We had a unique temperature fluctuation last week, but I believe most of the plants in our area survived with minimal loss.

For those of you that have been waiting, you should be safe putting out fertilizers now, I commend you for waiting. However, here are a few more good questions I received this week that everyone should know.

Q. When should I be vaccinating and deworming my pasture horses?

The simplest, cheapest, and most practical approach to combating all equine illnesses is prevention. The cost to worm and vaccinate horses will always be immensely less than the cost to treat for illnesses. Research has shown that most people worm their horse either too much or too little. Today’s wormers are proven effective against most all internal parasites and are usually effective up to 3 months. Internal parasites are passed as horses defecate, then eggs hatch once on the ground move into the available forages, and when the horse eats the forage it takes new parasites back into the digestive system. In summer months with high temperatures nearly all parasites are killed once they leave the horses’ body. Therefore, I recommend you deworm your horse in October, January, and April for internal parasites. It is also a good idea to have your horses tested for internal parasites. If your horse does not have any internal parasites after being tested then there is no reason to worm. This can be accomplished by taking a fecal sample to a veterinarian to be tested for parasite eggs. When you worm healthy horses you only build up immunity to effective wormers. West Nile is one of the few viruses that affect both horses and humans. Usually this is worst in the summer time, but we already have confirmed cases of the West Nile virus in south Mississippi. Therefore, I recommend you get your horse vaccinated for West Nile and tetanus within the next few weeks.

Q. Why is my Magnolia tree dying this time of the year?

Magnolia trees are different from many of our tress as they are beginning to lose leaves now while others are having new growth. This is normal. However, keep in mind magnolia leaves are large and thick and will block out all available sunlight to lawns once leaves have fallen. Therefore, it is a good idea to rake up leaves if they cover large areas of your lawn.

Q. Why does my lawn looked scalped after I mow it?

By now our lawn should be entering their normal spring and summer continuous growth stages. First, understand that different lawns require different treatment. For example, the recommended mowing height for Bermuda grass is from 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches, whereas centipede grass is 1 1/2 to 2 inches, and St. Augustine is 2-3 inches. The most important and most overlooked aspect of mowing to create a nice, manicured lawn is to keep mower blades sharp. A good rule of thumb is to try to avoid cutting more than 1/3 of the total length of your lawns height at a time. Mowing for a healthy lawn is enhanced by a good nutrition (fertilizer), watering, pest management and soil quality aspects as well.

David Carter is the Mississippi State University Agriculture Extension Office county agent for Adams County. He can be reached at dcarter@ext.msstate.

For more information about all these topics please refer to the MSU website at www.msucares.com. If you have any additional questions please call the extension office at 601-445-8201.