Mississippi Landmarks Volume 14, Number 1
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volume 14, number 1 RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION VICE PRESIDENT’S Mississippi LandMarks is published quarterly by the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University. More Mississippians are living away from the farm than PRESIDENT in any other time in the state’s Mark E. Keenum history. As our population VICE PRESIDENT becomes more urban, we Gregory A. Bohach often hear that people are disconnected from agriculture DIRECTOR, MSU EXTENSION SERVICE and, therefore, do not value it as Gary B. Jackson they once did. In response, we humbly submit these facts: We DEAN, COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES all eat food, wear clothes, live in homes constructed with forest DEAN, COLLEGE OF FOREST RESOURCES products, and use some sort of transportation. Everyone in DIRECTOR, FOREST AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH CENTER the world depends on agriculture for some aspect of daily life, DIRECTOR, MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTRY and we are thankful for the Mississippi producers who work to EXPERIMENT STATION provide our food, fiber, and fuel. George M. Hopper We also are proud to play our part in helping those producers DEAN, COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE leverage the latest scientific discoveries to help them remain Kent H. Hoblet efficient, sustainable, and profitable. Preliminary estimates for the 2017 crops indicate agriculture continues to contribute more than Mississippi LandMarks is produced by the $7 billion to the state’s economy. Several commodities saw gains Office of Agricultural Communications. over 2016, including poultry, soybean, and cotton. EXECUTIVE EDITOR Part of our work with producers includes the annual Row Elizabeth Gregory North Crops Short Course, which took place in December at The Mill in Starkville. Top experts spoke on a variety of issues facing the ASSOCIATE EDITORS 676 agricultural producers, crop consultants, landowners, and Robyn Hearn Extension agents who attended. Armed with this information, Keri Collins Lewis they will be better able to navigate the challenges of the 2018 GRAPHIC DESIGNER growing season. Annette Woods This course is an example of the support Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine units provide WRITERS farmers throughout the year, from researchers developing Linda Breazeale Sarah Buckleitner new strategies to improve the state’s vast fields of row crops to Bonnie Coblentz Extension agents working with farmers’ markets to promote Susan Collins-Smith locally grown produce. Another example is research that addresses Nathan Gregory corn planting density (see page 4). Perhaps most importantly, we Lindsay Pace Joni Seitz educate the next generation of leaders to ensure future success (see Sasha Steinberg several articles in this issue of Mississippi LandMarks). One of the most important characteristics of the people who PHOTOGRAPHERS work in and support DAFVM is commitment. The commitment Megan Bean of our various partners sustains our work, as does the long-term Marina Denny Russ Houston dedication of our scientists, faculty members, and professional Kevin Hudson staff. In February, we were pleased to recognize Dr. Normie Lindsay Pace Buehring, whose MSU career in the Mississippi Agricultural Allison Matthews and Forestry Experiment Station lasted more than 45 years, at Tom Thompson Beth Wynn the annual Producer Advisory Council meeting in Verona at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center. Dr. Buehring’s For a subscription to Mississippi LandMarks or perseverance on behalf of Mississippi row-crop producers is just an address change, call (662) 325-2262. one example of the type of devotion that has enabled MSU to Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. be both the People’s University and the state’s flagship research Discrimination in university employment, programs, or activities based university. We congratulate him on his retirement! on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law is prohibited. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Compliance and Integrity, 56 Morgan Avenue, GREGORY A. BOHACH P.O. 6044, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (662) 325-5839. www.dafvm.msstate.edu/landmarks CONTENTS Volume 14 • Number 1 • April 2018 Row-Spacing 4-H’er and Mom Geospatial 4 Modifications in 14 Learn Together 24 Technologies Change Corn Improve Yields Forestry Capabilities New Meat Science Microplastics 16 Building Will 1/82: Winston 6 Research Initiates Enhance Research 27 County a Greener Future Longtime DAFVM News Notes Teaching Children 17 Vice President 28 8 About Animals and Passes Away Veterinary Careers Forestry Foundation New Online Program 30 Supports Mass- Helping Repopulate 18 Integrates Agriculture Timber Designs 10 Black Bears in and Business Mississippi Students Sample Genetic Markers 20 Extension and 12 Identified to Predict Research Careers Bull Fertility ON THE COVER Lauren Bryant is an 11-year-old 4-H’er in Tippah County. See her story on page 14. (Photo by Russ Houston) MISSISSIPPI LANDMARKS 2018 APRIL Row-Spacing MODIFICATIONS Photo by Brien Henry in Corn Improve Yields orn research in the Mississippi collaborators at the MAFES R. R. Foil CAgricultural and Forestry “The bottom line on all of Plant Science Research Center. Experiment Station (MAFES) has led “For a standard-planted corn to a breakthrough in producing larger these projects is helping population like 35,000 plants per acre, yields. by doubling the number of planted rows, the producer. If we can Dr. Brien Henry, a professor in you double the distance between plants the College of Agriculture and Life “find ways to improve corn within a given planted row,” Henry said. Sciences Department of Plant and Soil “We are trying to determine an optimal Sciences, leads a team of researchers production, save money, plant spacing within a field for yield, on various projects related to corn so we varied our corn populations by production. Their most recent involves reduce irrigation, preserve evaluating treatments of 25,000, 35,000, reducing row spacing. 45,000, 55,000, and 65,000 plants Typical spacing between rows of soil resources, reduce risk, or per acre for both 38- and 19-inch row corn in Mississippi is 38 inches. While configurations.” reducing the row spacing to 19 inches, farm more effectively, I feel This year, planting 45,000 plants per the team doubled the distance between acre on 19-inch spacing yielded the best corn plants within a planted row. The like we are doing our job.” results, he said. modifications improved corn yield by “Corn likes to be spaced out within approximately 10 percent this year on DR. BRIEN HENRY the row,” Henry explained. “We suspect a 20-acre trial plot Henry shares with that the improvement in plant spacing 4 MISSISSIPPI LANDMARKS APRIL 2018 Dr. Brien Henry (left) and MSU agronomy students Will Swann and Joey Williams stand near the 20-acre trial plot used in the row- spacing study at the R. R. Foil Plant Science Research Center. (Photo by Lindsay Pace) allows for more water, light, and nutrients per plant. We hit and short-season corn hybrid varieties. With both projects, he almost 300 bushels per acre at 45,000 plants per acre using found planting corn early can improve yield significantly. narrow row spacing. These were some of our highest plot yields “In 2016 and 2017, by planting at each of our MAFES of all time, and we didn’t irrigate once.” research stations in the last week of March instead of the last Henry collaborated with Dr. Normie Buehring, senior week in April, we added $145 worth of profit per acre,” Williams research agronomist at the MAFES Northeast Mississippi said. Branch Experiment Station, along with agronomy graduate The challenge of narrow rows and early planting is the students and researchers in the MSU Geosystems Research likelihood of wet fields in March. Early-season drainage issues Institute (GRI). necessitate extra field preparation, Henry said. Buehring designed equipment that flattens corn fields but cuts “Our Midsouth corn production system is unique,” he furrows every few feet to allow for exact spacing between plants said. “We have to get water off the field, so furrows that with the assistance of GPS units. GRI personnel flew unmanned facilitate drainage are needed, especially in flatter, Delta- aircraft systems with cameras that recorded aerial views and data. like planting systems.” “Some of the details of field prep, planter configuration, and Henry’s row-spacing project is funded by MAFES, the plant arrangement are tedious,” Henry said. “With overhead Mississippi Corn Promotion Board, and industry collaborators. drone images, we can show producers what we did and why, “The bottom line on all of these projects is helping the producer,” and they can make an informed decision that works on their Henry said. “If we can find ways to improve corn production, save operation. Seeing these research plots from above does a fantastic money, reduce irrigation, preserve soil resources, reduce risk, or farm job of extending our results to the producers.” more effectively, I feel like we are doing our job.” Graduate student Joey Williams assisted Henry with the project while conducting his own research on drought-tolerant BY NATHAN GREGORY 5 MISSISSIPPI LANDMARKS 2018 APRIL Microplastics Research Initiates a Greener Future Amanda Sartain, Extension program assistant, records data from a study of microplastic pollution found in water and sand samples from the Gulf Coast. t might only be the size of a pea, but it threatens the Gulf of “Pretty much every piece of plastic ever made still exists in IMexico. our environment,” Sparks said. “I’d say we have somewhere Microplastics are minute pieces of plastic material—no larger between two and 40 microplastics for every liter of water we’ve than 5 millimeters in diameter—that occur in either primary or collected.” secondary forms.