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News Releases THE 2000 BCPC MEDALLISTS
The British Crop Production Council has awarded its highest accolade, the BCPC Medal, to three well known figures in the crop protection industry: Dr Peter R Scott, Dr Ian Graham-Bryce and David Yarham. The presentations will be made by BCPC President, Sir David Naish on the Tuesday morning of the BCPC conference, 13-16 November 2000. These BCPC medals are only awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to crop protection.
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Dr. Peter Scott |
Dr
Peter R Scott This introduced him to research on cereal pathogens, which he then pursued for 20 years at the former Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) in Cambridge. Here he carried out valuable and innovative applied research on the biology, genetics and epidemiology of cereal disease, notably eyespot and take-all disease and the Septoria pathogens. This work underpinned significant disease-resistance breeding efforts at the Plant Breeding Institute and also led to novel approaches to the control of soil-borne diseases. An example is his demonstration of the important differences between W-type and R-type isolates of the eyespot pathogen, an observation that was to have unexpected significance for fungicidal control of the disease. During this period, 1967-87, Peter Scott worked closely with two colleagues at PBI, Martin Wolfe and Roy Johnson. All three have now been selected for the award of the BCPC Medal. More recently Peter Scott, working at CAB International, has made an outstanding contribution to the use of information technology in the management of knowledge about crop protection. In particular he led the global initiative which produced the CABI Crop Protection Compendium - an integrated information system combining a broad range of knowledge in multimedia format in a package that permits flexible and intuitive navigation throughout the system. This provides a basis for improved decision making in crop management by practitioners of crop protection, researchers, extensionists, teachers, students, companies and policy makers. It is also notable for being a truly international initiative, resourced by 40 organisations from public and private sectors, and from developed and developing countries. Peter Scott is currently Director, Programme Development, CAB International. He is a Founder Member of the British Society for Plant Pathology, becoming President in 1996, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the International Congress of Plant Pathology in 1998 and President of the International Society for Plant Pathology since 1998.
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Dr Ian Graham-Bryce
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Dr Ian Graham-Bryce Dr Ian Graham-Bryce initially qualified as a physical chemist at the University of Oxford before pursuing a research career. This took him to the University College of North Wales followed by ICI Plant Protection Division at Jealott's Hill where he was head of the Department of Insecticides and Fungicides. Dr Graham-Bryce then moved to Rothamsted Experimental Station where he became Deputy Director before becoming Director of East Malling Research Station. This was followed by a period as Head of the Environmental Affairs Division of Shell International Petroleum Maatschapppij BV. After this, Dr Graham-Bryce became Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Dundee, until his retirement earlier this year. In addition to his scientific and academic career, Dr Graham-Bryce has also contributed widely in other areas. He has been President of the Society of Chemical Industry, the Association of Applied Biologists and of the BCPC, as well as holding academic appointments, serving on government advisory bodies and the editorial boards of a wide range of journals concerned with crop protection and environmental matters. Prior to his retirement, Dr Graham-Bryce was Vice President of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom. However, he continues to be a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, is on the Board of Rothamsted Experimental Station, a governor of Imperial College, a trustee of East Malling Research Station and has recently become President of the Scottish Association of Marine Science. Throughout his career Dr Graham-Bryce has published extensively on soil science, plant nutrition, crop protection and environmental affairs. His book Physical Principals of Pesticide Behaviour is recognised as the standard work on this topic. Given the range of Dr Graham-Bryce's interests and activities throughout his career, his influence on all aspects of crop protection in the UK have been, and will continue to be, widely recognised and highly significant.
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David Yarnham |
David Yarham David Yarham joined the National Agricultural Advisory Service (later to become ADAS) in 1964 after studying at Sheffield and Cambridge. Stationed first at Newcastle, he became interested in cereal diseases and later, at Cambridge, he made significant contributions both to the evaluation of their economic importance and to their control. He participated in developing the use of a number of foliar and seed applied fungicides with particular emphasis on ensuring timely and effective application. He recognised the need for fine-tuning of fungicide inputs according to climate and edaphic conditions, as exemplified by the greater need for autumn control of barley powdery mildew on lighter soils David transferred to the Cheshunt Advisory Unit in 1972 where he extended his diagnostic and advisory skills, focusing his attention on the diseases of glasshouse crops. In 1976 he returned to ADAS Cambridge where he eventually became head of the Plant Pathology Department. He continued his interest in cereal diseases and strongly advocated the need for a balanced approach to control measures to ensure that costs and benefits were fully evaluated. He made significant contributions to the Boxworth Project, to the ADAS Grassland Pathology Group and to the Cereal Root Pathology Group where his particular expertise was in the effect of edaphic and cultural conditions on the incidence of take-all. With the reorganisation of the service in 1992, he became head of the ADAS Plant Diagnostic Laboratory - a post he held until his retirement. Throughout his career, Mr Yarham had an eye for detail and was a forward thinker in addressing the development of future disease problems. He was amongst the first to realise the importance of soil-bourne inoculum in the epidemelogy of wheat bunt and was actively involved with the evaluation of potential problems in organic crops. His scholarly approach, encyclopaedic knowledge of diseases and very broad experience have enabled him to bridge gaps in knowledge and to develop practical guidelines that have made a very significant impact on disease control, particularly in arable crops, in the UK.
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