Dr John Bradshaw wins potato industry award for research and knowledge transfer
Dr John Bradshaw, honorary fellow of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI) has been awarded the prestigious 2010 British Potato Industry Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to potato research and knowledge transfer.
He has the talent of knowing how to build communications between potato breeders and scientists, ensuring complicated research knowledge is translated into straightforward and practical messages that are easy to understand and put into practice, said Mr Stevenson.
In addition, the two way communications he has built up have ensured that studies undertaken are relevant to the sectors needs. The results of his research are invaluable and many of them have already been incorporated into commercial varieties.
Furthermore, thanks to Dr Bradshaw, some costly and time-consuming field trials and disease assays in potato breeding should soon be replaced with simple, fast and accurate DNA assays, commented Mr Stevenson.
Dr Bradshaw has dedicated the last twenty years to potato research, in addition to writing and editing books on the subject. His most recent book is Root and Tuber Crops in the Handbook of Plant Breeding series, published by Springer, in which he also co-authored the chapter on potatoes.
British Potato Industry Award committee is made up of Jim Godfrey, OBE, Lincolnshire farmer, former chairman of the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru and former chairman of SCRI; David Walker OBE, Independent member and former chairman of Potato Council; Fraser Scott representing producers including co-operatives; Graham Finn, representing the processors industry; and Frank Pirie who due to the conflict of interest with Dr Bradshaw being nominated for the award stood in for Professor Peter Gregory, chief executive and institute director of the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI).
Biographical details of Dr John Bradshaw:
Having studied genetics at the Universities of Cambridge (BA), Birmingham (MSc) and East Anglia (PhD), John Bradshaw spent his entire 33-year career at SPBS/SCRI (Scottish Plant Breeding Station, Scottish Crop Research Institute), working on barley, brassicas and potatoes. The last twenty years have been dedicated to potato breeding and genetics. In 2009 he retired as head of the potato breeding and genetics team and was made a honorary fellow of SCRI.
In 2004 he received a personal merit promotion at SCRI and in 2007 received the Dr James Hardie Memorial Award from the Pre Basic Growers Association. In 2008 he was elected a Honorary Fellow of the Indian Potato Association. Throughout his career, he has been a member of EUCARPIA (European Association for Research on Plant Breeding) and served as Chairperson of the Potato Section from 2000 to 2009. In retirement he is serving as a member of the editorial board of Heredity, the journal of the Genetics Society of Great Britain, and is giving some lectures on Plant Breeding in the MRes course at Dundee University.
Recent Publications
- Bradshaw, J.E. and Bonierbale, M. 2010. Potatoes. In: Bradshaw, J.E. (ed.). Root and Tuber Crops, Handbook of Plant Breeding Vol 7, Springer, New York, 295p.
- Bradshaw, J.E. and Ramsay, G. 2009. Potato Origin and Production. In: Singh, J. and Kaur, L. (eds). Advances in Potato Chemistry and Technology. Elsevier, Oxford, 1-26.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2009. A genetic perspective on yield plateau in potato. Potato Journal 36, 79-94.
- Bradshaw, J.E., Dale, M.F.B. and Mackay, G.R. 2009. Improving the yield, processing quality and disease and pest resistance of potatoes by genotypic recurrent selection. Euphytica 170, 215-227
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2009. Potato breeding at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station and the Scottish Crop Research Institute: 1920-2008. Potato Research 52, 141-172.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2009. Breeding for field resistance to late blight of potato at SCRI. Acta Horticulturae 834, 87-100.
- Bradshaw, J.E., Hackett, C.A., Pande, B., Waugh, R. and Bryan, G.J. 2008. QTL mapping of yield, agronomic and quality traits in tetraploid potato (Solanum tuberosum subsp. tuberosum). Theoretical and Applied Genetics 116, 193-211.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2007. The Canon of Potato Science: 2. Population Genetics. Potato Research 50, 211-214.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2007. The Canon of Potato Science: 4. Tetrasomic Inheritance. Potato Research 50, 219-222.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2007. Breeding Potato as a Major Staple Crop. In: Kang, M.S. and Priyadarshan, P.M. (eds). Breeding Major Food Staples. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 277-332.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2007. Potato-Breeding Strategy. In: Vreugdenhil, D. (ed). Potato Biology and Biotechnology: Advances and Perspectives. Elsevier, Oxford, 157-177.
- Bradshaw, J.E. 2006. Genetics of Agrihorticultural Traits. In: Gopal, J. and Khurana, S.M.P. (eds). Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement and Postharvest Management. The Haworth Press, Binghamton, 41-75.
- Bradshaw, J.E., Bryan, G.J. and Ramsay, G. 2006. Genetic Resources (Including Wild and Cultivated Solanum Species) and Progress in their Utilisation in Potato Breeding. Potato Research 49, 49-65.
- Bradshaw, J.E., Hackett, C.A., Lowe, R., McLean, K., Stewart, H.E., Tierney, I., Vilaro, M.D.R. and Bryan, G.J. 2006. Detection of a quantitative trait locus for both foliage and tuber resistance to late blight [Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary] on chromosome 4 of a dihaploid potato clone (Solanum tuberosum subsp. tuberosum). Theoretical and Applied Genetics 113, 943-951.
- Bradshaw, J.E., Bryan, G.J., Lees, A.K., McLean, K. and Solomon-Blackburn, R.M. 2006. Mapping the R10 and R11 genes for resistance to late blight (Phytophthora infestans) present in the potato (Solanum tuberosum) R-gene differentials of Black. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 112, 744-751.
- Bradshaw, J.E. and Ramsay, G. 2005. Utilisation of the Commonwealth Potato Collection in potato breeding. Euphytica 146, 9-19.