Benjamin Peary Pal

Benjamin Peary Pal or B. P. Pal FRS (26 May 1906 – 14 September 1989) was an Indian plant breeder and agronomist who served as a director of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Delhi and as the first Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He worked on wheat genetics and breeding but was also known for his interest in rose varieties.

Biography

Benjamin Peary Pal was born in Mukandarpur. His Father's name was Dr.Rala Ram and his Mother's name was Inder Devi.
The family came from Jalandhar but his dad moved to Burma (now Nyaypyidaw).
His childhood name was Brahma Das Pal.
He completed his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees at Rangoon University, with a study on Burmese Charophyta for his master's.
He then went for his doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge under Rowland Biffen and later Frank Engledow, studying hybrid vigour in wheat.
He then worked as a rice research officer in Burma in 1932 and then moved to Pusa in Bihar as a second economic botanist.
He became an Imperial Economic Botanist at the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute in 1937.
In 1936, the institute moved to New Delhi following an earthquake.
He moved there and became the director of the institute in September 1950.
In 1954, after 18 years of research, he developed the 'NP 809' wheat. This variety of wheat could combat all three types of rust (a crop disease).
He became the first director-general of the newly reorganized Indian Council for Agricultural Research in 1965 and worked there until his retirement in 1972. Pal worked on rust resistance in wheat and helped release several varieties.

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