Mississippi
Three Mississippi State-bred switchgrasses hit the market
Contact: Meg Henderson
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State scientists have developed switchgrass varieties which can be waking up the trade with distinctive germination charges and are prepared for industrial use within the Deep South.
Switchgrass is used for biofuels, soil and water conservation and carbon sequestration.
The college is working with the Upton, Kentucky-based Roundstone Native Seed Co. to ship the “Robusto,” “Espresso,” and “Tusca” switchgrass varieties, developed by scientists in MSU’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. As well as, Plant Selection Safety—just like a patent for newly bred varieties—has been awarded for Espresso and is in assessment for Robusto. Tusca is protected by a utility patent and formally launched by MAFES.
The origins of those coffee-inspired switchgrass varieties could be traced to the 20-year-old harvest from the Whitten Plant Supplies Middle in Coffeeville, whose residing repository contained seeds from Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Alabama. In 2003, the Whitten Middle modified its focus and despatched its assortment to MSU. Dwelling crops have been transplanted from Coffeeville to the R.R. Foil Plant Science Middle, generally generally known as MSU’s North Farm, and the primary technology of choice blocks for analysis have been established.
Professor Brian Baldwin, Affiliate Extension and Analysis Professor Brett Speeding, and Assistant Analysis Professor Jesse Morrison, all MAFES scientists within the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences, have co-developed these varieties during the last 15 years to extend germination charges and scale back seed dormancy. Their focus, which has little historic priority, has been breeding kinds of native grasses which can be tailored to the humid Southeast.
“The kinds of switchgrass which can be commercially out there come from Illinois, Nebraska or Texas, so none of them are actually tailored to the Deep South,” Baldwin mentioned.
Probably the most antagonistic trait of North American native grasses, based on Baldwin, is their excessive seed dormancy, which implies that a lot of the seeds planted fail to germinate even in optimum development circumstances. The dormancy interval could final so long as 5 years in some native grass species.
“Native grasses have a powerful seed dormancy, and that works nicely in pure circumstances,” Baldwin mentioned. “However in restoration work, if you wish to change an outdated pasture into native grass you need all of the seeds to germinate shortly.”
Speeding added, “Conservation plantings are the principle goal of this grass sort. Parks and public lands, the place switchgrass is used for erosion management and wildlife forage, are the best settings.”
Robusto, an upland selection, and Espresso, a lowland selection, have been particularly bred to deal with the low germination charges. Upland switchgrass is usually present in drier environments and shallow soils, and so they have potential use in conservation and forage plantings. In distinction, lowland switchgrass is taller than the common human and sometimes used for biofuel, a renewable different vitality supply.
To check the consistency of the seeds’ germination velocity, weekly discipline evaluations have been carried out at numerous websites all through Mississippi, together with Starkville, Brooksville, Poplarville, Newton and Holly Springs, all differing in local weather and/or soil sort. Each Robusto and Espresso held a constant germination velocity in any respect check websites, germinating not less than double the variety of seeds because the main industrial varieties in 14 days.
The discharge of Tusca, a lowland switchgrass, meets the equally important want of a naturally occurring herbicide resistance selection. When examined at numerous development phases with 5 generally used herbicides, Tusca resisted damage with the applying of all 5, outperforming one other commercially out there switchgrass which was used for comparability.
“Weed management is a critical limiting consider establishing a perennial native species. The discharge of Tusca is predicated on a necessity for regionally tailored germplasm that has the improved herbicide resistance present in different native grass species,” Baldwin mentioned.
Collectively, these three switchgrass varieties supply superior industrial choices for clientele all through the Southeastern United States.
Seed requests for analysis functions, corresponding to selection testing, needs to be despatched to Brian Baldwin within the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences at bsb2@msstate.edu.
For extra about MAFES, go to www.mafes.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s main college, out there on-line at www.msstate.edu.
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Mississippi high school Athlete of the Week for August25-31. Read through the nominees and cast your vote. The poll will close Sunday at 11:59 p.m. If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email Tyler@scorebooklive.com. For questions/issues with he poll, email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Kohl Bradley, DB, George County: Racked up 17 tackles and returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown in a 33-7 win over East Central.
DaJuan Colbert, DB, Natchez: Recorded 15 tackles, forced one fumble and returned another one 75 yards for a touchdown in a 58-50 win over Hancock.
Garrison Davis, QB, Holmes County Central: Completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 375 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-6 win over Vicksburg.
Xzavion Gainwell, DB, Yazoo County: Recorded nine tackles, an interception and an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Panthers’ 20-16 win over South Delta.
Elijah Jones, RB, West Jones: Had 24 carries 226 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-6 win over Laurel.
Kingi McNair, WR, Pearl: Caught four passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-20 win over Neshoba Central.
Ashton Nichols, DB, Clinton: Recorded six tackles to go with two big pass breakups, a blocked punt and a return for a touchdown in a 26-20 win over Warren Central.
Ethan Prater, RB, Pisgah: Rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries with three scores and caught a 60-yard touchdown pass in a 33-32 win over North Forrest.
Glen Singleton, RB, Madison Central: Rushed for 174 yards on 18 carries with all four touchdowns in a 27-20 win over Ocean Springs.
Damarius Yates, RB, Kemper County: Rushed for 193 yards on 17 carries and returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in a 38-15 win over Kosciusko.
Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that killed seven and injured 36 people.
The deadly bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others early Saturday occurred after the vehicle experienced a tire failure, causing it to run off the road and overturn, officials and authorities said.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that left seven people dead and another 36 people injured. The collision occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when the bus left the roadway and overturned.
The bus, which authorities described as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveled westbound when its left front tire failed, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference Sunday. The bus then moved onto an embankment and rolled over on its left side.
Inman added that investigators will be at the scene for at least another week and are looking into several factors of the crash, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition, motor carrier safety, the condition and experience of the driver, and environmental factors.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. Records show that in the 24 months before Saturday, the transit company’s vehicles were involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and a crash requiring a tow truck.
The transit company has over 20 years of experience and provides trips between more than 100 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, according to Autobuses Regiomontanos’ website.
“Everyone at the NTSB sends their expressions of sorrow for everything that the survivors and victims of this crash went through,” Inman said.
7 killed, 36 injured in bus crash
The bus carried a total of 41 passengers and two drivers, according to authorities. It was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when the incident occurred.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Master Sergeant Kervin K. Stewart with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another person died later at a hospital, Stewart said.
Another 36 people were transported to area hospitals.
Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said two victims killed in the crash were identified by their mother as a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, according to The New York Times. Authorities were working to identify the other victims.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
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