Dr. Gurdev Khush, Adjunct Professor, University of California, Davis and Former Head, Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, International Rice Research Institute, PhilippinesDr. Gurdev Khush
Dr. Gurdev Khush, Adjunct Professor, University of California, Davis and Former Head, Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines
Dr. Khush was raised on a small farm in Punjab, India. He received B.Sc. degree from Punjab Agricultural University in 1955 and Ph.D. in 1960 from the University of California, Davis. After serving as a faculty member of the University of California for seven years, he joined International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines as Plant Breeder, and was appointed a Head of Plant Breeding Department in 1972. He retired in February 2002 as Principal Plant Breeder and Head of Division of Plant Breeding Genetics and Biochemistry. During his 35 year career at IRRI he spearheaded the program for developing high yielding and disease and insect resistant varieties of rice which ushered in green revolution in rice farming. More than 300 rice varieties developed under his leadership have been released in Asia, Africa and Latin America. IRRI bred varieties or their progenies are grown on 60% of world’s rice land. Rice production increased from 257 million tons in 1966 to 600 million tons in 2000.
Dr. Cantrell, Director General of IRRI summed up Dr. Khush’s contributions by saying,“while his name may have passed the lips of many, his life’s work passed the lips of almost half the mankind”.
Dr. Khush had made outstanding contributions to advancing the frontiers of rice genetics. He has written 3 books, and numerous papers in scientific journals. He has trained numerous plant breeders and served as consultant to several national rice improvement programs.
For his contribution to food security Dr. Khush received Japan Prize in 1987, World Food Prize in 1996, Rank Prize in 1998 and Wolf Prize in Agriculture in 2000. He received honorary degrees from nine universities, the latest being from University of Cambridge in England. Dr. Khush was elected to the Indian National Science Academy, Third World Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences and Royal Society of London.