Gebisa Ejeta | |
|---|---|
 ISPC Science Forum 2016, by Desalegne Tadesse | |
| Born | 1950 (age 73–74) |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Awards | World Food Prize (2009) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Plant breeding, Genetics |
Gebisa Ejeta (born 1950 [1] ) is an Ethiopian American plant breeder, geneticist and Professor at Purdue University. [2] In 2009, he won the World Food Prize for his major contributions in the production of sorghum.
Ejeta was born in the remote village Wollonkomi, Ethiopia to Oromo parents. [3] Encouraged by his mother, he walked 20 kilometres to the nearest elementary school every Sunday evening and spend the week there.
During primary school, Ejeta planned to study engineering when he reached college age. However, his mother convinced him he could do more working in agriculture. With assistance from the Oklahoma State University, he attended an agricultural and technical secondary school in Ethiopia, and also studied at what is now Haramaya University. The university and the U.S. Agency for International Development helped him earn a doctorate from Purdue University.
Working in Sudan during the early 1980s, Ejeta developed Africa's first commercial hybrid variety of sorghum tolerant to drought. Later, with a Purdue University colleague in Indiana, he discovered the chemical basis of the relationship between the deadly parasitic weed striga and sorghum, and was able to produce sorghum varieties resistant to both drought and striga.
On 2011 President Barack Obama appointed Gebisa Ejeta as Member, Board for International Food and Agricultural Development. [4]
The National Medal of Science was awarded to Ejeta by President Biden in 2023. [5]
Ongom, Patrick O. and G. Ejeta. 2018. Mating design and genetic structure of a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). G3 Genes/Genomes/Genet. 8(1):331-341.
Ongom, Patrick O., J. Volenec, G. Ejeta. 2016. Selection for drought tolerance in sorghum using desiccants to simulate post-anthesis drought stress. Field Crops Research. 198(2016): 312-321.
Gobena, D., M. Shimels, P. Rich, C. Ruyter-Spira, H. Broumeester, S. Kanuganti, T. Mengiste, and G. Ejeta. 2017. Mutation in sorghum, LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1 alters strigolactones and causes Striga resistance. Proc. National Acad. Sci. 114(17): 4471-4476
Saballos, A., G. Ejeta, E. Sanchez, C. Kang, and W. Vermerris. 2009. A genome-wide analysis of the cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase family in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) identifies SbCAD2 as the brown midrib6 gene. Genetics 181:783-795.
Vogler, R., T. Tesso, K. Johnson, and G. Ejeta. 2009. Effect of allelic variation on forage quality of brown midrib sorghum mutants. African J. of Biochem. 3(3):70-76.
Peters, P., M. Jenks, P. Rich, J, Axtell, and G. Ejeta. 2009. Mutagenesis, selection, and allelic analysis of epicuticular wax mutants in sorghum. Crop Sci. 49:1249-1258.
Saballos, A., W. Vermerris, L. Rivera, and G. Ejeta. 2009. Allelic association, chemical characterization and saccharification properties of brown midrib mutants of sorghum (S. bicolor (L.) Moench). Bioenerg. Res. 1:193-204.
Rich, P. J. and G. Ejeta. 2008. Towards effective resistance to Striga in African maize. Plant Signaling & Behavior 3:9, 618-621.
Amusan, I. O., P. J. Rich, A. Menkir, T. Housley, and G. Ejeta. 2008. Resistance to Striga hermonthica in a maize inbred line derived from Zea diploperennis. New Phytologist 178:157-166.
Knoll, J. E. and G. Ejeta. 2008. Marker-assisted selection for early season cold tolerance in sorghum: QTL validation across populations and environments. Theor. Appl. Genet.116:541-553.
Millets are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae.
Finger millet is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiarid areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species probably evolved from its wild relative Eleusine africana.
Sorghum or broomcorn is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Sorghum bicolor is grown as a cereal for human consumption and as animal fodder.
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is a non-profit research-for-development organization that develops improved varieties of wheat and maize with the aim of contributing to food security, and innovates agricultural practices to help boost production, prevent crop disease and improve smallholder farmers' livelihoods. CIMMYT is one of the 15 CGIAR centers. CIMMYT is known for hosting the world's largest maize and wheat genebank at its headquarters in Mexico.
The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug and established in 1986 through the support of General Foods, the prize is envisioned and promoted as the Nobel or the highest honors in the field of food and agriculture. It is now administered by the World Food Prize Foundation with support from numerous sponsors. Since 1987, the prize has been awarded annually to recognize contributions in any field involved in the world food supply, such as animal science, aquaculture, soil science, water conservation, nutrition, health, plant science, seed science, plant pathology, crop protection, food technology, food safety, policy, research, infrastructure, emergency relief, and poverty alleviation and hunger.
Striga, commonly known as witchweed, is a genus of parasitic plants that occur naturally in parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is currently classified in the family Orobanchaceae, although older classifications place it in the Scrophulariaceae. Some species are serious pathogens of cereal crops, with the greatest effects being in savanna agriculture in Africa. It also causes considerable crop losses in other regions, including other tropical and subtropical crops in its native range and in the Americas. The generic name derives from Latin strī̆ga, "witch".
Push–pull technology is an intercropping strategy for controlling agricultural pests by using repellent "push" plants and trap "pull" plants. For example, cereal crops like maize or sorghum are often infested by stem borers. Grasses planted around the perimeter of the crop attract and trap the pests, whereas other plants, like Desmodium, planted between the rows of maize, repel the pests and control the parasitic plant Striga. Push–pull technology was developed at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Kenya in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, UK. and national partners. This technology has been taught to smallholder farmers through collaborations with universities, NGOs and national research organizations.
Sorghum bicolor, commonly called sorghum and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the grass genus Sorghum cultivated for its grain. The grain is used for food for humans; the plant is used for animal feed and ethanol production. Sorghum originated in Africa, and is now cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical regions.
Maize, also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native Americans planted it alongside beans and squashes in the Three Sisters polyculture. The leafy stalk of the plant gives rise to male inflorescences or tassels which produce pollen, and female inflorescences called ears. The ears yield grain, known as kernels or seeds. In modern commercial varieties, these are usually yellow or white; other varieties can be of many colors.
Chloris gayana is a species of grass known by the common name Rhodes grass. It is native to Africa but it can be found throughout the tropical and subtropical world as a naturalized species.
The 3-Deoxyanthocyanidins and their glycosides are molecules with an anthocyanidins backbone lacking an hydroxyl group at position 3 on the C-ring. This nomenclature is the inverse of that which is commonly used in flavonoids, where the hydroxy-group is assumed absent if it is not specified, e. g. flavan-3-ol, flavan-4-ol, flavan-3,4-ol and flavonol.
Striga hermonthica, commonly known as purple witchweed or giant witchweed, is a hemiparasitic plant that belongs to the family Orobanchaceae. It is devastating to major crops such as sorghum and rice. In sub-Saharan Africa, apart from sorghum and rice, it also infests maize, pearl millet, and sugar cane.
John David Axtell was an American geneticist, Lynn Distinguished Professor of Agronomy, member of the National Academy of Sciences. Axtell received the Alexander von Humboldt Award in 1975, the Crop Science Research Award from the Crop Science Society of America in 1976, and the International Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture in 1984. Axtell was widely noted for his research on sorghum. The New York Times and other sources reported that Axtell had been one of discoverers of high-lysine sorghum, and that the discovery was crucial to the fight against world hunger.
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Sorghum is an important staple crop for more than 500 million people in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, including many people in Nepal. In statistics collected from 1992 to 1994 about general millet, Nepal had an area of 0.21 million ha, with a yield rate of 1.14 (t/ha), and produced around 0.24 million tons of sorghum. The entirety of the crop is highly valued, with both the grain and the stem being utilized. The Terai region of Nepal tends to be more tropical which is ideal for the growth of sorghum. It tolerates hot climates better than maize or soybeans. For subsistence farmers, like those in Nepal, fertilizers are not necessary and the crop is frequently harvested by hand.
Jonathan Gressel is an Israeli agricultural scientist and Professor Emeritus at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. Gressel is a "strong proponent of using modern genetic techniques to improve agriculture" especially in third world and developing countries such as Africa. In 2010, Gressel received Israel's highest civilian award, the Israel Prize, for his work in agriculture.
Steven Runo is a Kenyan researcher who is a professor at Kenyatta University. Runo has extensively studied the pathogens of African cereal crops, including Striga. He was awarded the 2020 Royal Society Africa Prize.
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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government .