.

Technician Jimmy Spigener sets upa sticky trap monitoring station.

These liquid cultures couldcontain natural fungal enemies ofthe Formosan subterraneantermite.

pestpest Marco Nicovich

Jennifer Carroll, CRECJennifer Carroll, CREC

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By Charmain Tan Courcelle

xperiment Station researchers are determining whether fungi are responsible for some of the

seedling diseases and low grain yields seen inMississippi.

Larry Trevathan, MAFES plant pathologist, is iden-tifying fungal species common to corn production sys-tems in Mississippi and looking for a link betweenfungal occurrence in the roots of this crop and subse-quent seedling disease.

Plant-infecting fungi are found commonly in agri-cultural soil where they use crop residue as a source ofnutrition during the winter and between crops. Thesefungi can also be found in untreated seed. Whilefungicides have been somewhat effective as controlagents, their success depends on timely and accuratediagnosis of a fungal disease — a task made difficultby the similarity of symptoms for different diseases.

“We initially wanted to identify fungal pathogensthat are most active under the corn production sys-tems found in the state,” Trevathan said. “A secondgoal was to find fungal species that might be useful inthe future as agents of biological control.”

One challenge facing researchers is that fungus-infected plants do not always show outward signs ofdisease.

“In most cases, you find visually discernible symp-toms of a fungal infection,” Trevathan said. “Butsometimes you don’t see symptoms at all, and you’releft with the question, ‘is this variety growing and pro-ducing yields to its full potential or is it infected with

Diehl’s team at MSU isisolating individual microbialspecies from each ARS sam-ple. Her group will thendetermine the best culture,or growth, conditions thatwill allow accurate identifica-

tion of candidate biological control agents based ontheir composition and concentration of fatty acids, amolecular component of cells.

Diehl said the task of identifying helpful fungalspecies rapidly is made difficult because there is limit-ed information about fungi that can cause disease intermites and other insects, so-called entomopathogenicfungi.

“Most identification databases are for medicallyimportant fungal species,” she said. “We hope toimprove the current fungal pathogen databases, whichshould increase our ability to pull out fungi that seempromising as termite biocontrol agents.”

Improvements to the databases will also provide ananalytical tool to identify fungal isolates or strains thatmay be hazardous, she added.

The screening process is the first step in a long bat-tery of tests that any potential biocontrol agent needsto pass before it can be adopted for use. Once Diehl’steam has provided ARS scientists with a list of poten-tial agents and their identifying characteristics, her col-laborators will need to determine whether their biolo-gy and host range make them safe for use in theUnited States — nonthreatening to humans, animals,native plants and beneficial insects.

“After these extensive tests, the final challenge willbe whether we can introduce a termite pathogen thatcan survive conditions in New Orleans or anywhereelse that it’s introduced, that can be incorporated aspart of a bait system and that will be effective inkilling Formosan subterranean termites,” Diehl con-cluded.

Editor’s Note: Cathy Hollomon has relocated outsidethe U.S. The Formosan subterranean termite project atthe Coastal Research and Extension Center is beingcontinued by Carroll, MAFES scientists LindaAndrews and Christine Coker, and other research per-sonnel at the station.

Researchers Seek to ControlIntroduced Pest (continued)

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fungus,disease,yield

Study Searches for

Connection

disease-causing and nonpathogenic members in hissamples.

“That means there’s the potential to characterizeboth fungal pathogens and control agents out of

the same population,” he said.Nonpathogenic species of fungi could be

used to competitively exclude or displace dis-ease-causing members from crops, Trevathansaid. They could also “prime” a plant’s anti-

fungal defenses.For the next phase of his studies, Trevathan

will determine whether the presence of seedling dis-ease fungal pathogens influences the development ofstalk rot, a disease of mature corn that reduces yieldsand can result in plant death. He said work in otherstates suggests some fungal species that cause seedlingdisease have roles in stalk rot, but such a connectionhas not been investigated in Mississippi corn produc-tion systems.

Another question that Trevathan would like toanswer is related to the role of environmental stress onplant pathogen infection. Moisture is the number-onelimiting factor to corn production in Mississippi. Onemanagement strategy that has been adopted to addressthis problem is early planting, he said.

“But if you plant early, there is more stress on theplant from the cool to cold, moist to wet soil condi-tions. We want to know whether this stress provides anadvantage to plant pathogens that would be removedif planting isaccomplished at alater date.”

Trevathan saidhe believes theresults from thisand future stud-ies will help pro-ducers developimproved pestmanagementpractices forfungi and givethem confidenceto make adjust-ments in produc-tion practices.

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13a fungal species that is not causing symptoms but isaffecting plant productivity?’”

In a three-year study, Trevathan looked at the effectof tillage systems (no-till and conventional), soil types(silty clay and silt loam soils) and planting date on thepopulation and variety of fungal species found in corn.He also collected corn seedlings at three, 10, 17 and28 days after planting to determine which fungalspecies are important disease agents at different timesin the seedling stage of the plant life cycle and theeffect infecting fungi have on subsequent grain yield.

“We found Fusarium species consistently inMississippi soils and most frequently in silty clay. Thisis important because members of the Fusarium genusare some of the most serious seedling diseasepathogens in the state,” Trevathan said. “Trichodermaspecies were another well-represented class of fungi.”

Results from this study showed a correlationbetween the incidence of fungal root infection andseedling disease severity. Trevathan also saw the highestincidence of seedling disease in tilled plots planted onthe latest corn-planting date in silty clay soil.

He did not find a connection between root infec-tion and yield or between disease severity and yield.Instead, corn grain yields appeared to be most affectedby the type of tillage system used. No-till systems pro-duced consistently higher grain yields on the silty clayand silt loam soils.

The researcher said his most significant finding,however, was the presence of fungi that have both

Research associate Maria Tomaso-Peterson uses alight microscope to identify fungal species based ontheir physical characteristics.

Graduate research assistant Lucas Pitreand Tomaso-Peterson examine a platecontaining fungi isolated from cornseedlings.

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The corn earworm is an agricultural pest that costsfarmers in the South an estimated $2 billion annuallyin crop losses and chemical control expenses. Althoughcorn is the earworm’s preferred host, cotton, tomatoes,soybeans and other plants can also serve as foodsources for this pest.

Several generations of corn earworm develop everyyear in Mississippi and the rest of the South. Corn ear-worm populations increase with each successive gener-ation and as the season progresses. Ma’s approachcould help reduce the pest’s numbers while providingthe same environment-friendly advantage seen withpheromone release.

Ma is studying an insect neuropeptide that affectsthe synthesis of sex pheromones in the corn earworm.Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide(PBAN) is a short peptide sequence (33 amino acids)that is processed from a larger precursor proteintogether with four other related peptides. Ma’s firsttask is to determine whether PBAN functions alone orin some combination with its sister peptides to regu-late sex pheromone production.

“We want to know what the peptide profile is whensex pheromone is at its peak in the earworm’s blood —is only PBAN present? Or are there other peptides inthe blood as well?” Ma said. “This should help usunderstand how the switch for pheromone productionworks.”

Because the amount of circulating PBAN andPBAN-related neuropeptides is diluted in the insect’sblood, Ma has adapted an existing chemical separationtechnique — micro-high performance liquid chro-matography (micro-HPLC) — to increase the sensitiv-ity of peptide detection and isolation in his samples.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

heromones — those chemicals that stimulate courtship, mating and other social behavior in ani-

mals and insects — may one day be manipulated tomanage the corn earworm. MAFES entomologist PeterMa is discovering how the corn earworm pheromoneproduction pathway is wired and searching for ways toshort-circuit the process in the insect.

Controlling agricultural pests through theirpheromones is not a new strategy. In the past, saturat-ing amounts of pheromones have been discharged inorchards and fields to jam the come-hither signal sentby female moths. The released cloud of syntheticpheromone effectively damps any individual scent trailleft by a female, preventing the male moth from find-ing a mate — a process known as mating disruption.

However, while pheromone release presents anattractive ecological approach to insect control, effec-tive and practical methods of distributing this familyof chemicals are still being developed. These efforts aremade even more complex because the success of thepheromone-release technique depends on the physicalcharacteristics — slope, shape, size, wind conditionsand canopy — of the orchard or field to be treated.Ma’s solution is to prevent any of the sex attractantfrom being made in the insect at all.

“If we can disrupt the synthesis of pheromone, wecan in theory interfere with mating and egg laying,”Ma said.

Pheromone RegulationProvides Key to

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Jim Lytle

MAFES entomologist Peter Ma injects asample of insect blood into a micro-highperformance liquid chromatograph.

corn earwormcontrol

corn earwormcontrol

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The identity of each HPLC-purified peptide is then confirmed using matrix-assisted laser desorp-tion/ionization mass spectrometry, which gives an accurate measurement of molecular masses in bio-logical tissues and individual cells, Ma said.

Using these techniques, Ma has determined which cells in the corn earworm produce PBAN andits sister neuropeptides. He has also found that while sex pheromone is used by female moths toattract males, PBAN, which controls sex pheromone production, is made in both females and males.And the neuropeptide is made in corn earworm larvae, which don’t have pheromone glands.

“This suggests PBAN may have other functions besides sex pheromone regulation, which aredependent on the growth stage of the insect,” Ma said.

If this is true, scientists may have yet another way of stopping the corn earworm by interferingwith its development from caterpillar to adult moth.

Previous work that Ma was involved in showed corn earworms infected with baculovirus — aninsect pathogen — carrying the PBAN precursor protein survived for a shorter amount of time (areduction of 19 to 26 percent depending on insect growth stage) than those infected with a controlbaculovirus. Ma said he hopes an improvement in the killing efficiency of baculovirus can be madebased on his new studies of the PBAN peptide family.

The gene encoding PBAN is found in other insects, such as cockroaches and flies, and arthropodslike ticks and centipedes as well, Ma said. So, information on PBAN gene function in the corn ear-worm may also apply to other insect and arthropod pests.

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Ma holds an adult female corn earworm. The specialized glandthat produces pheromones is shown at the end of the tweezers.Inset: Pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide is pro-duced in three different cell clusters within the corn earwormneuroendocrine system, indicated here by the dark stain.

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By Charmain Tan Courcelle

That raw oyster appetizer might sound tempting, butyou may want to consider eating it later in a meal. MAFESfood microbiologist Douglas Marshall has found eating rawoysters on an empty stomach can increase the risk of foodpoisoning. And taking an antacid beforehand could makethe situation even worse.

Marshall led a team that determined the effect ofantacids on the survival of Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterialpathogen found naturally in oysters and other shellfish, inthe stomach and intestines. The study was part of a largereffort to understand how this potentially deadly bacteriuminteracts with its environment.

“Infection with Vibrio vulnificus is very rare, but if youget it, you have about a 40 percent chance of dying,”Marshall said. “So, why do some people get V. vulnificusand die, while for most it’s no big deal, they don’t get sickand they never know they were exposed?”

One reason most people never get food poisoning fromV. vulnificus is the bacterium can’t survive the trip throughthe acid environment of the stomach. Marshall said hewanted to know whether this would change if that acidicenvironment became altered by antacids.

“We know there’s an increased risk of infection withother common food-borne pathogens when antacids areconsumed because of reduced stomach acidity. What wedidn’t know when we started this study was how V. vulnifi-cus would behave in a less aggressive stomach environ-ment,” Marshall said.

Unable to find a suitable model of the human gastroin-testinal tract for their studies, Marshall and his team con-structed their own system out of glass beakers, circulatingpumps, a warm water bath and solutions that mimic thedigestive fluids found in the stomach and intestines.

“Our model simulates the dynamics of the gastrointesti-nal system and allows us to follow food as it passes throughthe ‘stomach’ and ‘intestine,”’ Marshall said.

Mississippi State University has applied for a patent forthe group’s invention.

The team added sterilized, raw oysters that had been“chewed” in a blender with a simulated saliva solution to

raw oysters Mix of

The mechanical gut mimics the action of thehuman gastrointestinal tract.

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the mechanical digestive system. They then added V.vulnificus at levels found in Gulf Coast oysters and theequivalent of two teaspoons of liquid antacid to thestomach.

Samples from the device’s stomach and intestinalcompartments were tested for living V. vulnificus cellsat regular intervals after the “meal.” The researchersalso assessed the survival of a phage of V. vulnificus,which is being considered as a biological control agentfor the pathogen.

Results from the bacterial growth assays showed V.vulnificus was eliminated from the stomach within 30minutes. But when antacid was used, Marshall’s groupcould find surviving bacteria in the stomach for up totwo hours — the antacid-neutralized environment hadlittle effect on the pathogen’s numbers.

However, the V. vulnificus phage was more resistantto acidic environments than its host and showedpromise as a biological control agent, Marshall said.

More surprising to the team was what they found inthe intestinal compartment. V. vulnificus that survivedthe stomach’s acid treatment were able to quickly mul-tiply within the intestinal compartment. Up to 100million V. vulnificus cells could be found in a milliliterof intestinal fluid. With antacid use, this numberincreased another tenfold.

“The liquid content of the stomach empties into theintestinal tract quickly in the first 10 to 20 minutes ofeating,” Marshall said. “Because oysters are semisolidand eaten as appetizers, they would most likely emptyfrom the stomach easily.”

Marshall explained this rapid stomach emptying ratewould decrease the amount of time V. vulnificus wasexposed to stomach acid and allow living bacteria tobe delivered to the intestine where they could readilymultiply.

“Even a meal of just one oyster could carry morethan 100,000 V. vulnificus,” Marshall said.

Because the stomach’s emptying rate slows as morefood is ingested to allow the small intestine to com-plete its processing of the stomach’s contents, V. vul-

nificus bacteria consumed after the first 30 minutes ofeating would more likely be exposed to gastric acid.

“So, individuals, and especially high-risk individuals,may want to eat oysters later in a meal to give the acidin their stomachs a chance to kill the bacterium,” hesaid.

Marshall conducted this research with then-graduateresearch assistant Jaheon Koo and research scientistAngelo DePaola of the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration’s Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory.Results from this research were published in Appliedand Environmental Microbiology.

& antacidsCan Spell Disease

MAFES food microbiologistDouglas Marshall treats anoyster sample before adding itto a simulated digestive tract.

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By Bonnie Coblentz

ne of many changes in agriculture is a move to produce crops with specific traits for particular end uses, but pro-

ducing those crops can be risky business.An identity-preserved crop is one in which specific genetic

traits are known to exist. Special steps have been taken in buy-ing, planting, harvesting and storing the genetically modifiedseed to ensure crops with these traits are not mixed with othercrops.

Darren Hudson, MAFES agricultural economist, recentlystudied the extra costs and risks associated with growing iden-tity-preserved crops.

“Advances in biotechnology have allowed for the productionof crops that are tailored toward the needs of the end con-sumer,” Hudson said. “Convincing producers to grow thesecrops can be a challenge because they are new, and there areadded costs.”

Examples of genetically modified crops with carefully pre-served identities include golden rice, high-lysine soybeans, andhigh-oil corn and soybeans. The high-oil grains and high-lysine soybeans are used to improve feed productivity, andgolden rice is high in vitamin A.

When farmers plant a crop with specific genetically modi-fied traits, that grain must be tracked at all points and separat-ed from traditional grains in storage. Because the grain has

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adds cost & value to cropspreserving identity

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From left to right, BASF Corporation research scientistBobby Watkins, MAFES weed scientists Dan Reynolds andDavid Shaw, BASF Corporation research scientist AlvinRhodes and Jud Skelton, director of development for agricul-ture and life sciences at MSU, pause in front of a mobilechemical handling unit donated by BASF Corporation forsafe pesticide handling.

certain known, special traits, it can be sold for a premium, butthere are also added production costs.

“There are physical costs of having to maintain separateequipment and storage, and the farmer has to devote time andenergy into developing a procedure to follow to be able todocument these separate measures,” Hudson said. “We don’tknow what all the added costs are at this point because someof these products aren’t on the market yet.”

Hudson cowrote a study on the cost of identity preservationwith Tom Jones, retired agricultural economist withMississippi State University’s Extension Service. This study,which appeared in the December 2001 issue of the Journal ofAgricultural and Applied Economics, estimated the added pro-duction cost of identity preserved soybeans to average 46 centsa bushel in Mississippi.

Because of this added cost and without a guarantee thatthere will be a continuing market for genetically modifiedcrops, many producers are hesitant to produce identity-pre-served crops.

“Since a lot of these products are not on the market, pro-ducers don’t have a full idea of what the intrinsic costs are.Most are being grown under contract at this point,” Hudsonsaid. “There’s always risk, but identity preservation itself doesnot add a lot of price risk. The risk is if you invest money inseeders or on-farm storage and you have a one-year contract,who’s to say they’re going to come back next year with anothercontract.”

Uncertainties in the market are mostly due to the new tech-nologies’ progress through the approval process and theacceptance or skepticism they receive from consumers.

“As the markets develop, there is some concern whetherbuyers will be there, but as the markets stabilize, the risks asso-ciated with producing the identity-preserved crop lessen andthe premiums paid for the crop will likely decline,” Hudsonsaid.

The number of Mississippi producers growing identity-pre-served crops is low, but so is the number of identity-preservedproducts available. Hudson said he expects both the numberof such products to grow, and with it, the number of stateproducers growing these crops.

“I think Mississippi producers are looking at the processwith a healthy skepticism and are carefully examining the costsand benefits to them,” Hudson said.

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By Charmain Tan Courcelle

Spatial technologies haveprovided producers andagribusinesses new methods tomanage their crops, animalsand land. But the same tech-nologies have also presented anumber of challenges, includ-ing how to manage the infor-mation generated. MAFES sci-entists met last winter to assesstheir efforts at helping growersface these problems.

Working under the auspicesof the USDA-funded AdvancedSpatial Technologies in Agriculture (ASTA) project, the group of 20MAFES scientists are exploring how best to use spatial information inthe areas of soil fertility, pest management and animal and aquacultureproduction. Members of this group are also developing engineeringtechnologies that will improve accuracy and facilitate automation inthese systems.

David Laughlin, MAFES agricultural economist and ASTA projectcoordinator, said the conference provided project scientists the opportu-nity to evaluate their progress, as well as the progress of their peers, andto identify future research priorities and directions. In addition, a panelof industry and academic scientists with similar research programs fromoutside of Mississippi State University helped review the project.

“Another goal for the conference was to promote communicationamong scientists involved in different aspects of the project and toencourage new collaborations,” Laughlin said.

The ASTA project has grown from an initial set of eight subprojectsin 1997, which was the first year of funding, to more than 20 projectsin 2001. Over its five-year history, the project has brought more than$3.5 million in federal grants to MSU and provided leveraging for otherfunds.

Laughlin said spatial technologies have changed the face of agricul-ture. At MSU, scientists are using remote sensing, yield monitors andglobal positioning systems and geographic information systems tech-nologies to address agribusiness needs and to assist with decision makingin precision farming and natural resource management.

“The ASTA project addresses the breadth of issues facing our produc-ers in this state, but the results of this research will also apply to otherareas of the country,” he said.

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Conference AssessesSpace-Based Research Efforts

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

July 9, 2002Turfgrass Research Field Day,

MSU August 8, 2002

Agronomic Row Crops Field Day,North Miss. R&E Center, Verona

August 14, 2002Cotton Field Day,

Delta R&E Center, Stoneville August 15, 2002

Rice and Soybean Field Day,Delta R&E Center, Stoneville

Sept. 28, 2002North Miss. Garden Expo,

North Miss. R&E Center, Verona Oct. 18-19, 2002

Fall Flower & Garden Festival, Truck Crops Branch,

Crystal SpringsNovember 21, 2002

MSU-MAFESAnnual Production Sale, MSU

ASTA project coordinator DavidLaughlin, left, enjoys a conversationwith Remote Sensing TechnologiesCenter director David Shaw during aconference break.

MSU Ag ResearchRanks in Top Five

A report from the National ScienceFoundation ranks Mississippi State fifth in thenation in funding for research in the agricultur-al sciences.

The university generated $68.4 million inresearch and development expenditures for theagricultural sciences in fiscal year 2000, anincrease of almost 18 percent over fiscal year1999 figures. MSU previously ranked eighth inagricultural sciences research.

Vance Watson, interim vice president for theMSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry andVeterinary Medicine and MAFES director, saidthe achievement reflects the commitment thestate has to agriculture and the economicimportance of the agricultural sector inMississippi and the region.

“Our move up to the No. 5 spot is a directresult of the dedication of our faculty and staff.They have stepped up and leveraged the invest-ment made by the state of Mississippi. Theircommitment has increased the quality and levelof agricultural research conducted at this uni-versity,” Watson said.

Agricultural research dollars at MSU aredivided among MAFES, the College ofVeterinary Medicine, Forest and WildlifeResearch Center and MSU Extension Service,which provides the university’s main outreacheffort.

Other universities included in the top five listare the University of California at Davis ($128million), University of Georgia ($87.4 million),University of Florida ($87.3 million) and NorthCarolina State University ($70.1 million).

Jim Lytle

By Bonnie Coblentz

Two MAFES researchers helped compile a reference book series on variousaspects of cotton production.

Charles Snipes and Aubrey Harris were authors and editors in the CottonFoundation Reference Book Series, published by the Cotton Foundation, anaffiliate of the National Cotton Council. Snipes coauthored three chapters andwas one of two editors for the edition on harvest management. Harriscoauthored a chapter on boll weevil eradication in Mississippi and was one ofsix editors for the edition on boll weevil eradication.

“We tried to write in terms that would be beneficial to a large group, including university researchers, consultantsand growers,” Snipes said.

Cotton Harvest Management: Use and Influence of Harvest Aids, book five of the series, is based on five years ofresearch conducted in 11 to 15 locations across the Cotton Belt. Data from this research were used to substantiate theharvest aid management procedures discussed. Snipes, plant physiologist and weed scientist at the Delta Research andExtension Center (DREC) in Stoneville, worked on this book.

Harris worked with James Smith, DREC head, to write a chapter about boll weevil eradication in Mississippi. Thechapter appears in book six of the series, titled Boll Weevil Eradication in the United States since 1999. The book empha-sizes the people, places and events in the boll weevil eradication story.

“The audience will be researchers, Extension specialists and agents, policy makers interested in the boll weevil eradi-cation program and its application to future regional programs, and many growers,” Harris said. “This is probably thebiggest region-wide pest management program that has ever been implemented.”

The Southeastern Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation named Harris to the committee of six that organized and edit-ed the book. Since 1995, Harris has been chairman of the Mississippi Boll Weevil Eradication Technical AdvisoryCommittee. He is a research entomologist at the DREC.

The Cotton Foundation released these reference books in December 2001.

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MAFES Researchers Writefor Cotton Books

The Rotifer is a self-propelledrotary excavator that can make athree-by-three-foot trench at a rateof approximately three feet perminute depending on soil condi-tions. It uses lasers to guide theposition and depth of a rotary cut-ting device during drainage ditchformation and maintenance.Included in the Rotifer design is anadjustable shield that directs thespray of excavated soil (the spoils).

“The original intent for the exca-vator was to help make drainageditches or to make them performbetter,” said MAFES agricultural

Inventor’s Gift Holds Engineering Promise

MAFES scientists Aubrey Harris,left, and Charles Snipes pose withthe books they helped author andedit.

By Charmain Tan Courcelle

Mississippi State University engi-neers will improve and develop newapplications for a recently patentedrotary excavator.

Norman Haigh of Natchez saidhe invented the rotary excavator —called a Rotifer in the patent appli-cation — to address the need for afast, efficient and economicalmethod for draining land in floodplains like the Mississippi Deltabefore development. He assigned 50percent of the patent rights to hisinvention to MSU.

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From left to right, North Farmsuperintendent Mitchell Roberts,MAFES agricultural engineerFilip To, Rotifer inventorNorman Haigh and MSUmechanical engineering professorBill Jones discuss applications forthe patented excavator.

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Fishy supports historical and simulatedinformation with preprogrammed back-ground data. Producers enter historicaldata such as feed given, fingerlingsstocked and fish moved. Simulated infor-mation includes such future aspects asharvest schedules and potential fish pro-duction. Background data includes feedconversion ratios and feeding calendars.

Killcreas is urging catfish farmers whoaren’t already using the free software tobegin before the production season getsunder way this year.

“Fishy can be used to book your feedfor next year,” Killcreas said. “Feed need-ed, coupled with current feed price, canbe used to aid in obtaining a line of creditthis year.”

The current version provides simplescreens to allow users to enter data forfixed costs such as land and equipmentand annual operating expenses. Thesedata are combined with Fishy simulateddata to estimate future profitability of thefish farm.

By Bonnie Coblentz

Catfish producers have an updated toolto help them remain afloat in financialhard times.

Fishy 2002 is the latest version of com-puter software developed in1982 atMississippi State University to aid theaquaculture industry. Wallace Killcreas,Fishy programmer and MAFES agricul-tural economist, said the program aidsmanagement and decision making.

“Adequate records and up-to-date man-agement tools are essential in any agricul-tural operation in good and bad times,”Killcreas said. “Good records are a neces-sity for income tax preparation, for mak-ing decisions on whom to do businesswith and in deciding how to best managefuture production.”

Fishy 2002, like its predecessors, keepsrecords of all aspects of fish production,and it analyzes and makes reports thatallow farmers to track fish numbers, feed-ings, weights and sizes.

Farmers can use Fishy to schedulefuture harvests if they enter current dataon each pond. This allows producers toknow which pond to harvest next if aparticular pond cannot be harvested.

“By diligently entering data such asfeed fed, fish stocked, fish lost, fishmoved and fish harvested every week,Fishy will accumulate records and giveyou reports from your farm that will helpyou plan for next year,” Killcreas said.

Fishy’s chronological pond report canprovide detailed information on all of aparticular pond’s events. If a pond is apoor producer, the farmer can review thepond report and possibly develop newmanagement strategies to improve it.

“Since feed is still nearly 50 percent offish production cost, Fishy provides forclose feed scrutiny,” Killcreas said.

One of Fishy’s more popular features isits cost. It can be downloaded free fromMSU at www.agecon.msstate.edu/wek, orproducers can call (662) 325-2672 toorder a copy on CD.

Updated Fishy Software Supports Catfish Industry

engineer Filip To. “But there areopportunities for many other uses.For example, the excavator could beused to construct building founda-tions or to build and maintainwater, sewage and other pipelines.

“The technology can also be fit-ted with other mechanisms to allowthe excavating and transporting ofspoils to be performed in one opera-tion — a cost-saving capability formany applications.”

To leads a team effort to extendthe range of applications for theexcavator. During the first phase ofdevelopment, the group will auto-

mate navigation and control of therotary cutting device, which nowhas to be steered by the excavatoroperator. They will also adapt thetechnology for other nonfarm oper-ating environments.

“This rotary excavator is a good‘platform’ on which other applica-tions can be developed,” To said.“We’re very excited about theopportunity to further develop thistechnology. We would like to inviteand work with equipment manufac-turers to explore the possibilities.”

MSU owns a full-scale workingprototype of the excavator that was

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The Rotifer sprays the spoils froma newly formed ditch.

built by Bobby Ewing of Jonesville,La., and donated by Haigh.University researchers will use theprototype in field tests and duringdevelopment studies.

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A Mississippi State University weed scientist was namedFellow of the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA),one of the highest distinctions a member of the Kansas-based organization can achieve.

David Shaw, MAFES weed scientist, received the honorduring the society’s recent annual awards program in Reno,Nev. He was cited for his research accomplishments in theareas of remote sensing applications in agriculture, weedcontrol and weed management, as well as his leadership inthe field of weed science.

WSSA was founded in 1956 and has 2,500 memberslocated around the country. The professional organizationpromotes the development of weed science and technologyand provides support for weed science research, education,extension and regulatory efforts.

“To be inducted as a Fellow into your professional socie-ty is an honor and indicates that your peers respect and

acknowledge your superior contri-bution to your field,” said FrankMatta, MSU’s interim head ofplant and soil sciences. “Dr. DavidShaw has made significant contributions to weed scienceresearch and to the Weed Science Society of America. It isfitting that he is recognized for his outstanding accomplish-ments.”

Shaw, a Mississippi native who grew up in Oklahoma,received his bachelor’s degree from Cameron Universityand his master’s degree and doctorate from Oklahoma StateUniversity.

He joined the MSU faculty in 1985 and has served asdirector of the Remote Sensing Technologies Center sinceits creation on the MSU campus in 1999. Shaw is aWilliam L. Giles Distinguished Professor.

MSU Researcher Honored for WeedScience Research

Agricultural Library nearWashington, D.C. It also selectsindividuals for the National PoultryHall of Fame.

Thaxton is a former Huntsville,Ala., resident who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees fromMississippi University for Women and a doctorate fromAuburn University. She joined the MSU faculty in 1999 afterthree decades in the poultry industry.

While the United States is the world’s largest producer andexporter of poultry meat, Thaxton said chickens are not nativeto this country. “They first appeared in early America as ‘leftover’ provisions on ships from Europe,” she added.

Thaxton said the U.S. industry came into being during themid-20th century with the selling of birds that had passedtheir peak in egg production. “It was after World War II thatthe shift took place from backyard egg production to today’ssophisticated operations,” she explained. “The modern poul-try industry uses birds that were developed by selective breed-ing to produce either meat or eggs for market.”

She said federal statistics show nearly 35 billion pounds ofbroiler meat were produced last year, of which turkey meatmade up more than 610 million pounds. In addition, about70 billion eggs rolled out for worldwide sale.

Got Questions about American PoultryHistory? See MSU Prof

Yvonne VizzierThaxton

By Sammy McDavid, University Relations

A Mississippi State poultry scientist is the new presidentof the American Poultry Historical Society.

Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton, a professor in the university’spoultry science department, is leading a national organiza-tion of nearly 300 members.

An independent body founded in 1952, APHS works tocollect and preserve industry records, photographs,materials and objects for archiving at the National

David Shaw

MAFES Director Vance Watson, left, receives theSouthern Regional Informational Exchange Group’soutstanding service award from Clarence Watson,MAFES associate director. Vance Watson was recog-nized for his service in crop variety testing.

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Clarence E. Watson, Jr., former interim head of theDepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi StateUniversity, has been named associate director of theMississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Stationeffective Feb. 19.

As associate director, Watson will be responsible for plan-ning and managing the Experiment Station’s researchefforts. He joins Marty Fuller, MAFES associate directorfor external affairs, and Vance Watson, MAFES director, inleading the research organization.

“Dr. Clarence Watson brings a unique mix of trainingand experience to this position,” said Vance Watson, who isalso interim MSU vice president for agriculture, forestryand veterinary medicine. “I’m confident that he will pro-vide excellent leadership as part of the MAFES manage-ment team.”

MAFES was established through provisions in the HatchAct of 1887, which provided federal funds for research andexperiment stations at land-grant universities, and subse-quent state legislation enacted in 1888. The ExperimentStation serves Mississippi through research programs inagriculture, forestry and related sciences.

Clarence Watson will provide over-sight to MAFES grants and contracts,research enhancement and federal datareporting and analysis. In addition, hewill serve as a mentor to new MAFESfaculty.

Watson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agrono-my from New Mexico State University. He earned his doc-torate in crop science from Oregon State University.

Watson joined the MSU faculty in 1976. He has con-ducted research to improve forage, row and food crops. Hiswork has led to more than 200 publications, including fourbook chapters.

Since 1992, Watson has served as head of the MAFESExperimental Statistics Unit. He has also served as anadministrative adviser to the MSU Extension ServicePriority Program Group for corn, soybean, horticulture andthe green industry. In addition to his service at MSU,Watson has served as a consultant to the MidamericaInternational Agriculture Consortium, an organization thatsupports the development of agriculture and naturalresources programs in Mexico and Kenya.

Clarence E. Watson

MAFES Names New Associate Director

Matta Named Interim Plantand Soil Sciences Head

Frank Matta has been named interim head of theDepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State.His appointment was announced Feb. 19.

Matta, a research horticulturist and 17-year MSU facultymember, succeeds Clarence E. Watson, Jr., who was namedassociate director for the Mississippi Agriculture and ForestryExperiment Station. Matta will serve in this role until a permanent head has beenappointed.

“Dr. Matta has long service and experience with the plant and soil sciencesdepartment,” said Vance Watson, interim vice president for agriculture, forestryand veterinary medicine. “I’m confident that he’ll provide excellent leadershipwith his understanding of the department’s goals and mission.”

Matta earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in horticul-ture from New Mexico State University. He holds a doctorate in horticulturefrom Texas A&M University.

Matta began his career at MSU in 1986. He has conducted research on peach-es, pecans and small fruits, and he is responsible for statewide fruit research atthree Experiment Station locations.

Before coming to MSU, Matta served as resident director of the AgriculturalScience Center at New Mexico State University Agricultural Experiment Station.

Frank Matta

Cecil Pounders is a newresearch horticulturist at theCoastal Research andExtension Center. He is con-ducting research to developnew cultivars of plants for theornamental and green indus-tries.

Pounders comes to MAFES following 14 years asmanager of a private nursery. During this time,Pounders also served as a research consultant toAlabama A&M University’s horticulture programand collaborated with Flowerwood Nursery todevelop new clones of perennial and woody orna-mentals with increased market potential and value.

Pounders has a bachelor’s degree in ornamentalhorticulture from Auburn University, a master’sdegree in horticulture from the University ofMinnesota and a doctoral degree in plant sciencefrom Alabama A&M University.

Pounders is New ResearchHorticulturist

Cecil Pounders