Obituaries

An archetype of collaboration, community development and vision, who made fundamental contributions to biology through his studies on the often-unseen part of the plant, the root.

When Mr Yuan Longping passed away on 22 May 2021 at the age of 91, in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, the field of agricultural science lost a true giant. Mr Yuan was one of the greatest agricultural scientists of our time, and a hero who will be forever remembered in China and around the world. He devoted his entire life to the research of hybrid rice and made great contributions to global food security and poverty alleviation.

Pioneering archeobotanist