Dr BP Pal Father of wheat genetics and breeding
Sunday, May 22, 2022
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • RSS in News
  • Subscribe
Home General

Dr BP Pal Father of wheat genetics and breeding

Archive Manager by Archive Manager
Mar 30, 2013, 12:00 am IST
in General
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterTelegramEmail

Dr BP Pal, the famous agricultural scientist, was born in Punjab on May 26, 1906. His father later moved to Burma or the current Myanmar, then a British  colony, to work as a Medical Officer. Dr Pal studied at St. Michael’s School in Maymyo, Burma. Apart from being a brilliant student, Pal was also fond of gardening and painting.

In 1929 Dr Pal qualified for the Masters degree in Botany at Rangoon University where he also won the Matthew Hunter Prize for topping among all science streams in the university. He was awarded a scholarship which permitted him to pursue his post graduate education at Cambridge. Dr Pal worked with Sir Frank Engledow on hybrid vigour in wheat at the coveted Plant Breeding Institute. This provided the basis for the design of the Green Revolution,  essentially based on the commercial exploitation of wheat hybrids.

In March 1933, Dr Pal was appointed as Assistant Rice Research Officer in the Burmese Department of Agriculture. In October the same year, he moved to Pusa, Bihar, to become the Second Economic Botanist at  the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute, which was renamed as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in 1947. IARI was earlier located in Pusa, Bihar, but after a severe earthquake which damaged its main building, the Institute was shifted to New Delhi in 1936. Dr Pal was the first Indian Director of the IARI in New Delhi at its campus, which was named Pusa in 1950. He continued to serve in that capacity until May 1965, when he became the first Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He held this position from May 1965 to January 1972, during which period the Green Revolution was launched with outstanding success.

Dr. Pal’s major contribution to the scientific aspects of the Green Revolution was in the area of wheat genetics and breeding. He observed that rust disease was largely responsible for low yields of wheat and therefore, developed a systematic breeding method to develop varieties with resistance to rust disease. Then India was reeling under a severe food crisis and was known in the world as a country of starving people. Dr. Pal was instrumental in changing India’s global image and it soon became an exporter of food.

Dr Pal was also a rose breeder of distinction and created several varieties. He was the founder President of the Rose Society and Bougainvillea Society. He also founded the Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding and edited the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding  for 25 years. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972 and received numerous awards including the Padma Vibhushan.  

ShareTweetSendShareSend
Previous News

Why Maharashtra won’t that Modi achieved in Saurashtra

Next News

Youth: Engines of change for a vibrant Bharat

Related News

Turkey blackmails NATO, being only country benefiting from the Ukraine war

Turkey blackmails NATO, being only country benefiting from the Ukraine war

Jayee Rajguru: The Man who Roused Spirit of Selfhood

Jayee Rajguru: The Man who Roused Spirit of Selfhood

War on Inflation Must Continue

War on Inflation Must Continue

Bharat Has Arrived

Bharat Has Arrived

Administration demolishes 5 houses after police station set on fire in Assam

Administration demolishes 5 houses after police station set on fire in Assam

Calcutta High Court Asks EC To Take Action Against TMC Leader Alo Rani Sarkar, A Bangladeshi Citizen

Calcutta High Court Asks EC To Take Action Against TMC Leader Alo Rani Sarkar, A Bangladeshi Citizen

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

Turkey blackmails NATO, being only country benefiting from the Ukraine war

Turkey blackmails NATO, being only country benefiting from the Ukraine war

Jayee Rajguru: The Man who Roused Spirit of Selfhood

Jayee Rajguru: The Man who Roused Spirit of Selfhood

War on Inflation Must Continue

War on Inflation Must Continue

Bharat Has Arrived

Bharat Has Arrived

Administration demolishes 5 houses after police station set on fire in Assam

Administration demolishes 5 houses after police station set on fire in Assam

Calcutta High Court Asks EC To Take Action Against TMC Leader Alo Rani Sarkar, A Bangladeshi Citizen

Calcutta High Court Asks EC To Take Action Against TMC Leader Alo Rani Sarkar, A Bangladeshi Citizen

After fuel prices cut, Imran Khan praises India for buying discounted Russian oil despite US pressure

After fuel prices cut, Imran Khan praises India for buying discounted Russian oil despite US pressure

Left in Lurch

Left in Lurch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauds Kidambi Srikanth for leading Team India to historic Thomas Cup win

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauds Kidambi Srikanth for leading Team India to historic Thomas Cup win

Raj Thackeray to hold rally in Pune today amid heavy deployment of police

Raj Thackeray to hold rally in Pune today amid heavy deployment of police

  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Special Report
  • Sci & Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Books
  • Interviews
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Obituary
  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies