Jose R. Velasco (February 4, 1916 – January 24, 2007) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

plant physiologist and agricultural

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noted for his research on soil and plant

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and on coconut diseases. In 1998, he was recognized as a

National Scientist of the Philippines The Order of National Scientists of the Philippines, abbreviated as ONS, is the highest award accorded to Filipino scientists by the Philippine government. Members of the order are known as National Scientists ( Filipino: ''Pambansang Alagad ng Ag ...

Early life and education

Velasco was born in

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. After nearly flunking out of a

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, he transferred to an agricultural high school (now the Central Luzon State University Science High School), where he graduated

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. Velasco enrolled in what was then the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (now the University of the Philippines Los Baños) in Laguna province. He graduated at the top of his class in 1940 with a degree in Agriculture, major in Agricultural Chemistry.Ongkiko, National Scientists of the Philippines, p. 87 Upon graduation, Velasco joined the faculty of the University of the Philippines and remained there for the duration of

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, during which he endured a brief period of incarceration by the Japanese army. After the war, Velasco pursued graduate studies in the

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and obtained a

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in plant physiology from the

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in 1949. He re-joined the faculty of the University of the Philippines and remained there until 1967.

Contributions to agricultural science

During

, Velasco conducted research on the

photoperiodism Photoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of night or a dark period. It occurs in plants and animals. Plant photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light a ...

of the rice plant. Among his findings, which were published only after the end of the war, was that the ''Elon-elon'' variety flowered during short days when there was less than 12 hours of light.Ongkiko, National Scientists of the Philippines, p. 88 Velasco was also noted for his research on the physiology of the coconut, a common crop in the Philippines. He studied the mineral nutrition of areas planted to coconut, the development and utilization of coconut products, and the nature and cause of cadang-cadang, a disease that plagued the crop of small coconut farmers throughout the country.Ongkiko, National Scientists of the Philippines, p. 89 With respect to cadang-cadang, Velasco was skeptical of the still-prevalent view that the disease was viral in nature, and devoted considerable effort to prove his thesis that it was caused by an element in the soil that was toxic to the coconut plant.

Citations

In 1967, Velasco was appointed Commissioner of the National Institute of Science and Technology, a position he held for 10 years. Even though his duties were administrative in nature, he continued to work on various research projects using the NIST laboratories. In 1998, Velasco was named a National Scientist of the Philippines by

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. His official citation acknowledged, among others, his research in photoperiodism and on the physiology of the coconut plant.Ongkiko, National Scientists of the Philippines, p. 85

Notes

References

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External links

DOST - National Academy of Science and Technology: Jose R. Velasco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velasco, Jose R. 1916 births 2007 deaths People from Imus Filipino physiologists Filipino educators University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni Plant physiologists National Scientists of the Philippines