Gurdev Khush

Gurdev Singh Khush
Born (1935-08-22) 22 August 1935
Rurkee, Punjab India
EducationB.Sc

Punjab Agricultural University (1955)

Ph.D University of California, Davis (1960)
OccupationsAgronomist and geneticist
Known forDevelopment of Green revolution varieties of rice
SpouseHarwant Kaur Khush
ChildrenRanjiv (Son) Manjeev, Sonia, Kiran (Daughters)
Awards
  • Borlaug Award 1977
  • Japan Prize 1987
  • International Agronomy Award 1989
  • World Food Prize 1996
  • Rank Prize 1998
  • Friendship award China 1999
  • Wolf Prize 2000
  • Padma Shri Award 2000
  • Khawarizmi Award 2004
  • Mahathir Science Award 2009
  • VinFuture Award 2023
Scientific career
FieldsTomato cytogenetics, Rice Breeding
Doctoral advisorG. Ledyard Stebbins
Websitehttps://khushfoundation.org/

Early life and education

Gurdev Singh Khush was born on August 22, 1935 at Rurkee, Punjab, India. He received his early education at the local primary school and completed his matriculation at Khalsa High School in Bundala. In 1955, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Punjab Agricultural University.

In 1957, Khush moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies at the University of California, Davis. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Genetics in 1960 under the supervision of the eminent evolutionary biologist, Dr. G. Ledyard Stebbins. His doctoral research focused on the genetic and evolutionary relationships of cultivated rye and wild species laying the foundation for his later work in plant breeding and crop improvement.

Career

After completing his Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, in 1960, Gurdev Singh Khush remained at the university as an Assistant Geneticist in the Department of Vegetable Crops. During this period, he conducted extensive research on the genetics of tomatoes and authored a book on Cytogenetics of Aneuploids and published about twenty scientific papers in referred journals.

In 1967, Khush was invited to join the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Philippines, as a plant breeder. He was appointed the institute’s Head of the Plant Breeding Department in 1972 and head of Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics and biochemistry in 1987.

During his career at IRRI, Gurdev trained about 60 students for M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. He also mentored numerous post-doctoral scientists from multiple countries.

Following his retirement from IRRI in 2002, Khush returned to the University of California, Davis, as an adjunct professor, where he continued to mentor young scientists and promote international agricultural research. He has served as a consultant and advisor to numerous global organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

Research contributions

Gurdev Singh Khush is widely recognized as the principal architect behind the development of innovative high-yielding rice varieties that revolutionized global rice production and played a defining role in the Green Revolution. Over three decades, he and his team developed more than 300 rice varieties including iconic IR 36 and IR 64 which are characterized by short stature, shorter growth duration, strong resistance to lodging, and resistance to diseases, and insect pests. These varieties are not only resilient to climate but also three times more productive than traditional ones, enabling farmers to harvest 6–7 tons of rice per hectare, compared with the 1–3 tons obtained with older varieties.

Between 1960 and 2023-24 the global area under rice cultivation has increased from 126 million hectares to about 165 million hectares (30%). However, during the same period, global world rice production expanded dramatically—from 200 million tons in 1960 to 600 million tons by 2000, reaching approximately 776 million tons by 2023–24. Average rice yield increased from 2.1 to 4.7 tons per hectare.

Khush’s work at IRRI played a transformative role in increasing global rice production and ensuring food security in many developing countries. His scientific leadership contributed significantly to the success of the Green Revolution in Asia, helping to avert widespread famine and lifting millions of people out of poverty.

This growth has had far-reaching consequences, contributing significantly to global food security, poverty reduction, and economic development, while also promoting environmental sustainability through more efficient use of agricultural land and resources. For his work on rice breeding leading to world food security and poverty alleviation Gurdev was awarded the World FOOD Prize in 1996.

International collaborations

During his tenure at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Khush collaborated extensively with national rice improvement programs in countries across Asia and beyond, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Iran, and Egypt. Through these partnerships, he helped facilitate the exchange of germplasm, research methodologies, and breeding strategies that accelerated the global adoption of high-yielding rice varieties.

Basic research

Khush also carried out fundamental research on rye, tomatoes, and rice in the fields of cytogenetics and biosystematics. He investigated all wild species of the genus Secale, including cultivated rye (Secale cereale), and demonstrated that these species had differentiated through chromosomal rearrangements and translocations.

In tomato, Khush established primary trisomics for all twelve chromosomes and mapped previously unlocated genes to their respective chromosomes.

In rice, he mapped numerous genes and developed twelve genetic linkage groups. He established twelve primary trisomics of rice, which were used to associate the linkage maps with their corresponding chromosomes for the first time. Khush also studied wild species of rice and classified their genomic composition. Several useful genes were subsequently transferred from wild species into cultivated germplasm.

Awards and Honors

Khush received numerous awards and honors from national and international foundations and organizations such as:

Membership in Science Academies

Honorary degrees

Gurdev has received honorary doctorate degrees (Honoris Causa) from sixteen universities, and some are listed below:

Publications

Books

Selected Scientific Papers

Khush published 340 papers of which he is a single author of 46. Many of these papers are in well-known scientific journals such as Genetics, Heredity, Theoretical and applied Genetics, Journal of Genetics, Canadian journal of Genetics and Cytology and Chromosoma.

External References

Videos and Web Sites

Philanthropic Foundation

Website: https://khushfoundation.org/

The Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush Foundation for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences was established in 2010 with a generous endowment, with the mission to advance agricultural education and research.

The Foundation’s primary objective is to provide financial support for the promotion of education, research, and training in agriculture sciences. Its key initiatives include:

  • Awarding scholarships to deserving and meritorious students of PAU, GADVASU, and other academic institutions, with a special focus on students from rural areas of the Punjab.
  • Providing travel grants to young scientists and post-graduate students to facilitate their participation in national and international scientific conferences.
  • Inviting eminent scholars to deliver lectures and share their expertise with the faculty and students of PAU and GADVASU, thereby enriching academic discourse and fostering knowledge exchange.
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