(Distributed 08/31/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station will hold its annual landscape horticulture industry field day for nursery, landscape and garden center professionals on Oct. 8.

(Distributed 08/31/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – The East Baton Rouge Master Gardeners are presenting two programs in area libraries on Sept. 17 from 6-8 p.m. and Nov. 12 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

(Distributed 08/28/15) Esperanza, also known by its scientific name Tecoma, typically comes with yellow flowers, but apricot, oranges and reds are now becoming available. A common name for this plant is yellow bells.

(Distributed 08/28/15) HAMMOND, La. – What a rough July and August in Louisiana for hot temperatures and droughty conditions. The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station in Hammond had 43 straight days of temperatures 95 or above. During that time we measured only 0.60 inches of rainfall. Similar high temperature durations and low rainfall totals were recorded across the state.

(Distributed 08/27/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter’s sweet potato Foundation Seed Program is now part of the National Clean Plant Network, a group that strives to keep specialty crops free of diseases.

(Distributed 08/26/15) CHASE, La. – The LSU AgCenter will host the second annual Northeast Region Youth Field Day at the Sweet Potato Research Station in Chase on Sept. 23.

(Distributed 08/25/15) POLLOCK, La. – A movement in Europe from coal to wood-fired electric generation has created a worldwide market for wood pellets, according to experts at a recent symposium.

(Distributed 08/25/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Avian flu virus has led to a number of poultry flocks being destroyed. LSU AgCenter poultry specialist Theresia Lavergne says this has tightened supplies, but poultry meat and eggs are still available for consumers.

(Distributed 08/24/15) MANGHAM, La. – Beef producers will hear ways for improving their bottom line at the annual Northeast Louisiana Beef and Forage Field Day, which is being held September 17 at Goldmine Plantation, 188 Cummins Road.

(Distributed 08/24/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter is moving its facility for growing weevils to eradicate the aquatic weed called salvinia. A location in Terrebonne Parish on the property of Michael St. Martin had been used for the past four years.

(Distributed 08/21/15) A great ornamental pepper for fall is Purple Flash.

(Distributed 08/21/15) DELHI, La. – Despite a rainy spring that delayed sweet potato planting, the 2015 season is shaping up well, growers learned at a field day on Aug. 20 at Black Gold Farms in Delhi.

(Distributed 08/20/15) DELCAMBRE, La. – The first week of shrimp season is providing the chance for consumers to buy shrimp off the boats here.

(Distributed 08/20/15) HAMMOND, La. – As we enter fall, many home gardeners are considering adding new plants to dress up the landscape. Two great plants for fall are celosia, which some of us also call cockscomb, and ornamental peppers.

(Distributed 08/03/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Teachers who started gardens at their schools last year were recognized for their progress at a half-day workshop on July 29 at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden.

(Distributed 08/14/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Severe storms and excessive rainfall that resulted in the Red River flooding during the spring and summer caused an estimated $7 million damage to agriculture in northwest Louisiana, but that number will likely go up at harvest, said LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry.

(Distributed 08/18/15) NEW ORLEANS – Moving food from the farm to the dinner table – and everywhere else people eat – is a complex system, experts said at the Farm to Table International Symposium recently.

(Distributed 08/14/15) Variegated tapioca, also known as manihot, is a tropical plant that’s at home in Louisiana.

(Distributed 08/14/15) HAMMOND, La. – The second hottest July on record in many parts of Louisiana coupled with below-normal rainfall statewide over the past eight weeks has led to drought symptoms in most landscapes. Lawns and landscape beds are suffering. Irrigation is vital through the rest of summer and through fall to prevent long-term damage to plants.

(Distributed 08/14/15) CROWLEY, La. – South Louisiana rice farmers have had excellent weather to get the 2015 crop out of the field, but the yield is a decline from the two exceptional harvests of the past two years, according to LSU AgCenter experts.

(Distributed 08/14/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – The cooling temperatures of fall create an ideal time to visit Burden Museum & Gardens, located at 4560 Essen Lane, just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 08/14/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Horse owners need to watch out for signs of respiratory diseases that occur during the summer, said LSU AgCenter equine specialist Neely Walker.

(Distributed 08/14/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Two Louisiana 4-H’ers were among 21 4-H’ers from 13 states who spent a week at California State University, Fresno, for the 2015 National 4-H Shooting Sports Teen Leadership Institute Aug 4-8.

(Distributed 08/13/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – When Alvin Ray started experimenting in his Prairieville kitchen about three years ago, he didn’t expect his creation — sweet, spicy, crispy pickles — to end up on store shelves.

(Distributed 08/11/15) NEW ORLEANS, La. – A team of young chefs from Ascension Parish earned second place in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off, 4-H Edition on Aug. 9.

(Distributed 08/04/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Sugarcane aphids in Louisiana transitioned from sugarcane to grain sorghum in 2013 – some of the first such colonization in America. Since then, this invasive insect species has rapidly spread to all grain sorghum-producing parishes, decreasing quality and yield and causing catastrophic crop losses in 2014.

(Distributed 08/11/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter International Programs recently completed a two-week (July 18 to Aug. 2) cross-country training program on port inspection and food safety regulations for eight officials from China.

(Distributed 08/11/15) BATON ROUGE, La – Robert Godke’s students have called him a mentor, a friend and a father figure.

(Distributed 08/07/15) Princess flower is also called tibouchina. Athens Blue dwarf tibouchina has purple flowers from late spring through fall.

(Distributed 08/10/15) ST. GABRIEL, La. – Representatives from the chemical manufacturer Syngenta shared information on monitoring atrazine, one of the most commonly used herbicides in agriculture, at a meeting of Louisiana agriculture officials on Aug. 6 at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station.

(Distributed 08/07/15) HAMMOND, La. – Many great plants perform well in summer and fall in Louisiana. Some that are tropical-like in appearance include esperanzas, Pride of Barbados, cassava and copper plants. All are low-maintenance in the landscape.

(Distributed 08/07/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter equine specialist Neely Walker took three LSU students to Europe this summer to teach horse camps in three countries.

(Distributed 08/07/15) BATON ROUGE, La – Louise Wicker, a food scientist who spent much of her career on the faculty at the University of Georgia, was named director of the LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture School of Nutrition and Food Sciences.

(Distributed 08/06/15) BATON ROUGE, La. – Some people turn to family recipes for comfort during stressful times. Others, like Linda McAdams, turn them into a new career.

(Distributed 08/05/15) HAMMOND, La. – The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station received accolades from national and international guests who toured the gardens on Aug. 3.

(Distributed 08/04/15) ALEXANDRIA, La. – The last week of July provided a week full of food, fun and nutrition education for 20 Louisiana youth ages 9 to 12 who attended Kid Chef Nutrition Camp July 28-31.