Henry M. Beachell and Charles N. Bollich Field Notebooks

Collection

Identifier: MS0476

Staff Only

Content Description

The Henry M. Beachell and Charles N. Bollich Rice Research Field Notebooks consist of approximately 600 bound notebooks in which the researchers recorded field data collected in Beaumont, Texas, from 1932 to 1991. The collection includes agronomic data from the Uniform Regional Rice Nursery, experimental plot research and breeding nursery books along with Beachell’s daily field diaries from 1943 to 1959.

Dates

Creation: 1932-1991

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

Henry M. "Hank" Beachell (1906-2006) was a researcher and plant breeder who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Beaumont, Texas. During his career at the experiment station, which began in 1932, he bred and introduced nine rice varieties. His varieties eventually accounted for more than 90 percent of U.S. long-grain rice production in the mid-south growing region. After retiring from USDA in 1963, Beachell accepted a position at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, where he was involved in the development of the first semi-dwarf rice variety, IR8, that set yield records in several Asian field experiments. He later received credit for helping alleviate global malnutrition and poverty because of his role in developing, improving, and promoting the high-yield IR8 rice. In 1996, Beachell and his collaborator Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush shared the prestigious World Food Prize.

Charles N. Bollich (b. 1926) joined USDA in 1958 as an agronomist, developing disease-resistant rice cultivars at an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) facility in Crowley, Louisiana. He transferred to the USDA-ARS Rice Research Unit at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Beaumont, Texas, in 1963 to head the federal/state rice breeding program there. In 1972, he became the research leader for that unit. During his career, Bollich led the development of 16 rice cultivars that are internationally recognized for their superior quality and high yields. The release of “Lemont” in 1983 was the first semi-dwarf variety widely adopted in the southern U.S. which transformed rice production management systems. His research led to the discovery of various genetic factors in grain quality, disease resistance, and insect resistance in rice. Bollich received numerous honors and awards for his scientific work, including the Agronomic Achievement Award from the American Society of Agronomy, and election as a Fellow to the American Society of Agronomy and to the Crop Science Society of America. He was inducted into the USDA-ARS Science Hall of Fame in 1994 for his contributions to rice breeding and genetics. He retired from USDA in 1991.