Leonard M. Pike (February 1, 1940 – January 12, 2019) was an American agricultural scientist who established the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in 1992 and created the 1015

sweet onion A sweet onion is a variety of onion that is not pungent. Their mildness is attributable to their low sulfur content and high water content when compared to other onion varieties. Bermuda onions The '' Bermuda onion'' is a variety of sweet onio ...

and the BetaSweet maroon carrot. Pike was born and raised in Arkansas. He attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, where he received a master's degree in 1964. Three years later, he was granted a Ph.D. from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. Shortly after graduation, he joined the faculty at Texas A&M University. At A&M, Pike focused his research on cucumbers, onions, and carrots, using selective cross-breeding techniques to create new or hardier varieties. His research led to cucumbers that would ripen on the vine simultaneously, and that were stronger and better able to survive the machine picking process. He then created a variety of seedless cucumber. In 1977, Texas onion growers asked him to help them to create a variety of onion that would better withstand disease and that they would be able to harvest in winter, a typically barren time of year for the Texas onion crops. Over the next four years, Pike was able to create hardier versions. He then turned his focus to creating single-centered onions, which would be easier to use to make

onion ring Onion rings (also called French-fried onion rings) generally consist of a cross-sectional "ring" of onion dipped in batter and/or bread crumbs and then deep fried; a variant is made with onion paste. While typically served as a side dish, oni ...

s. Pike and his graduate students tested their onions by frying them up as onion rings. The research results in the 1015 variety of

s, which became one of the most popular varieties of onion sold in the United States. Pike's onion was named the official Texas state vegetable in 1997 and is estimated to provide $350 million per year to the Texas economy, as of 2013. The onion became a staple in the

blooming onion A blooming onion, also called onion bloom, onion blossom, onion flower, bloomin' onion, or onion mum, is a dish consisting of one large onion, cut to resemble a flower (after it has expanded while soaking in ice water), battered, and deep-fried ...

s sold by

Outback Steakhouse Outback Steakhouse is an American chain of Australian-themed casual dining restaurants, serving American cuisine, based in Tampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North America, South America, Asia, and Aus ...

. The Outback restaurant in

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin, ...

hung a picture of Pike on the wall to thank him for his efforts. For his creation of the 1015 onion, Pike won the Southwest Man of the Year in Agriculture Award. In 1992, Pike founded the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&M. He served as the director of the center until his retirement in 2006. The center focused on developing foods that are healthier for humans, not just prettier or stronger and often partnered with the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

to determine which varieties had more cancer-fighting compounds. One of the results was the BetaSweet carrot, a maroon carrot (to match the Texas A&M school color) which has fifty percent more beta-carotene than a typical carrot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Leonard M. 1940 births 2019 deaths Texas A&M University faculty University of Arkansas alumni Michigan State University alumni American agriculturalists