Home > Communications > Horticulture Hints Newsletter [Image: Horticulture Hints] A quarterly newsletter from the Horticulture Division of the LSU AgCenter's School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences. Disaster Information Resources Series [Image: Disaster Information Resources] These publications are designed to help Louisiana residents recover from floods, storms, extended power outages and other stressful, dangerous events. Agribusiness leaders hear latest about state conditions (Distributed 11/20/09) LAFAYETTE, La. – Current trends affecting Louisiana food and agriculture highlighted a recent meeting of state leaders in agriculture and agribusiness. Vow to move more, eat less over holidays (Distributed 11/20/09) Try a different tack as you head into this holiday season. Vow to move more and eat less, says Heli Roy, LSU AgCenter nutritionist. “Most people invariably gain weight over the holidays – anywhere from a half pound to five pounds,” Roy said. “But you don’t have to, and most people can’t afford to.”  more articles... Pecan harvest delayed by weather, but crop should be plentiful (Distributed 11/20/09) SHREVEPORT, La. – Rain has delayed the pecan harvest across the state by two to three weeks, but plenty of the crop should be available for the holiday season. Wet weather delays wheat planting [Image: Wheat Planting ] (TV News 11/23/09) Early fall in Louisiana is often the driest part of the year, but October saw record rainfall in some areas, which has affected the harvest of many crops and the planting of wheat. (Runtime: 1:15) Compare prices and sizes when purchasing plants [Image: Plant Prices ] (Video 11/23/09) When it comes to choosing bedding plants at the nursery, bigger plants with bigger flowers are better, right? Well, that’s not necessarily true – particularly when it comes to cost. On this edition of Get It Growing, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill gives us a bedding plant economics lesson. (Runtime: 1:36) LSU AgCenter awarded $2.84 million federal grant (Distributed 11/20/09) LSU AgCenter has been awarded a $2.84 million research and extension grant for improving sweet potato production efficiency, quality and food safety. Take care of aquatic gardens in fall and winter (Distributed 11/20/09) Including a water feature in the landscape provides an oasis for a wide variety of wildlife. Providing habitat for wildlife is a principle of sustainable landscaping, and as a result aquatic gardens have become quite popular with Louisiana gardeners. Grain Sorghum Hybrids for Grain [Image: grain sorghum] 2010 recommendations. This information will help producers choose grain sorghum hybrids which have displayed good yield potential and agronomic performance. The LSU AgCenter conducts yearly grain sorghum hybrid yield tests at several locations in Louisiana. This is done to provide producers with unbiased information on hybrid performance under different soil types and climatic conditions. Louisiana dairy industry struggles to survive, continues to shrink [Image: Mike McCormick] (Distributed 11/19/09) Louisiana’s dairy industry continues to struggle. The high costs for feed, fuel and fertilizer have cut into potential profits. And while these costs have gone down somewhat this year, so have the prices farmers get for their milk, said LSU AgCenter extension dairy specialist Charlie Hutchison at a field day on Nov. 12 at the Southeast Research Station in Franklinton. TGRx gets first $30 million contract TransGenRx (TGRx) – a biotechnology company started by licensing technology from the LSU AgCenter – has landed its first contract worth $30 million. Valverde’s photo selected for virology journal The Journal of General Virology, a prestigious international journal of virus research published by the Society for General Microbiology in the United Kingdom, has selected a photo from Rodrigo Valverde, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology, for its October 2009 cover. LSU AgCenter gets $518,000 for blueberry Web site The LSU AgCenter, along with a Mississippi agriculture agency and three other southern universities, has been awarded a $518,000 grant to develop an interactive, educational Web site about blueberries. Click for more information...