Dilbagh Singh Athwal
Dilbagh Singh Athwal.jpg
Born(1928-10-12)12 October 1928
India
Died14 May 2017(2017-05-14) (aged 88)
New Jersey,[1] United States
Occupation(s)Plant breeder
Agriculturist
Geneticist
Known forNew varieties of wheat and rice
AwardsPadma Bhushan
Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize

Dilbagh Singh Athwal (12 October 1928 – 14 May 2017) was an Indian-American[2] geneticist, plant breeder and agriculturist, known to have conducted pioneering research in plant breeding.[3] He was a professor and the Head of the Department of Plant Breeding at Punjab Agricultural University and an associate of Norman Borlaug, the renowned biologist and Nobel Laureate,[4] with whom he has collaborated for the introduction of high-yielding dwarf varieties of wheat.[5]

Popularly known as Father of Wheat Revolution, he was instrumental in developing ‘PV 18’ in 1966 and the most popular amber grained wheat variety ‘Kalyansona’ in 1967.[1] In 1967, he joined International Rice Research Institute's management team and ultimately served as the Institute's first deputy director general.[6][7] His research has also returned several innovations in rice breeding[8] and his body of work has been documented in a number of books and articles published in peer reviewed journals.[9][10][11] The University of Sydney conferred the degree of Doctor of Philosophy on him in 1955 for his contributions to agriculture[12] and, in 1964, he received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the highest Indian award in the Science category.[13][1] The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1975, for his contributions to biological science.[2]

He died in New Jersey on 14 May 2017.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'Father of Wheat Revolution' DS Athwal passes away". Hindustan Times. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  3. ^ "PAU to publish biographies of legendary scientists". Tribune India. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  4. ^ "New Horizons in Wheat Production" (PDF). CIMMYT. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  5. ^ Wheat, barley, and triticale cultivars: A list of publications in which national scientists have noted the cooperation or germplasm they received from CIMMYT. CIMMYT. 1997. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-970-648-055-2.
  6. ^ "Our People".
  7. ^ "DS Athwal: 'Father of wheat revolution' DS Athwal dies in USA - the Economic Times". Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  8. ^ Walter G. Rockwood (2001). Rice Research and Production in the 21st Century: Symposium Honoring Robert F. Chandler, Jr. Int. Rice Res. Inst. pp. 130–. ISBN 978-971-22-0163-9.
  9. ^ Mohan L.H. Kaul (6 December 2012). Male Sterility in Higher Plants. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 888–. ISBN 978-3-642-83139-3.
  10. ^ Dhan Pal Singh; Arti Singh (2005). Disease and Insect Resistance in Plants. Science Publishers. pp. 325–. ISBN 978-1-57808-412-8.
  11. ^ Advances in Agronomy. Academic Press. 1968. pp. 87–. ISBN 978-0-08-056333-6.
  12. ^ "Doctors of Philosophy" (PDF). University of Sydney. 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Brief Profile of the Awardee". Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
Categories