Carlos Manuel Ochoa Nieves (27 November 1920,
Cusco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...
– † 11 December 2008,
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
) was a
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
vian
plant breeder
Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce cro ...
,
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
,
ethnobotanist
Ethnobotany is the study of a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of a local culture and people. An ethnobotanist thus strives to document the local customs involving the practical uses of local flora for m ...
and expert in potato
taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
.
Biography
Born in Cusco, Peru, Ochoa received degrees from the
Universidad Mayor de San Simón,
Cochabamba
Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...
, Bolivia and from the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
, USA. For a long time Ochoa worked as a wheat and potato breeder. He created important Peruvian potato varieties including Renacimiento, Yungay, and Tomasa Condemayta.
Ochoa collected many native potato varieties and wild potato species. One third of the nearly 200 known wild potato species were first described by him.
Ochoa was professor emeritus of the
Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina
The National Agrarian University, also formally called National Agrarian University – La Molina (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina'') (UNALM), is a public university in Lima, Peru. It is the country's best university in the fi ...
, Peru. In 1971, he joined the
International Potato Center
The International Potato Center (known as CIP from its Spanish language, Spanish-language name ''Centro Internacional de la Papa'') is a research facility based in Lima, Peru, that seeks to reduce poverty and achieve food security on a sustaine ...
. He received many international awards, includin
Distinguished Economic Botanistand th
Selected publications
* 1962. ''Los Solanum tuberiferos silvestres del Perú : Secc. Tuberarium, Sub.-Secc. Hyperbasarthrum''
* 1991. ''The Potatoes of South America. Bolivia''. Cambridge Press. 570 pp.
* 1999. ''Las papas de Sudamérica''. Centro Internacional de la Papa.
* 2006. Ugent, D.; C.M. Ochoa. ''La Etnobotánica Del Perú : Desde La Prehistoria Al Presente''. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion Tecnologica, CONCYTEC. 379 pp.
See also
*
Jack Hawkes (botanist)
John Gregory Hawkes OBE FLS (27 June 1915 in Bristol – 6 September 2007 in Reading) was a British botanist, Mason Professor of Botany at the University of Birmingham.
He was a student at Cambridge University Botany School where obtained his P ...
– another wild potato botanist.
References
External links
Some of his life in
his own wordsobituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochoa, Carlos M.
1929 births
2008 deaths
People from Cusco
Peruvian botanists