scholarly journals Four master teachers who fostered American turn-of-the-(20TH)-century mycology and plant pathology

Mycotaxon ◽  
10.5248/136.1 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-58
Author(s):  
Ronald H. Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathology ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Master Teachers ◽  
State Colleges ◽  
Us States ◽  
Morrill Act ◽  
Agricultural Experiment Stations ◽  
The Us ◽  
Extension Dimension ◽  
Agricultural Experiment

The Morrill Act of 1862 afforded the US states the opportunity to found state colleges with agriculture as part of their mission—the so-called "land-grant colleges." The Hatch Act of 1887 gave the same opportunity for agricultural experiment stations as functions of the land-grant colleges, and the "third Morrill Act" (the Smith-Lever Act) of 1914 added an extension dimension to the experiment stations. Overall, the end of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th was a time for growing appreciation for, and growth of institutional education in the natural sciences, especially botany and its specialties, mycology, and phytopathology. This paper outlines a particular genealogy of mycologists and plant pathologists representative of this era. Professor Albert Nelson Prentiss, first of Michigan State then of Cornell, Professor William Russel Dudley of Cornell and Stanford, Professor Mason Blanchard Thomas of Wabash College, and Professor Herbert Hice Whetzel of Cornell Plant Pathology were major players in the scenario. The supporting cast, the students selected, trained, and guided by these men, was legion, a few of whom are briefly traced here.

The Evolving Role of Agricultural Experiment Stations at Land Grant Institutions in Driving Agricultural and Environmental Biotechnology Development and Deployment

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 328-335
Author(s):  
Moderator: Steven G. Pueppke ◽  
Participants: Maria Gallo ◽  
Bradley I. Hillman ◽  
Bill McCutchen ◽  
Neal R. Merchen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Biotechnology ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Land Grant Institutions ◽  
Agricultural Experiment Stations ◽  
Agricultural Experiment

scholarly journals THE STATUS OF PYRUS GERMPLASM IN THE US

HortScience ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1142a-1142
Author(s):  
Kim Hummer
Keyword(s):  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Erwinia Amylovora ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Federal Support ◽  
Agricultural Experiment Stations ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Agricultural Experiment ◽  
Funding Cuts

Pyrus communis L. germplasm came to North America with early settlers. Pyrus cultivars have markedly declined since the turn of the century when more than 2700 unique Pyrus cultivars and 10,000 cultivar synonyms were noted. In 1956, 844 Pyrus cultivars and selections were widely available. Fireblight, Erwinia amylovora (Burril) Winslow et al. 1923, and lack of cold hardiness were main causes of cultivated germplasm loss. During June through December 1989, I resurveyed 37 State Agricultural Experiment Stations which had pear collections in 1956, to determine the present extent of their collections. Only four had more than 100 cultivars; 12 had 10 to 100 cultivars; 21 had less than 10. Experiment stations have decreased their collections because of funding cuts and program redirection. The National Clonal Germplasm Repository at Corvallis, established in 1981, has a collection of 811 unique cultivars and representatives of 26 Pyrus species. About 194 cultivars published in 1908 are in the NCGR collection. At least 424 of those listed in 1956 still exist. Oriental species and other foreign selections not previously available are actively being acquired. About 80% of the clones in the NCGR collection are virus negative; about 10 % reside in backup in vitro storage. Fireblight damage has not been observed thus far. With continued federal support, Pyrus germplasm availability should remain more stable than the decline seen in the last 90 years.

scholarly journals Land-grant lessons for Anthropocene universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 165 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Extension ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Land Grant Universities ◽  
Agricultural Experiment Stations ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Agricultural Experiment ◽  
Usable Science ◽  
Cooperative Extension Services ◽  
Short Termism

AbstractEstablished amidst the bloodshed of the Civil War, land-grant universities, together with the associated agricultural experiment stations and cooperative extension services, have played a crucial role in democratizing scientific knowledge and addressing intertwined educational, environmental, economic, and democratic challenges within the USA. Indeed, they have arguably pioneered the idea of “usable science.” Today, the urgent challenges of the Anthropocene demand a more robust relationship between scientific research and on-the-ground action, strong networks sharing local lessons globally, and channels for injecting global, long-term perspectives into the noise of short-termism. The land-grant experience provides lessons for “Anthropocene universities” seeking to tackle these challenges, including the importance of (1) establishing or expanding university-based boundary organizations akin to cooperative extension, (2) incentivizing the integration of engagement into the university’s research, teaching, and service missions, (3) centering values of democracy, justice, equity, and inclusion in engagement, and (4) cooperating across institutions and sectors. Given the urgency of fully engaging academic institutions as players and connectors in the real-world challenges of addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, there is little time to waste.

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