Dilbagh Singh Athwal

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, a renowned biologist and Nobel Laureate,[4] with whom he has collaborated for the introduction of high-yielding dwarf varieties of wheat.[5]

Dilbagh Singh Athwal
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

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. "'Father of Wheat Revolution' DS Athwal passes away". Hindustan Times. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  2. "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.
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