The Prize Committee for Agriculture has unanimously decided that the Prize for 1998 be jointly awarded to:
Ilan Chet
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences
Rehovot, Israel
Baldur R. Stefansson
University of Manitoba
Faculty of Agriculture
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
for their contributions to the environmentally safe development of world agriculture through innovative approaches in breeding and bio-control.
Prof. Ilan Chet is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of biological control of plant pathogens which cause major crop losses. This field is of primary importance in the protection of crops as an alternative to environmental contamination by hazardous pesticides. He has pioneered the application of fungal physiology and the use of micro-organisms for biological control of plant diseases. His research combines in-depth knowledge of the physiology and the biochemistry of the fungi at the cellular and molecular levels, seeking explanations for pathogenic processes.
Professor Chetīs ability to effectively link fundamental and applied aspects of such diverse fields as plant pathology, soil microbiology and biotechnology led to the development of novel biological control agents which are now successfully used as commercial products. Professor Chet has also trained and mentored a new generation of plant biologists and thus contributed to the wide- spread application of new biological approaches in agriculture.
Professor Baldur R. Stefansson has made major contributions to the development of canola over a period of more than 30 years. It is mainly due to his influence and vision that oilseed rape has been transformed from a marginal edible oilseed covering 2.7 million hectares in 1950 to a leading oilseed crop in the world today covering in excess of 27 million hectares.
Prof. Stefansson has been one of the first to apply modern chemical analytical tools to monitor the composition of fatty acids of the canola oil, and thus to rapidly recognize and follow the development of new fatty acid compositions. This has eventually resulted in canola being one of the most nutritious oils for food use today. Canola is among the first crops presently undergoing a second revolution due to the advent of biotechnology. This second revolution will further advance the use of canola for the benefit of mankind.