Jack Bailey Memorial Tour

Dr. Jack Bailey, long-time Professor and Extension Specialist in the department who died unexpectedly, had a passion for teaching and mentoring students. He saw that both applied and basic research was needed to solve disease problems for growers. For example, he developed an environmental monitoring device for in-field use in support of his disease forecasting models for leaf spot in peanuts when no suitable device was available. He regularly invited student groups and faculty to his family's suburban home for discussions and socials. In his honor, the faculty chose to name the student tour in his memory.The tour aims to introduce students in plant pathology to agriculture and agribusiness in North Carolina.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

This year, the bailey tour will visit the North and Central piedmont area of North Carolina including Cherry Research Farm, Goldsboro, NC and Peanut Belt Reasearch Station, Lewiston-Woodville, NC.

We had a very nice tour of the Peanut Station at Lewiston and Barbara Shew did a great job of describing her research on peanuts and that of others that is occurring there. We also got a view of a very special peanut selection having multiple disease resistance that is very close to release and is being named 'Bailey' in honor of Jack. Next Cary Rivard organized the tour of a small part of the more than 2200 acre Cherry Research Station in Goldsboro where we saw the integration of crops and animals having the goal of developing sustainable agricultural systems. We also saw some of Cary's research on using grafting of susceptible scions to resistant rootstocks to control disease in tomatoes. And to complete the tour, Mike Adams (who works with Dr. Holmes) showed us a field experiment dealing with fusarium wilt of watermelon on a grower's farm.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

This year the Bailey tour focused on the Sandhills and southern piedmont of North Carolina. Students and faculty visited the Sandhills Research Station, in Jackson Springs, Sandhills Turf, Inc. in Candor, and Metrolina Greenhouses, in Huntersville. The tour was organized by Dr. Larry Grand. At the Sandhills station, Dr. Dave Ritchie and Dr. Zvezdana Pesic-VanEsbroeck spoke of their research. Dr. Lane Tredway introduced students to turfgrass production at Sandhills Turf, and Dr. Mike Benson described the ornamental industry and automation of greenhouse production at Metrolina Greenhouses.

Later in the afternoon, the group was treated to a behind the scenes view of contruction at the new North Carolina Research Campus under way in Kannapolis. This public-private venture on 350 acres will boast the most technologically advanced biotechnology campus in the country. It will feature several prestigious, university-run research facilities and labs as well as private industries. This public-private partnership was conceived and is being supported by Mr. David H. Murdock, owner of Castle & Cooke, Inc. and Dole Food Company, Inc., The campus tour was co-led by Ms. Lynne Scott Safrit, President, Castle & Cooke, and Dr. Steven Leath, Vice-President for Research, UNC. A dinner following the tour was hosted by Dr. Steven Lommel, Associate Dean for Research at NC State University.

Photo highlights-2008

Photo highlights-2007

A Few photo highlights of the 2006 Bailey Tour

The Diseases Observed - 2006

Bailey Tour 2005 Information and Photo Album

Damon Smith's Photo Album

Bailey Tour 2004 information