Growing Against the Odds: The Trailblazing Botanist Who Revolutionized Global Agriculture
- U of T Scientista
- May 26
- 2 min read
By Jahnavi Dalmia, Research Team Member
E.K.Janaki Ammal, best known for her contributions to the field of plant cytogenetics, was born in Thalassery, Kerala, India. A pioneering botanist, she was able to overcome all gender and caste barriers in her early life, to further her education by obtaining an Honours degree in Botany from the Presidency College. She then moved to the University of Michigan in 1924 to obtain a master’s degree in 1926 with a Barbour Scholarship. She also obtained her PhD in Botany (1931), becoming the first Indian woman to do so in the United States. Ammal specialised in breeding hybrids for better yield and researched chromosomal heredity. Along with Cyril Darlington, she developed the ‘Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants,’ a novel botanical atlas. In 1946, Ammal became the Royal Horticultural Society’s first salaried female staff member, where she developed a Magnolia flower now named after her.
She played a key role in conserving the floral diversity of India post-colonial-independence, while the country was still recovering from severe famines. Often referred to as the ‘woman who sweetened India's sugar cane', her cross-breeding experiments yielded a sweeter variety of the plant with better adaptation to the Indian environment. Ammal was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1935, and of the Indian National Science Academy in 1957. She was recognised by one of the highest civilian awards of her country, the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. Till 80 years of age, she was an active player in the preservation of the rich biodiversity of her country. She passed away in 1984 and is remembered for her devotion to her work as she remarked — “My work will survive”.
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