HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service will host two free educational workshops for blueberry growers in January -- one in person and another online.

The in-person workshop will be held Jan. 24 at the MSU Extension Forrest County office at 952 Sullivan Drive in Hattiesburg from 1-4 p.m. The virtual workshop will be Jan. 26 from 2-4 p.m.

The in-person workshop features speakers from MSU, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Topics include containerized production in high tunnels, spotted wing drosophila research, rabbiteye blueberry varieties and drought tolerance. No registration is required for the in-person workshop.

Presenters at the virtual workshop include faculty and researchers from peer land-grant universities across the U.S., including Auburn University, the University of Georgia, Michigan State University and Oregon State University. Among the topics addressed are the use of sap analysis to determine plant nutrient status, the effects of plant growth regulators on blueberry ripening rates, blueberry breeding and solutions for blueberry splitting.

The registration link for the online webinar is http://shorturl.at/aiBJU. Questions can be emailed to Eric Stafne at eric.stafne@msstate.edu.

MSU is an equal opportunity institution. For disability accommodation, please contact the MSU Extension office in Forrest County at 601-403-8939.