Lawrence Ogilvie
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Ogilvie was a Scottish
plant pathologist.
Ogilvie was a UK expert on the diseases of commercially-grown vegetables and wheat from the 1930s to the 1960s.
In the 1920s — when agriculture, rather than tourism, was Bermuda
's major industry — he identified the virus
that had devastated for 30 years the island's lily-bulb crop. He re-established the vital export trade to the USA and increased it to seven-fold the volume of ten years earlier.
in the north of Aberdeenshire
, Scotland
, on 5 July 1898. His father, the Reverend William Paton Ogilvie was the minister of the Presbyterian church there. He attended Aberdeen Grammar School
and took his BSc and MA at the University of Aberdeen
in 1921 as the Fullerton Research Scholar with special distinction in Botany
and Zoology
. He was also awarded the Collie Prize for the most distinguished student in Botany. In Aberdeen, he lectured on the Alpine flora
of China
. At Emmanuel College, Cambridge
University, he was awarded an MSc in 1923 for his work on slime flux
es on trees, particularly willows, elm
s, horse chestnuts, and apples.
As the Bermuda delegate at the Kingston
, Jamaica
8th West Indian Agricultural Conference in March 1924, he initiated West Indian plant inspections, nursery-stock export certificates, and the inspection and grading of fruit and vegetables for export.
He was acclaimed in Bermuda for identifying the virus that had increasingly damaged the commercially vital lily-bulb export trade of Lilium longiflorum to the USA since the late 19th century. Aphid
damage had previously been thought to be the cause of the crop failures. He reported the marked improvements found during his inspections of 204 bulb fields in 1927, following controls in the fields and packing stations: exports of Bermuda Easter lilies increased from 823 cases in 1918 to 6043 cases in 1927. Due to this success,while still in his 20s, Ogilvie was made a vice-president of the British Lily Society.
Ogilvie wrote The Insects of Bermuda, published in 1928 by the Department of Agriculture, Bermuda. He identified and described 395 insects; in particular the Aphid ogilviei discovered by him on Lilium harisii
in Bermuda.
Bermuda had three crops of vegetables each year for export to New York
: this gave him the experience to later pioneer the European study of vegetable diseases.
near Bristol
, England. The Vale of Evesham, Cornwall
, and other West Country
areas grew and grow much of Britain's vegetables. He pioneered the European study of commercial fruit and particularly vegetable diseases with 44 scientific papers between 1929 and 1946 at Long Ashton Research Station. He wrote the government’s official national Diseases of Vegetables practical guide for trade growers: the six editions from 1941 to 1969 were full of photos of wilting crops.
Ogilvie was important to the World War II
and post-war challenge of feeding Britain: he was the leading British expert on the diseases of cereal crops and vegetable
s. By the 1940s, wheat
varieties had not been sufficiently bred to resist the rust
and other diseases that particularly affected the damp conditions of Britain. Before the war, Britain imported half its food, but by 1941 relied on home-grown crops because German submarines were sinking about 60 merchant ships per month, and the priority for shipping was to carry matériel
to resist the impending invasion. The 1940s varieties of wheat were still unable to resist disease, with long stalks prone to lodging in the heavy rains of the west of England. Ogilvie was the international authority on the diseases of wheat that flourished in these damp, warm conditions, particularly Black Stem Rust
and Take All
. In total he wrote over 130 articles about plant diseases in journals of learned societies.
Ogilvie and his team of scientists advised growers and farmers in the south-west of England through the war years and until his retirement in 1963. This was particularly important to Britain during the war and the continued food rationing period to 1954 — bread for instance was rationed from 1946 to 1948, even though it was not rationed during the war.
He was a founding member and a chairman of the Friends of the Bristol Art Gallery, giving the Jacob Epstein
bronze Kathlene to the gallery. He was on the founding committee of Bristol's Arnolfini Gallery. Ogilvie was a keen watercolour artist, and with his wife formed a collection of 1940s and 1950s modern art. He died on 16 April 1980 following operations after falling in his East Dundry garden and breaking his hip.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
plant pathologist.
Ogilvie was a UK expert on the diseases of commercially-grown vegetables and wheat from the 1930s to the 1960s.
In the 1920s — when agriculture, rather than tourism, was Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
's major industry — he identified the virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
that had devastated for 30 years the island's lily-bulb crop. He re-established the vital export trade to the USA and increased it to seven-fold the volume of ten years earlier.
Early life
Ogilvie was born in RoseheartyRosehearty
Rosehearty , Rizarty in the local dialect, is located on the Moray Firth coast, four miles west of the town Fraserburgh, in the historical county of Aberdeenshire in Scotland....
in the north of Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, on 5 July 1898. His father, the Reverend William Paton Ogilvie was the minister of the Presbyterian church there. He attended Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School, known to students as The Grammar is a state secondary school in the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of twelve secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department...
and took his BSc and MA at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
in 1921 as the Fullerton Research Scholar with special distinction in Botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
and Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
. He was also awarded the Collie Prize for the most distinguished student in Botany. In Aberdeen, he lectured on the Alpine flora
Alpine plant
Alpine plants are plants that grow in the alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. Alpine plants grow together as a plant community in alpine tundra.-Alpine plant diversity:...
of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. At Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
University, he was awarded an MSc in 1923 for his work on slime flux
Slime flux
Slime flux is a bacterial disease of certain trees, primarily elm, cottonwood, poplar, boxelder, ash, aspen, fruitless mulberry,pun-jins and oak. A wound to the bark, caused by pruning, insects, poor branch angles or natural cracks and splits, causes sap to ooze from the wound...
es on trees, particularly willows, elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
s, horse chestnuts, and apples.
Bermuda
From September 1923 to April 1928 he was the Bermuda government's first plant pathologist. He developed agricultural laws for Bermuda; initiated seed testing; registered local seedsmen; organised the improvement of seed potatoes; established plant quarantine; studied the diseases of celery and other vegetables, maize, vines, avocados, bananas and citrus fruits; and investigated the banana losses from the Mediterranean Fruit Fly.As the Bermuda delegate at the Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
8th West Indian Agricultural Conference in March 1924, he initiated West Indian plant inspections, nursery-stock export certificates, and the inspection and grading of fruit and vegetables for export.
He was acclaimed in Bermuda for identifying the virus that had increasingly damaged the commercially vital lily-bulb export trade of Lilium longiflorum to the USA since the late 19th century. Aphid
Aphid
Aphids, also known as plant lice and in Britain and the Commonwealth as greenflies, blackflies or whiteflies, are small sap sucking insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
damage had previously been thought to be the cause of the crop failures. He reported the marked improvements found during his inspections of 204 bulb fields in 1927, following controls in the fields and packing stations: exports of Bermuda Easter lilies increased from 823 cases in 1918 to 6043 cases in 1927. Due to this success,while still in his 20s, Ogilvie was made a vice-president of the British Lily Society.
Ogilvie wrote The Insects of Bermuda, published in 1928 by the Department of Agriculture, Bermuda. He identified and described 395 insects; in particular the Aphid ogilviei discovered by him on Lilium harisii
Lilium
Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs. Most species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere, though the range extends into the northern subtropics...
in Bermuda.
Bermuda had three crops of vegetables each year for export to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: this gave him the experience to later pioneer the European study of vegetable diseases.
England
In the winter of 1928 he was appointed Advisory Mycologist at Long Ashton Research StationLong Ashton Research Station
Long Ashton Research Station was an agricultural and horticultural government research centre in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK...
near Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England. The Vale of Evesham, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, and other West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
areas grew and grow much of Britain's vegetables. He pioneered the European study of commercial fruit and particularly vegetable diseases with 44 scientific papers between 1929 and 1946 at Long Ashton Research Station. He wrote the government’s official national Diseases of Vegetables practical guide for trade growers: the six editions from 1941 to 1969 were full of photos of wilting crops.
Ogilvie was important to the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and post-war challenge of feeding Britain: he was the leading British expert on the diseases of cereal crops and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s. By the 1940s, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
varieties had not been sufficiently bred to resist the rust
Rust (fungus)
Rusts are plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi of the order Pucciniales. About 7800 species are known. Rusts can affect a variety of plants; leaves, stems, fruits and seeds. Rust is most commonly seen as coloured powder, composed off tiny aeciospores which land on vegetation producing...
and other diseases that particularly affected the damp conditions of Britain. Before the war, Britain imported half its food, but by 1941 relied on home-grown crops because German submarines were sinking about 60 merchant ships per month, and the priority for shipping was to carry matériel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
to resist the impending invasion. The 1940s varieties of wheat were still unable to resist disease, with long stalks prone to lodging in the heavy rains of the west of England. Ogilvie was the international authority on the diseases of wheat that flourished in these damp, warm conditions, particularly Black Stem Rust
Wheat diseases
-In Europe:Cereals are at risk from numerous diseases due to the level of intensification necessary for profitable production since the 1970s. More recently varietal diversification, good plant breeding and the availability of effective fungicides have played a prominent part in cereal disease...
and Take All
Wheat diseases
-In Europe:Cereals are at risk from numerous diseases due to the level of intensification necessary for profitable production since the 1970s. More recently varietal diversification, good plant breeding and the availability of effective fungicides have played a prominent part in cereal disease...
. In total he wrote over 130 articles about plant diseases in journals of learned societies.
Ogilvie and his team of scientists advised growers and farmers in the south-west of England through the war years and until his retirement in 1963. This was particularly important to Britain during the war and the continued food rationing period to 1954 — bread for instance was rationed from 1946 to 1948, even though it was not rationed during the war.
Personal life
Ogilvie was a keen skier. On 10 January 1931, he married landscape architect Doris Katherine Raikes Turnbull, who he had met in Bermuda. During World War II he was a member of the Home Guard in the hamlet of East Dundry where he lived with his wife and son.He was a founding member and a chairman of the Friends of the Bristol Art Gallery, giving the Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...
bronze Kathlene to the gallery. He was on the founding committee of Bristol's Arnolfini Gallery. Ogilvie was a keen watercolour artist, and with his wife formed a collection of 1940s and 1950s modern art. He died on 16 April 1980 following operations after falling in his East Dundry garden and breaking his hip.