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Stanford Blade | |
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| Born | Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Dean, professor, author, public speaker |
| Website | ales.ualberta.ca |
Stanford Blade is a Canadian agronomist and academic administrator. He is the dean of the faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences (ALES) at the University of Alberta. Blade is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.
Blade was born in Alberta where he was raised on a dairy and grain farm. He attended the University of Alberta for his first degree (B.Sc.) in genetics. He obtained his M.Sc. (Crop Science) from the University of Saskatchewan for a breeding/physiology study on wheat. Blade’s doctorate was awarded by McGill University in Montreal for work done at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture on a Canadian International Development Agency Ph.D. Scholarship. The thesis topic was a plant breeding/farming systems approach to improving an indigenous grain legume (Vigna unguiculata L.) for use within the complex cereal-legume cropping systems of the West African savanna.
Blade was the executive director (2006–2009) of the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute. He was previously employed as the deputy director general research for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Blade is a Trustee on the Board of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and previously served as vice-chair on the board of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation.[ citation needed ]
Blade’s research has included the development and release of the high-performing Cutlass field pea. Blade has participated in the release of several field pea, lentil, cowpea and fenugreek lines. Blade is an associate editor for the Agronomy Journal.[ citation needed ]
In 2012, Blade was named one of Alberta's 50 most influential people by Alberta Venture magazine. [1] In 2018, Blade was elected as an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry. [2]
Pea is a pulse, vegetable or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name Pisum sativum in 1753. Some sources now treat it as Lathyrus oleraceus; however the need and justification for the change is disputed. Each pod contains several seeds (peas), which can have green or yellow cotyledons when mature. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea, the cowpea, the seeds from several species of Lathyrus and is used as a compound form for example Sturt's desert pea.
Legumes are plants in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption; for livestock forage and silage; and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include beans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover. Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces on two sides.
The only mandated international agricultural research organization is the CGIAR The CGIAR Fund supports 15 international agricultural research centers such as the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Center for International Forestry Research that form the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers and are located in various countries worldwide, The centers carry out research on various agricultural commodities, livestock, fish, water, forestry, policy and management.
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a nonprofit organization that works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture, with the ultimate goals of reducing hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. IITA's research-for-development (R4D) focuses on addressing the development needs of tropical countries. The institute was established in 1967 and headquarters located in Ibadan, Nigeria, with several research stations spread across Africa. The organization is governed by a Board of Trustees, supported by several countries and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
The cowpea is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus Vigna. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inputs, as the plant's root nodules are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it a valuable crop for resource-poor farmers and well-suited to intercropping with other crops. The whole plant is used as forage for animals, with its use as cattle feed likely responsible for its name.
CGIAR is a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in research about food security. CGIAR research aims to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve human health and nutrition, and sustainable management of natural resources.
Vigna aconitifolia is a drought-resistant legume, commonly grown in arid and semi-arid regions of India. It is commonly called mat bean, moth bean, matki or dew bean. The pods, sprouts and protein-rich seeds of this crop are commonly consumed in India. Moth bean can be grown on many soil types, and can also act as a pasture legume.
Jiří Petr, Prof., DrSc. Dr.h.c. was a Czech agroscientist, university professor and Emeritus Chancellor of the Czech University of Agriculture Prague.
Colin Louis Avern Leakey was a leading plant scientist in the United Kingdom, a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge and of the Institute of Biology, and a world authority on beans.
Clayton Oscar Person, was recognized internationally as an authority on the genetics of host-parasite relations. He was born and raised in Aylesbury, Saskatchewan, Canada and died in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His writings have made a major contribution to the development of a rigorous theoretical basis for our understanding of how the genetic structure of parasitic populations interacts with that of their host populations. This was known as the gene-for-gene relationship. His theoretical methods have been applied widely in the practical management of parasitic diseases in agriculture and forestry.
Plant breeding in Nepal is the art and science of improving the heredity of plants for benefit of humanity in Nepal. The major crops of Nepal include rice, wheat, maize, oil seeds and grain legumes.
Gurdev Singh Khush is an Agronomist and Geneticist who, along with mentor Henry Beachell, received the 1996 World Food Prize for his achievements in enlarging and improving the global supply of rice during a time of exponential population growth.
Nagendra Kumar Singh is an Indian agricultural scientist. He is presently a National Professor Dr. B.P. Pal Chair and JC Bose National Fellow at ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He was born in a small village Rajapur in the Mau District of Uttar Pradesh, India. He is known for his research in the area of plant genomics, genetics, molecular breeding and biotechnology, particularly for his contribution in the decoding of rice, tomato, wheat, pigeon pea, jute and mango genomes and understanding of wheat seed storage proteins and their effect on wheat quality. He has made significant advances in comparative analysis of rice and wheat genomes and mapping of genes for yield, salt tolerance and basmati quality traits in rice. He is one of the highest cited agricultural scientists from India for the last five years.
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.
Rajeev Kumar Varshney is an Indian agricultural scientist, specializing in genomics, genetics, molecular breeding and capacity building in developing countries. Varshney is currently serving as Director, Western Australian State Agricultural Biotechnology Center; Director, Centre for Crop & Food Innovation; and International Chair in Agriculture & Food Security with the Food Futures Institute at Murdoch University, Australia since Feb 2022. Before joining Murdoch University, Australia he served International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a global agriculture R&D institute, for more than 16 years in different scientific and research leadership roles including Research Program Director for three global research programs– Grain Legumes, Genetic Gains and Accelerated Crop Improvement Program. He has the onus of establishing and nurturing the Center of Excellence in Genomics & Systems Biology (CEGSB), a globally recognized center for genomics research at ICRISAT that made impacts on improving agriculture and development of human resources in several countries including India, China, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, etc. Varshney holds Adjunct/Honorary/Visiting Professor positions at 10 academic institutions in Australia, China, Ghana, Hong Kong and India, including The University of Western Australia, University of Queensland, West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement, University of Hyderabad, Chaudhary Charan Singh University and Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University.
Derrick Thomas was a British agricultural researcher with special contributions to grassland and forage research in the tropics.
Joseph ("Joe") Smartt, was a British geneticist with major contributions to the knowledge of crop evolution, especially of grain legumes.
The pigeon pea is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Rattan Lal is a soil scientist. His work focuses on regenerative agriculture through which soil can help resolve global issues such as climate change, food security and water quality. He is considered a pioneer in soil-centric agricultural management to improve global food security and develop climate-resilient agriculture.
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