(Distributed 09/02/14) Princess flowers include several species. One of the lesser known species is glory flower (Tibouchina grandifolia), also known as big leaf tibouchina. It has much larger foliage and larger flowers than the other commonly grown princess flowers.

(Distributed 08/29/14) HAMMOND, La. – A research and extension program at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station this year and next year – along with some work the past two years – is the evaluation of tropical and tropical-like landscape plants.

(Distributed 08/28/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter will offer an agritourism workshop from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 30 at the Hammond Research Station.

(Distributed 08/28/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Terril Faul did not get the opportunity to participate in 4-H as a child. But as an adult he had the opportunity to shape the minds and character of countless 4-H students through a distinguished career as a parish 4-H agent and later as the state leader for Louisiana 4-H.

(Distributed 08/27/14) CROWLEY, La. – LSU AgCenter scientists held a field tour at the Rice Research Station here on Aug. 26 to discuss their work on controlling the major diseases that afflict rice. Clayton Hollier, AgCenter plant pathologist, said even varieties with the best resistance can be affected by disease.

(Distributed 08/27/14) FRANKLINTON, La. – The four-year Connect My Louisiana broadband Internet initiative of the LSU AgCenter is providing touchscreen computers, 3-D printers and other high-tech equipment to local offices for public use.

(Distributed 08/27/14) ALEXANDRIA, La. – A Beef Cattle and Forage Field Day will be held Oct. 16 at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center here. Registration starts at 2:30 p.m. at the State Emergency Evacuation Shelter south of the LSU-Alexandria campus along U.S. Highway 71.

(Distributed 08/27/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Demand for food and fiber is growing faster than ever, but the agriculture workforce responsible for meeting that demand is shrinking.

(Distributed 08/26/14) ST. GABRIEL, La. – The LSU AgCenter’s Sustainable Bioproducts Initiative (SUBI) will hold two bioproduct short courses in September. Both are free and are open to everyone.

(Distributed 08/25/14) WINNSBORO, La. – Louisiana cotton farmers need to be on the lookout for target spot, a fungal disease that can quickly defoliate plants. Trey Price, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist at the Macon Ridge Research Station, said target spot is present in all cotton-producing areas of the state, with the most severe cases in Franklin, Madison and Tensas parishes.

(Distributed 08/25/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter Food Incubator tenant Richard Hanley of Hanley’s Foods has upgraded to a co-packer in Louisiana that will manufacture his Sensation salad dressing. Hanley, who has been with the incubator since its opening in July 2013, will now be able to produce 650 gallons a day, which will help meet increasing demand for his product.

(Distributed 08/25/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden will roll out the fall welcome mat with a corn maze and pumpkin patch festival Sept. 27-28 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in conjunction with the LSU Rural Life Museum’s Harvest Days.

(Distributed 08/25/14) CADE, La. – This has been a good year for weeds to flourish, but that also means killing the unwanted plants in pastures has been easier than usual, said LSU AgCenter weed scientist Ron Strahan.

(Distributed 08/22/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Most homeowners are aware that dead limbs and branches, as well as weak trees themselves, pose a threat to roofs during hurricanes and other storms. But even low-hanging branches can cause problems.

(Distributed 08/22/14) The Celebration series of purple fountain grass includes the well-known red-foliaged variety Fireworks and the lesser-know green and white variegated form called Sky Rocket, along with the white, green and pink variegated Cherry Sparkler.

(Distributed 08/22/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Casey Stannard stepped behind a curtain into a device that at first glance looks like a mix between an airport body scanner and a voting booth. Stannard, an assistant professor in the LSU College of Agriculture’s Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising Department, volunteered to have her measurements taken in the department’s new state-of-the-art 3-D and 4-D Size Stream body scanner.

(Distributed 08/22/14) HAMMOND, La. – Since the debut of a landscape horticulture research and extension program at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station eight years ago, we’ve continually expanded the gardens that support research. One of the largest programs evaluates new annual warm-season bedding plants and perennial flowers in the sun garden and shade garden.

(Distributed 08/20/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Cooler temperatures and abundant rainfall this spring and summer have led to a major increase of Cercospora leaf spot disease on crape myrtle trees in Louisiana.

(Distributed 08/20/14) BATON ROUGE, LA. – LSU AgCenter entomologists are advising Louisiana residents to avoid moving firewood in an effort to slow the movement of the emerald ash borer.

(Distributed 08/20/14) CROWLEY, La. – An LSU AgCenter scientist now has the capability for year-round testing of fertilizer and fertilizer additives on different soils.

(Distributed 08/20/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – As part of its Healthy Homes educational initiative, the LSU AgCenter LaHouse Resource Center in Baton Rouge will host a daylong Lead Certified Renovator Training course on Sept. 16 beginning at 8:30 a.m.

(Distributed 08/18/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Kayanush Aryana, an LSU AgCenter researcher and professor of dairy foods technology in the LSU College of Agriculture, received the International Dairy Foods Association Award in Dairy Food Processing at the American Dairy Science Association annual meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, in July.

(Distributed 08/19/14) DERIDDER, La. – A group of novice and would-be beekeepers suited up in protective gear to check hive boxes at Richard Hebert’s bee yard here. The group is part of the first basic beekeeper training class offered by the LSU AgCenter. Keith Hawkins, the Beauregard Parish county agent, organized the class, which met in July and August.

(Distributed 08/19/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Of all the issues farmers must contend with, aflatoxin-contaminated grain can be one of the most costly at harvest. Several strains of Aspergillus fungi produce aflatoxins, which are complex, harmful pathogens that attack several crops, including field corn. LSU AgCenter researchers are working to develop biological controls for these aflatoxin-producing fungi.

(Distributed 08/18/14) OAK GROVE, La. – With a 35 percent prevalence of obesity, Louisiana is the heaviest state in the nation. The side effects of that statistic are serious: many residents also suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other health problems.

(Distributed 08/15/14) Firebush, also called firecracker plant, goes by the scientific name Hamelia patens.

(Distributed 08/15/14) LAFAYETTE, La. – The LSU AgCenter has scheduled two field days for Acadiana area cattle producers.

(Distributed 08/15/14) HAMMOND, La. – Since the debut of a landscape horticulture research and extension program at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station eight years ago, gardens supporting the research continue to expand.

(Distributed 08/15/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Fall armyworms and corn borers have long been a concern for Louisiana corn growers. While farmers in the U.S. have planted transgenic Bt corn varieties since the 1990s to biologically control pests, staying ahead of their ability to develop resistance is a constant battle.

(Distributed 08/15/14) BATON ROUGE, LA. – It has been about 12 years since West Nile virus, the mosquito-borne disease was, first identified in Louisiana, but this year the chikungunya fever has made its presence known.

(Distributed 08/15/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter researchers are in the process of conducting two surveys of landowners in Louisiana in an effort to put a dollar figure on the amount of damage being done by feral hogs.

(Distributed 08/14/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter entomologist Jeff Davis is working with redbanded stink bugs to see which soybean varieties have resistance to what has become the crop’s worst insect pest.

(Distributed 08/14/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – A new exchange program will allow students and faculty from the LSU College of Agriculture and two universities in Slovakia and the Czech Republic to learn about agriculture in each other’s countries. The cooperation is the result of a recent trip by a delegation of five from the LSU AgCenter and the college to these two countries.

(Distributed 08/13/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – The members of two Louisiana 4-H shooting sports teams will have plenty to talk about when asked what they did during their summer vacations. The Louisiana 4-H shotgun and recurve archery teams won first place at the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational Tournament in Grand Island, Nebraska. It was the first time a Louisiana 4-H shotgun or recurve archery team had won the tournament.

(Distributed 08/13/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – 4-H’ers from Naval bases in New Jersey and Florida spent almost two weeks in south Louisiana as part of the 4-H Navy Military Partnership Specialty Camp.

(Distributed 08/13/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Many wheat varieties developed by seed companies aren’t suited for Louisiana because the warm, humid Gulf South conditions encourage disease development. But LSU AgCenter wheat breeder Steve Harrison and his team are working to ensure that Southern farmers have varieties well-adapted to this region.

(Distributed 08/11/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter 4-H Youth Development is offering a SET (Science, Engineering and Technology) Camp for military kids on September 5-7, 2014, at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center in Pollock, Louisiana.

(Distributed 08/11/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – A group of youth from Louisiana and neighboring states recently completed Teen Leadership Camp on the LSU campus.

(Distributed 08/08/14) The pawpaw is a popular native fruit tree that’s sometimes hard to find at garden centers.

(Distributed 08/08/14) HAMMOND, La. – Late summer is the time to begin preparing for spectacular fall blooms on your roses. Roses need proper disease management and fertilization in August through early September for best fall performance.

(Distributed 08/08/14) CHASE, La. – Sweet potato farmers got updates on varieties, diseases, weeds and other topics at a field day on Aug. 7 at the LSU AgCenter Sweet Potato Research Station. The event attracted about 140 participants from Louisiana and seven other states.

(Distributed 08/07/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Russia’s announced one-year ban on most food imports from the West should have minimal effects on Louisiana agriculture, according to an LSU AgCenter economist. The embargo covers all imports of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products from the U.S. Canada, all 28 EU countries plus Norway, and Australia

(Distributed 08/07/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Soybean growers in Louisiana are seeing soybean damage this year that LSU AgCenter scientists believe has been in cotton for many years.

(Distributed 08/07/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Agriculture representatives from three countries spent time in Louisiana this summer to learn about the different areas of American agriculture, according to Susan Karimiha, LSU AgCenter International Programs coordinator.

(Distributed 08/07/14) NEW ORLEANS, La. – A team of young chefs from Vermilion Parish earned second place in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off 4-H Edition on Sunday, Aug. 3.

(Distributed 08/06/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – The new home of LSU AgCenter food, animal and veterinary science faculty and students officially opened on Aug. 6. The state-of-the-art, $14 million Animal and Food Sciences Laboratories Building is a centralized research and teaching facility that provides the space and technologies needed to advance these disciplines.

(Distributed 08/06/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – As students prepare to board school buses and head back to the classroom, Louisiana 4-H is gearing up for a new year of projects and events that offer one-of-a-kind experiences for young people.

(Distributed 08/05/14) NEW ORLEANS, La. – A team of young chefs from Oklahoma captured top honors in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off 4-H Edition on Sunday, Aug. 3.

(Distributed 08/04/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – After 35 years of work with sweet potato growers in northeast Louisiana, former LSU AgCenter agent Myrl Sistrunk has decided to come out of a two-year retirement.

(Distributed 08/04/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – Nine faculty and staff from the LSU AgCenter Communications and Information Technology departments received awards at the 2014 International Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) annual conference in Portland, Ore, in June.

(Distributed 08/01/14) The burgundy-foliaged crape myrtle Delta Jazz would make a great landscape addition.

(Distributed 08/01/14) BATON ROUGE, La. – A new invasive scale insect continues to infest crape myrtles in Texas, Louisiana and other south-central states.

(Distributed 08/01/14) HAMMOND, La. – Marigolds and zinnias for fall flowers? Yes! Zinnias and marigolds are two excellent examples of warm-season bedding plants to try from August through the first killing frost.

(Distributed 08/01/14) BATON ROUGE, La. The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden will break ground on August 28 at 7 p.m. on the first phase of construction of the new teaching and demonstration herb garden.