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Picking pretty poinsettias
COLUMBIA, Mo. – No flower says Christmas like the poinsettia. Now is the time of year when these colorful plants adorn mantels, tables and hallways across the country.Originally from Mexico, poinsettia is the most popular potted plant in the United States. Every year poinsettia sales contribute more than $200 million to the U.S. economy, and in a very short time.
Tiptoe through the history of mistletoe
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Hanging mistletoe is a holiday tradition around the world. But have you ever wondered why we steal a kiss because we’re standing under some shrubbery?
Harvesting timber can provide multiple benefits
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Selling timber can be very profitable. While it depends on the quality of the timber, prices are higher than they’ve ever been.“A standing tract of timber can bring anywhere from $300 to $700 per acre when it is harvested,” says University of Missouri Extension forestry specialist Hank Stelzer.
Back-to-back soybean: Don’t do it
COLUMBIA, Mo. – More farmers are looking at a practice long frowned upon: planting back-to-back soybean.Don’t do it, says University of Missouri Extension soybean specialist Bill Wiebold. Expect lower yields and higher erosion if you don’t rotate soybean with corn. Risk of disease, insects and nematodes also increase.Falling corn prices and steady production costs tempt some farmers to choose continuous bean over a soybean-corn…
Don’t guess on garden fertilizer
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Don’t add fertilizer to your garden unless you know what the soil needs.
Sanitize tools for good garden hygiene
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Just like surgeons and dentists, gardeners should work with clean tools.
Start running fans in grain bins
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Raise the temperature and run fans in grain bins now to avoid condensation and mold.Keep your stored grain in condition by increasing the temperature inside the bin to the outside monthly average temperature in May, says University of Missouri Extension entomologist Wayne Bailey.
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Coleus: Garden color without flowers
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Coleus, which produce exquisite leaves that come in a wide variety of colors and patterns, can add sparkle to any landscape. Coleus plants are easy to grow and durable in the garden.
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Gaillardia: Drought-tolerant color in the garden
COLUMBIA, Mo. – While not a leading star on the ornamental stage, gaillardia can comfortably fill the supporting actor role in your garden.
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Growing sweet peppers
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The colorful sweet pepper is the Christmas ornament of the vegetable garden, bearing fruit that ranges from red, orange, yellow and white to purple and chocolate black. Growing A member of the nightshade family, the sweet pepper is a relative of potato and tomato. Like its cousins, it is easy to establish if started using plants rather than seeds. It can’t tolerate cool weather, so wait until the danger of frost has…
Tree trimming can cut your hearing
COLUMBIA, Mo. – One of spring’s routine home maintenance jobs—tree trimming—can quickly cut your ability to hear. It takes less than 30 minutes of operating a chain saw without hearing protection to cause permanent damage, says Bob Schultheis, University of Missouri Extension natural resource engineering specialist.
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North America's nearly forgotten native vegetable
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — If you’re looking for low-maintenance perennials that can take the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter, native plants should be at the top of the list. Yet gardeners often don’t consider natives for the vegetable garden, says a University of Missouri Extension horticulturist.
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Deliver plant nutrients throughout the season with organic matter
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — Increasingly, gardeners are interested in finding out how to grow vegetables without using synthetic fertilizers.
MU receives national Conservation Innovation Grant
COLUMBIA, Mo.— The University of Missouri has received a Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to fund a three-year study of nutrient management.
No farm bill leaves uncertainty for farmers
COLUMBIA, Mo.–Congress adjourned until after the November elections without action on a new farm bill. That presents farmers with a great deal of uncertainty moving forward. University of Missouri Extension agricultural economist Scott Brown says that after many months of negotiations and listening sessions, Congress failed to advance new farm policy.
Biomass crops benefit marginal soils
COLUMBIA, Mo.—Bioenergy crops can be a good match for areas of fields that have lost productivity. Crops such as switchgrass and miscanthus can help soil, improve water quality and provide alternative revenue, says Newell Kitchen, a soil scientist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and adjunct professor at the University of Missouri..
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Tallying Tiger tailgate trash
COLUMBIA, Mo.— Mark Morgan’s work as an associate professor of parks, recreation and tourism at the University of Missouri has taken him places ranging from streams in the Ozarks to jungles in Vietnam. Early one Sunday morning in September, his work brought Morgan and some of his students to a line of dumpsters in the shadow of Memorial Stadium on the MU campus.
Is there clover in there? Getting the most out of your soil tests
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. – If you’ve sent a pasture or hay soil test through your University of Missouri Extension Center, you’ve been asked what kind of forage you have. Next time, before you answer, think about whether you have a legume in there and how much of it there is, or if you want to add a legume, suggests a MU Extension agronomy specialist.“These things make quite a difference in the fertilizer and lime recommendation,” said Pat…
Shopping for feeds can cut cost of cow winter-hay supplements
COLUMBIA, Mo. – When drought boosted corn and soybean prices, beef-herd owners faced new challenges. They can’t rely on traditional feeds as low-cost supplements for winter forages.“Producers must look at every alternative this winter,” says a University of Missouri Extension beef nutritionist.
Supplement cuts cows' winter-feed cost 10 percent
COLUMBIA, Mo. – With high costs of feed for wintering cows, herd owners should consider adding monensin to grain supplements for winter forages. The additive, trade name Rumensin, controls coccidiosis, a disease caused by intestinal parasites.The additive improves beef-cow feed efficiency 10 to 15 percent, says Justin Sexten, University of Missouri Extension beef nutritionist.
Keep venison safe from field to table
COLUMBIA, Mo.–Despite outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease in deer across Missouri and concerns about chronic wasting disease, handling and eating venison poses very little risk if people observe common-sense safety precautions when harvesting, processing and preparing deer. Humans are not at risk from the viruses that cause hemorrhagic disease (HD) in deer, and currently there is no evidence that chronic wasting disease (CWD) can spread…
Chronic wasting disease in Missouri
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal degenerative brain disease of deer, moose and elk, has been found in a small number of deer in north central Missouri.Since 2010, CWD has been diagnosed in 11 captive white-tailed deer at two private hunting preserves in Macon and Linn counties. Another five cases have been detected in free-ranging deer in the same area.
Hunters and landowners can improve deer populations through Quality Deer Management
COLUMBIA, Mo.–During this year’s deer season, landowners and hunters can work together to improve the quality of the deer herd in their area by collecting important information once deer are harvested.Gathering data about the herd is the crucial first step in the practice of “Quality Deer Management” (QDM), said Bob Pierce, University of Missouri Extension wildlife specialist.
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Galls on oak trees unsightly but harmless
COLUMBIA, Mo.– Those unsightly round, brown growths seen on oaks this time of year won’t harm the tree, says a University of Missouri Extension fruit specialist.It has been a “banner year for galls” on oak, hickory, chestnut and walnut trees, says Michele Warmund, extension horticulturist and professor of plant sciences at the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Efficiency in hog production can offset higher feed costs
COLUMBIA, Mo.–With record prices for corn and soybean meal, many hog producers are looking at alternative feed sources. However, improving the efficiency of current feeds is where producers should look to cut costs, says a University of Missouri Extension swine nutritionist.