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                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Southern Horticultural Research Unit: Poplarville, MS
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Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory
 Check out this video highlighting our historical contribution to the blueberry industry in the southeastern USA! Click Here
 /ARSUserFiles/60620500/Stringer.jpg   **Dr. Steve Stringer - 2021 Outstanding Fruit Cultivar Award - Please see information under Research Tab and "News"**
 Blueberries - one of Mississippi's fastest growing fruit production industries, with a substantial total effect on Mississippi economy.
 blueberry flowers with a pollinator
 
 Muscadine grape *(muscadinia rotundifolia)***Eudora**, a release from the Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory. Muscadines are fast gaining popularity because of their high anthocyanin and polyphenolic content, which makes them a very healthy fruit for consumption.
 /ARSUserFiles/60620500/IMG_0017.jpg Our research scientists also work with ornamental plants to develop improved cultivars with adaptation to poor soils and resistance to pests and diseases.
 /ARSUserFiles/60620500/Robin, Nissee and Spike.JPG
 Female spotted wing drosophila, a relatively new pest of concern to blueberry growers in Mississippi, and one which is being studied extensively by scientists at the Thad Cochran Southern Horticultural Laboratory.
 **Our Future Generation of Scientists!** /ARSUserFiles/60620500/IMG_0515.JPG  /ARSUserFiles/60620500/BoyScoutChris.jpg


**Our Mission: Development of cultural practices, pest management strategies, and cultivars that improve small fruit, vegetable, and ornamental plant production in the Gulf Coast States.** Check out this video highlighting our historical contribution to the blueberry industry in the southeastern USA! **Click Here**  **Highlights from the Annual Blueberry Jubilee in Poplarville, MS!** **/ARSUserFiles/60620500/Blair and Austin2.jpg** /ARSUserFiles/60620500/Jinita.jpg /ARSUserFiles/60620500/Mike.jpg /ARSUserFiles/60620500/Gardens.jpg/ARSUserFiles/60620500/Robin and Edmond.jpg


Research Projects
                            More... Genetic Improvement of Small Fruits and Ornamental Plants to Enhance Traits Desirable to Consumers and Tolerance to Biotic and Abiotic Stress Management of Diseases, Pests, and Pollinators of Horticultural Crops


Southeast Area   michael.goblirsch@usda.gov


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