INSIDE — Mississippi economy ‘relatively solid’ in November, report says — Page 9 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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January 12, 2018 • Vol. 40 No. 2 • 28 pages
AGRIBUSINESS
Waller named top MEC post — Page 10
MBJ FOCUS
Technology {Section begins P15}
» There’s a code for jobs » LEC introduces major innovation in Industrial Internet of Things
{The List P20}
» Largest Mississippi Information Technology Services Firms
Cold weather gives blueberry crop a boost
Courtesy of Mississippi State University Extension Service
AGRIBUSINESS
» Cal-Maine records $26.1 million loss for quarter after settlement P9
NEWSMAKERS {P2-5} RIBBON CUTTINGS {P11-14}
By JACK WEATHERLY jack.weatherly@msbusiness.com The recent spate of subfreezing weather isn’t all bad. Just ask blueberry farmers. An unusually warm winter last year cut into the state’s fruit crops, including blueberries, the state’s largest. But thus far this winter, subfreezing weather bodes well for fruit crops in Missis-
sippi, according to Dr. Eric Thomas Staphne, an associate professor at the Mississippi State University Extension Service. That’s because fruit needs a certain amount of “chilling hours,” when temperatures are between 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit, to support its dormancy stage before blooming and producing. “We’ve probably accumulated enough for some of the lower chilling varieties,” Staphne
said in an interview. “We’re hoping that we’ll have some more of that cooling weather in the next month,” Staphne said. Blueberries, for example, need 400 to 600 chilling hours, he said. The average number of chilling hourse ranged from 400 to 600 hours around Hat-
See BLUEBERRY, Page 9
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