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News Releases |
News Releases The 1998 BCPC Medallists The British Crop Production Council has awarded its highest accolade, the BCPC Medal, to two well known figures in the crop protection industry: Dr Tony Harris and Professor Martin Wolfe. The presentations were made by Dr Ian Graham-Bryce, BCPC President, on the opening morning of the 1998 Brighton Crop Protection Conference 16-19 November 1998. These BCPC medals are only awarded to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to crop protection. |
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In a career stretching over 45 years, Tony Harris has made a significant contribution to the world of agricultural education, training, examination and certification. His involvement with education began as a lecturer in agriculture at Dorset College of Agriculture, followed by Harper Adams Agricultural College, before becoming Vice-Principal at Shropshire College of Agriculture and Principal at Merrist Wood. For 17 years he was Principal at Harper Adams Agricultural College, before his retirement in 1994. Tony Harris has also been extensively involved with numerous national and regional agricultural organisations, including being a member and then a Vice-Chairman of the British Crop Production Council. He has for many years been involved with BASIS and since 1992 has been Chairman of the BASIS Registration Board. For 13 years he has chaired the BAA Training Panel during which time he played a leading role in the development of the BAA Certificate in Crop Protection (BAA Part III), which, following a recent review, is soon to merge with the Advanced BASIS examination to become the BAA/BASIS Plant Protection Award. In 1986/7 he was Chairman of the Pesticides Application Committee (MAFF/NPTC) which steered the development and introduction of the highly successful sprayer operator proficiency test scheme. In 1991 Tony's contribution to agricultural education was recognised with the awarding of an OBE. |
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Professor Martin Wolfe, formerly of the Plant Breeding Institute, Cambridge, UK and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland is one of the most innovative scientists working in crop protection. He is internationally renowned for his research on how diversity in crops can be exploited so as to avoid the need for routine applications of chemicals to control diseases. In his early research, Professor Wolfe was one of the pioneers of systematic surveys of pathogen populations. He investigated how monocultures of single varieties cause the evolution of virulent races of mildew and how excessive use of fungicides leads to the development of resistant mildew populations. These results led him to consider how more sustainable disease control might be achieved. As a result, he devised a system of growing crops as mixtures of several varieties, each resistant to a different fraction of the pathogen population. Results showed that well designed variety mixtures are so successful as a means of crop protection, that there is little additional benefit in applying fungicides to control the small amount of mildew remaining. Variety mixtures had their most spectacular successes in the former East Germany, where the proportion of spring barley sown as mixtures rose in 1990 to 97% of the acreage grown. Following the success of variety mixtures, Professor Wolfe broadened the scope of his research on the role of biodiversity in crop protection, by investigating species mixtures, such as mixed cultures of different cereals and of cereals and legumes. He showed that these have major effects not only in reducing levels of disease, but also in suppressing weeds, improving grain quality and preventing soil erosion. President of the British Society of Plant Pathology in 1983, Professor Wolfe is now involved in developing mixed-crop agro-forestry from his base near Halesworth, Suffolk and directing research at Elm Farm Research Centre. For further information contact: |
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