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Major award for cotton scientist
O
NE of Australia’s greatest agricultural scientists, Dr Greg
Constable, has been honoured by the International
Cotton Advisory Committee’s (ICAC) Researcher of the
Year award for 2015. Greg is the 8th winner of this award – and
the first Australian.
Greg’s research – firstly as a cotton agronomist and then as
leader of the cotton plant breeding team – has played a major
role in the advancement of cotton production in Australia. He
is a legendary researcher, but he is also a great communicator,
organiser and leader. And he plays a prominent role in the
Australian cotton community and his local community.
Following are, firstly, the official announcement from the
ICAC, followed by a short profile of Greg written in 2013.
ICAC announcement
Dr Greg Constable is an eminent leader in the international
cotton research community. He was one of the primary
organisers of the first World Cotton Research Conference in
Australia in 1994. He is the current chairman of the International
Cotton Researchers’ Association and has played a leading role
in its establishment. His achievements are well recognised in
three fields of research: agronomy, breeding and physiology and
scientific leadership. His research has extensively benefitted the
cotton industry in Australia and he has received great recognition
at the national level in Australia and overseas.
Average cotton yields in Australia are currently not only
the highest in the world but are almost three times the global
average for 2014-15. Greg has made a significant contribution
to this outstanding performance. His knowledge of cotton
physiology and his ability to link physiology with cotton varietal
development have led to significant breakthroughs in the
creation of new varieties. Some of these varieties dominate
markets in other countries. He has supervised a number of
graduate students as well as mentored and provided directions to
many young researchers.
Profile
Commitment to cotton scientific research has been the centre
of Greg’s life as a scientist for more than 40 years, displaying his
hunger for challenges and outstanding levels of dedication and
enthusiasm.
“The early years were challenging times as public and
government perceptions of the cotton industry were strongly
negative on water and pesticide issues. Since then CSIRO
has been developing commercial cotton varieties adapted to
Australian conditions with a strong focus on making the crop
sustainable,” he said.
Greg was born and raised in Glen Innes, NSW and attended
The University of Sydney from 1966 to 1969. Other than three
years at The Australian National University to complete a PhD,
he has lived in Narrabri since 1972. His time in Narrabri has been
dedicated to cotton research, particularly plant breeding, but also
plant physiology, crop agronomy and efficient farming systems.
He is recognised for his contribution to the development
of scientifically based approaches to agriculture, such as novel
breeding strategies for increased yield and water use.
“CSIRO research overall has facilitated a large increase in
cotton yield while halving environmental impact, which is a
pleasing result,” he says.
10 — The Australian Cottongrower
Dr Greg Constable – ICAC Researcher of the Year 2015.
Greg feels passionately about improving the lives of the people
who live in the cotton areas and about promoting awareness and
adoption of new technologies to growers.
“It’s great working with farmers because you learn their
challenges and when a new variety improves their profitability,
the benefits to the farmer and the whole production chain are
pleasing to see,” he said.
It is largely thanks to the efforts of he and his team that
Australian cotton is recognised nationally and internationally
for its high quality and the industry is regarded as one of the
most successful in the country. They have made great strides in
the development of elite cotton varieties which dominate the
Australian industry and are now grown around the world.
“I want to especially recognise the efforts of the large
CSIRO cotton breeding team at Narrabri. What we do cannot
be done by one person and any success should be shared by
that whole team of about 20. Some of the work is tedious and
involves many experiments across the industry. That team does a
tremendous job,” he says.
Greg was judged ‘Australia’s smartest scientist’ by the
influential Australian business magazine the Bulletin in 2003.
This recognition focused on the quality, originality, innovation
and community benefit of his research. In that year, an economic
evaluation of the breeding team’s research showed that for every
dollar invested in the group, $86 was returned to the Australian
cotton industry.
In 2008 he received the prestigious Outstanding Research
Award in Cotton Physiology, at the 2008 Physiology and
Agronomy Conference as part of the Beltwide Cotton
Conferences in the US. This was the first time the award had
been given to a researcher from outside the US.
The cotton breeding and biotechnology groups have also been
recognised in a number of other major awards including the
CSIRO Chairman’s Medal in 2003 and 2011 and the Clunies Ross
Award in 2006.
Greg has been on long service leave since November 2014
and will retire in early July 2015. He will continue mentoring
two younger scientists studying genetic variation in water use
efficiency (WUE) and developing breeding procedures to achieve
high yield and high quality simultaneously. He had stood down
from Stream and Group Leader roles in mid 2012.
June–July 2015