RETIREMENTS

Dr. Percy L. Thomas

Retired from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg Research Centre, July 4, 1995.

Percy received his B.Sc. Agriculture in 1963 and his M.Sc. in Genetics in 1965 from the University of Alberta. In 1965 he began his career with Agriculture Canada at the Winnipeg Research Station as a microbial geneticist working on the inheritance of pathogenic characteristics and on the host-parasite mechanism in fungi and other microorganisms affecting cereals with special reference to rusts and smuts. In 1967 he took a three year educational leave. During that leave he obtained his Ph.D. from the Australia National University at Canberra.

Percy returned to the Winnipeg Research station in 1970. His research since then concentrated on the cereal smuts, in particular barley smuts. He focused on elucidating the nature of inheritance of virulence in Ustilago hordei, on collaborating with breeders to develop genetic stocks and varieties with smut resistance and on surveying western Canada for the occurrence of barley smuts and physiologic specialization in those smut populations.

During his career Percy became internationally recognized for his research on the genetics of barley smut and for providing a strong base for breeding for resistance. His research led to a better understanding of the recombination of virulence genes which enable the smuts to overcome resistance. His work contributed strongly to cultivar development in Canada through his promotion of the use of specific gene combinations to provide protection against current and future pathotypes. He studied the strain relationships in the smuts and fungicide resistance, the results of which allow producers to continuously use relatively safe and effective chemical control for loose smut. In addition he played a major role in cereal breeding by developing standards and coordinating smut testing of breeder lines across Canada and has generously contributed his time and expertise to the various committees involved in cereal variety registration in Canada.
 

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