Poggendorff, Walter H. (1907? - 1981)

Summary

Walter Poggendorff was an eminent plant breeder in the 1930s and 1940s in New South Wales, noted for playing a key role in the establishment of the Australian rice industry. In 1928 he started his career as assistant plant breeder at the New South Wales Department of Agriculture Yanco Rice Research Station in Leeton, N.S.W. His principal research was on rice varieties. He developed short-grain varieties which could be planted over extended seasons, were high-yield crops suitable for Australian conditions, and had good milling qualities. Poggendorff also bred Australia's first long-grain rice variety, "Kulu". He recognised the need to quarantine imported rice to limit potential the for the introduction of serious diseases. Other research was into fruit varieties, particularly pome fruits, almonds, and rock melons. He retired in 1968 as Chief the of Division of Plant Industry, New South Wales Department of Agriculture. Poggendorff bequeathed funds to the Royal Society of New South Wales that were used to establish the Poggendorff Lecture. Awarded since 1987, and now and known as the RSNSW Poggendorff Award and Lectureship in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, it is presented in recognition of distinguished research in plant biology, and more broadly in agriculture, conducted mainly in New South Wales.

Details

Chronology

1928 -

Career position - Assistant plant breeder, Yanco Rice Research station, New South Wales Department of Agriculture, Leeton

1928

Education - BAgSc, University of Sydney

1968

Career event - Retired as Chief, Division of Plant Industry, New South Wales Department of Agriculture

1972

Award - Royal Society of New South Wales Medal

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• McDonald, D. G., 'Inaugural Poggendorff Memorial Lecture: Walter Poggendorff - pioneer plant breeder', Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 120 (1/2) (1987), 49-55. Details
• Poggendorff, W. H., 'Varieties of rice', Agricultural gazette of New South Wales, 39 (1928), 505-8. Details
• Poggendorff, W. H., 'Rock melons and casabas - a classification of varieties', Agricultural gazette of New South Wales, 40 (1929), 873-8. Details
• Poggendorff, W. H., 'Artificial hybridisation of rice: a technique satisfactory for Yanco conditions', Agricultural gazette of New South Wales, 44 (1933), 283-5. Details
• Poggendorff, W. H., 'Improving our rice by selection, introduction and breeding', Agricultural gazette of New South Wales, 48 (1937), 319-23. Details

Resources

• The Poggendorff Award and Lectureship, Royal Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 2026. https://www.royalsoc.org.au/awards/discipline-awards/poggendorff-award-and-lectureship/. Details