Continuing the tropical theme for ornamental plants of the week in August is cassava, also called tapioca plant.

(Distributed 08/02/13) POLLOCK, La. – Central Louisiana residents will soon have access to the LSU AgCenter’s state-of-the-art computer training center that was dedicated on Aug. 1 at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center.

(Distributed 08/09/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter entomologists have been preparing for the tawny crazy ant population to increase in Louisiana for a while – the wait is over for residents in north Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 08/30/13) HAMMOND, La. – Buddleias, known by most home gardeners as butterfly bush, are becoming an increasingly popular plant in the home landscape.

(Distributed 08/29/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – One hundred elementary schools across Louisiana are taking steps to help their students eat better and move more during this school year. These schools are participating in Smart Bodies, a program of the LSU AgCenter and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation.

(Distributed 08/28/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – It is not unusual for healthy habits to take a back seat to summer activities. Youngsters may stay up later and sleep in more. But with schools back in session, LSU AgCenter nutritionist Denise Holston-West says parents should reestablish consistent patterns for eating breakfast, family meals and bedtime.

(Distributed 08/28/13) CROWLEY, La. – Harvest of the south Louisiana rice crop is winding down, and favorable reports are the rule. “It’s been a good crop,” said Steve Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station. “Quality-wise, it’s outstanding.”

(Distributed 08/28/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Two faculty members in the LSU AgCenter Department of Food Science have been named Fellows of the Institute of Food Technologists.

(Distributed 08/28/13) MANGHAM, La. – A beef and forage field day will be held at Goldmine Plantation in Mangham from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Thurs., Sept. 19.

(Distributed 08/26/13) OPELOUSAS, La. – The Acadiana Beef Cattle Producers field day has been set for Oct. 3 at Dominique’s Stockyard.

(Distributed 08/26/13) HOMER, La. – A Master Farmer field day for poultry producers will be held Sept. 18 at the LSU AgCenter Hill Farm Research Station.

(Distributed 08/26/13) PORT ALLEN, La. – A virus that has crippled the cricket industry in Europe keeps West Baton Rouge Parish breeder and grower David Fluker alert, but optimistic.

(Distributed 08/26/13) CADE, La. – Cattle prices should stay at the current level – or even increase – because of the expected decrease in beef production, an LSU AgCenter beef economist told cattle farmers on Aug. 21.

(Distributed 08/23/13) CHASE, La. – Mavis Finger, the new LSU AgCenter sweet potato specialist, always knew she wanted a career in making things grow.

(Distributed 08/23/13) CROWLEY, La. – Giant salvinia in southwest Louisiana should be under control in a few years. In the meantime landowners can combat the invasive aquatic weed with herbicides, according to an LSU AgCenter weed specialist.

(Distributed 08/23/14) Princess flower (tibouchina) includes several species.

(Distributed 08/23/13) HAMMOND, La. – Late summer is the time to begin preparations for spectacular fall blooms on your roses. Roses need disease management and proper fertilization in August through early September for best fall performance.

(Distributed 08/16/13) HAMMOND, La. – Gulf Coast muhly – or pink muhly grass (known botanically as Muhlenbergia capillaris) – is one of the most stunning grasses in the fall landscape in Louisiana. This coastal native ornamental grass has received a considerable amount of attention the past few years.

(Distributed 08/16/13) Golden dewdrop, pigeon berry and sky flower are common names for durantas.

(Distributed 08/14/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Man-made modifications in the Mississippi River Valley – levees, cut-offs and dams – have all caused changes in the ecology of the Atchafalaya Basin and similar areas, Wes Cochran, a graduate student in the School of Renewable Natural Resources, told a conference audience recently.

(Distributed 08/09/13) POLLOCK, La. – 4-H’ers at Camp Grant Walker learned about outdoor skills and science on Aug. 5-9 with a program aimed at getting seventh- and eighth-graders interested in science and the outdoors.

(Distributed 08/09/13) HAMMOND, La. – Evaluations of landscape plants at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station include a shade garden area where varieties of new ornamental plants or improved varieties of older ornamental plants are evaluated under partially shaded to shaded conditions.

(Distributed 08/09/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – As the “dog days” of summer drag slowly into mid-August and beyond, cotton growers need to monitor leaf spot disease in their crop, said LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Trey Price.

(Distributed 08/09/13) ALEXANDRIA, La. – Louisiana grain farmers appear to be holding off the invasion of herbicide-resistant weeds, with only pockets of resistance in the state, according to Daniel Stephenson, LSU AgCenter weed scientist at the Dean Lee Research Station.

(Distributed 08/08/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana corn farmers learned a tough lesson in 1998 when aflatoxin showed up in amounts that caused significant problems.

(Distributed 08/08/13) HAMMOND, La. – The Master Gardeners of Tangipahoa Parish continues to have steady growth since its inception more than 15 years ago, according to LSU AgCenter county agent Sandra Benjamin.

(Distributed 08/07/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter researchers are conducting a number of important grain sorghum research projects to help maximize cost-effective returns for farmers.

(Distributed 08/07/13) CROWLEY, La. – A burgeoning interest in growing soybeans in southwest Louisiana has led LSU AgCenter agronomist Dustin Harrell to start a project this year to find out the best planting window for soybeans in southwest Louisiana.

(Distributed 08/06/13) ALEXANDRIA, La. – Under a baking sun, Louisiana’s corn crop is drying down and ready for harvest. On the stalks are large ears of corn. LSU AgCenter corn specialist Ronnie Levy said this signals the potential for another bumper crop.

(Distributed 08/06/13) BATON ROUGE, La. –The Louisiana 4-H forestry team placed fourth out of 13 state teams that competed in the 34th national 4-H forestry invitational held July 21-25 at West Virginia University Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp and Conference Center near Weston, W.Va.

(Distributed 08/06/13) ALEXANDRIA, La. – The threecornered alfalfa hopper is in all Louisiana soybean fields. But how much of a threat it is to yields is being studied by Julien Beuzelin, LSU AgCenter entomologist.

(Distributed 08/06/13) NEW ORLEANS – The Vermilion Parish team of Paige Patout, Katherine Trahan and Austin Gaspard won the 4-H edition of the Great American Seafood Cook-Off contest on Aug. 4.

(Distributed 08/05/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the biggest expenses faced by corn growers. Finding the appropriate amount to apply so no more is used than necessary is the goal of research by LSU AgCenter soil scientist Brenda Tubaña.

Pride of Barbados is a great, small-growing tropical tree. You see more of these planted in Houston, San Antonio and Austin, Texas, than you do in Louisiana. But we should use these plants much more. Whenever garden centers have them in stock, they are liquidated quickly.

(Distributed 08/02/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and Burden Horticulture Society will present its annual corn maze at Burden Sept. 28-29 from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. in conjunction with the LSU Rural Life Museum’s Harvest Days.

(Distributed 08/02/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Denise Holston-West, registered dietitian and program manager for the LSU AgCenter’s Smart Bodies program, is the winner of the 2013 Southern Region Excellence in Extension Award.

(Distributed 08/02/13) HAMMOND, La. – Popular foliage landscape plants from the 1970s and 1980s are being brought back again with the introduction of great new varieties. They include the once-popular alternantheras, also called Joseph’s coat, and copperleaf or copper plants.

(Distributed 08/02/13) CROWLEY, La. – A group of Colombian rice industry representatives visited the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station and toured Arkansas and Louisiana rice-growing regions. The group is part of a consortium formed to decide how funds, resulting from the Free Trade agreement with Colombia, will be spent.

(Distributed 08/01/13) JEANERETTE, La. – Soybean prices are likely to hover in the $12-$13 per bushel range until this year’s harvest gives a clearer picture of the U.S. crop yield, according to Kurt Guidry, LSU AgCenter economist.