Biographical Memoirs Volume 91 (2009) / Chapter Skim
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GLENN WILLARD BURTON
GLENN WILLARD BURTON
Pages 92-107
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From page 93... ...
burton is a prominent name in the recorded history of forage and turfgrass breeding during the 20th century. His formal research career of 61 years started with the application of the principles of Mendelian genetics for improvement of grasses to the application of molecular genetics for grass improvement during the latter years of his career.
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From page 94... ...
At that time cotton was the principal crop in the southern United States, and bermudagrass was considered the worst weed that plagued cotton growers. Burton's first hybrid bermudagrass was produced between a local bermudagrass cultivar and a cultivar from South Africa and was officially released in 1943 as Coastal bermudagrass.
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From page 95... ...
The development of better cultivars for each of the grass species was based on fundamental selection and genetic studies to determine the more efficient and effective improvement methods and agronomic field research to determine the husbandry practices that would maximize production and sustainability. These studies included methods to produce hybrids; estimation of the heritability of different traits; breeding and selection methods; recurrent selection methods for improvement of germplasm for breeding purposes; collection, evaluation, and maintenance of germplasm resources from all areas of world; cytological studies to determine the inheritance of traits; identifying sources of male-sterile germplasm for
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From page 96... ...
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY Few agricultural scientists have accomplished as much as Glenn Burton did during the nearly seven decades of his research career. His entire professional career was as a research geneticist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
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From page 97... ...
The released cultivars managed in accordance with his research findings and information distributed to the public have significantly changed the South from a rowcrop cotton culture with its eroded fields and bare lawns to a profitable diversified agriculture with grasses adapted for reducing soil erosion, for greater economic benefits of the livestock industry, and for beautifying the environment. Burton's comprehensive research program led to a better understanding of cultivar improvement in different grass species.
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From page 98... ...
Ancillary research also was conducted to enhance the basic discoveries for the different grass species, such as effects of radiation treatments to generate genetic variation; how to break dormancy in pearl millet seeds to permit greater flexibility in planting dates; used quantitative genetic models to determine the inheritance of different traits in different grass species; determined the effects of a single recessive pear millet gene (tr) on pleiotropy, including reduction of transpiration rates to increase drought tolerance; and developed the recurrent restricted phenotypic selection methods to reduce environmental effects in long-term selection for genetic improvement of germplasm.
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From page 99... ...
Burton received 80 awards related to his contributions in grass breeding, starting with the American Society of Agronomy Stevenson Award in 1949 and the Crop Science Society of America Presidential Award in 1997. Burton was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1975, and he was a regular attendee and contributor to Section 62 (Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences)
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From page 100... ...
In April of 1936 they moved to Tifton, Georgia, where he took a position as principal geneticist with the Division of Forage Crops and Diseases of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station.
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From page 101... ...
PUBLIC SERVICE Plant breeding and the Methodist church received most of Burton's attention during his professional career. He was very active in the Methodist church, singing in the choir and serving on numerous committees.
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From page 102... ...
In addition to lecturing and consulting with staff and students, he was an active collector of germplasm that could have value in crosses with domestic cultivars; collections were gathered in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Great Britain, and India. During September and October of 1979, he chaired the meeting in India of the Advisory Committee on Sorghum and Millet Germplasm of the International Board of Plant Genetic Resources; discussed forage research at the Pasture Section of the Ministry of Agriculture in Greece; and consulted with forage research workers on a proposal for cooperative research in Israel.
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From page 103... ...
degree from Rutgers University 1962 Honorary D.Sc. degree from University of Nebraska 1968 Agricultural Institute of Canada Recognition Award 1973 DuPont Foundation Medal for Distinguished Service to Man 1975 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences 1979 DeKalb Crop Science Distinguished Career Award 1980 USDA Distinguished Service Award Southern Turfgrass Association Honorary Member Award 1981 President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service
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From page 104... ...
. Each of these sources provided information on his professional career, his personal interests, and his impact on the agriculture and turfgrass industries in the southern United States.
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From page 105... ...
40:230. 1959 Breeding methods for pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum)
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From page 106... ...
BioScience 23:705-710. 1974 Recurrent restricted phenotypic selection increases forage yields of Pensacola bahiagrass.
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From page 107... ...
Yield distribution of spaced plants within Pensacola bahiagrass populations developed by Recurrent Restricted Phenotypic Selection.
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