Histopathology of Seed-Borne Infections - Applied Research Center ...

S.B. Mathur, Ph.D., is the Director of the Danish GovernmentInstitute of Seed Pathology for DevelopingCountries (DGISP) in Copenhagen, Denmark, where hehas spent most of his professional life as a pioneer inthe field of seed pathology. For more than 35 yearsDr. Mathur has been instrumental in realizing seedhealth as an important step toward fighting hunger inthe third world. His primary objective has been to fightseed-borne diseases, not only to find cures, but moreimportantly to investigate ways to detect seed-borneinfections in the laboratory and prevent outbreaks ofdiseases at an early stage, in both formal and informalseed sectors. Creating awareness of the importance of seed health, the relationshipbetween seed health and food production and food security, and the impact of goodquality seed on increase in yield has been a milestone in Dr. Mathur’s life. Hiscontributions to international agriculture have been recognized by the internationalcommunity. In 1992 he was awarded the prestigious FIS World Seed Prize, presentedby the International Seed Federation, Switzerland, and in 2002 he was awarded theProf. K.M. Safeeulla Gold Medal by the University of Mysore, India.The Institute of Seed Pathology in Denmark, the brain-child of Dr. Mathur, isfinanced and supported by Danida (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark). Morethan 550 scientists and technologists from 72 developing countries have been educatedthere and have conducted basic and applied research related to solving seedpathological problems. Dr. Mathur has trained more than 400 agricultural scientistsfrom more than 70 countries in short courses, conducted in various countries of thedeveloping world. He has been responsible for the introduction and monitoring ofseed health at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR) Centers and routine checking of germplasm for seed health at nationalplant quarantine inspection laboratories.Dr. Mathur is presently leading a group of renowned experts engaged in establishingtwo educational Seed Pathology Centers, one in India for Asia and the otherin Tanzania for Africa. The major goal of these centers is to develop trained personnelwho will be responsible for handling seed health issues and increase and improvefood and seed production, especially for resource-poor farmers.