An adventure in applied science - IRRI books - International Rice ...

Developing and staffing the program 55tions of Khush and Coffman, and of the earlier members of the department aswell, are reported in later chapters.AGRONOMY AND SOILSFrom work done elsewhere, especially in Asia, it was evident from the startthat IRRI would need to do research in agronomy and soils. Wortman and Idecided to combine all agronomic and soil science research in one departmentcomposed of three principal scientists — an agronomist, a soil chemist, and asoil microbiologist. The agronomist would work on soil fertility, on water andweed control, and on such problems as land preparation techniques, plantspacing, and comparisons of direct-seeded and transplanted rice. The soilchemist would study the influence of flooding on chemical properties of thesoil and the impact of and cure for such adverse soil conditions as iron toxicity,salinity, and zinc and phosphorus deficiency. The soil microbiologist wouldinvestigate the microorganisms in rice soils, the biological fixation of elementalnitrogen, and the degradation of pesticides and herbicides in flooded soils.The first candidate interviewed for the position of soil chemist was C.T.Abichandani, the soil chemist at CRRI in Cuttack, India. Bradfield and I werewell impressed with his work when we were in India in 1955. I had visited withhim several times between 1955 and 1960. In December 1960, Abichandani wasinvited to IRRI for an interview, and it was decided to make him a tentativeoffer. At that early stage in the Institute’s development, all new appointmentsand the salary to be offered were referred for approval to Harrar as chairmanof the Board of Trustees. It developed that the salary offered to Abichandaniwas too low to attract him and he decided not to accept the position.At the meeting of the Board of Trustees on 5-6 October 1960, the matter ofa salary scale for IRRI professional staff was discussed and a committeecomposed of Sinco, Fortich, and Garcia was formed to make a study of thesalary levels being used by other international organizations such as the Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization. Thisreport was not ready in December when Abichandani was interviewed. It wascompleted by late January 1961 and I carried it to New York in February anddiscussed it with Harrar and Hill. In the course of the conversations, it wasagreed that IRRI senior scientists would be offered salaries no less than theminimum of the corresponding grades in other organizations hiring internationalstaff. From then on, IRRI had little trouble attracting capable people.The next soil chemist to be interviewed was Felix N. Ponnamperuma, of SriLanka. He had obtained his Ph D at Cornell University and was well knownto Bradfield. Wortman and I had become acquainted with him during visits toSri Lanka. In 1961 he was soil scientist in the Department of Agriculture in hisown country. Ponnamperuma visited Los Baños for an interview in May 1961.Because he had studied abroad on a government scholarship, he was requiredto spend a certain number of years working for his government before heaccepted other employment. IRRI made him an offer and agreed that ifnecessary, it would reimburse the Sri Lankan Government for the remaining