Benjamin Peary Pal or B. P. Pal FRS (26 May 1906 – 14 September 1989) was an Indian plant breeder and agronomist who served as a director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi and as the first Director General of the

Indian Council of Agricultural Research The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. Th ...

. He worked on wheat genetics and breeding but was also known for his interest in rose varieties.

Biography

Pal was born in Mukandpur, the youngest child of Dr Rala Ram and Inder Devi. The family came from

Jalandhar Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab, India, Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population, third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the ...

but his father moved to Burma as a medical officer. He was born Brahma Das Pal but changed his name to Benjamin Peary Pal while at St Michael's School in Maymyo in 1914. A rose garden at the school may have inspired his early interest in them. He completed his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degrees at Rangoon University in

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, with a study on Burmese Charophyta for his master's. He then went for his doctoral studies at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

under Rowland Biffen and later Frank Engledow, studying hybrid vigour in wheat. He then worked as a rice research officer in Burma in 1932 and then moved to Pusa in Bihar as a second economic botanist. He became an Imperial Economic Botanist at the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute in 1937. In 1936, the institute moved to New Delhi following an earthquake. He moved there and became the director of the institute in September 1950. In 1954, after 18 years of research, he developed the 'NP 809' wheat. This variety of wheat could combat all three types of rust (a crop disease). He became the first director-general of the newly reorganized Indian Council for Agricultural Research in 1965 and worked there until his retirement in 1972. Pal worked on rust resistance in wheat and helped release several varieties. Pal founded the Rose and Bougainvillea Societies of India, the Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding while also serving as the editor of its journal.

Awards and honours

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1972. He was a bachelor and donated his property to the

. * Awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 1959, * Awarded

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 1968 A rose garden from the library at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute is named in his honour.

References

External links

INSA biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pal, Benjamin Peary 1906 births 1989 deaths Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering Fellows of the Royal Society Indian agronomists University of Yangon alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering TWAS fellows Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering 20th-century Indian biologists Scientists from Punjab, India 20th-century agronomists People from Punjab Province (British India)