Charles Alfred Barber

C.I.E. The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(10 November 1860 – 23 February 1933) was a British botanist and specialist on sugarcane, who worked for much of his life in southern India. ''

Saccharum barberi ''Saccharum sinense'' or ''Saccharum'' × ''sinense'', synonym ''Saccharum'' × ''barberi'', sugarcane, is strong-growing species of grass (Poaceae) in the genus '' Saccharum''. It is originally cultivated in Guangzhou, China where it is still ...

'', a species of sugarcane that grows wild in northern India is named after him. He was a pioneer in the nobilization of wild canes in India, by producing hybrids between wild and hardy local species and the high-sugar-yielding cultivated ''

Saccharum officinarum ''Saccharum officinarum'' is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the genus '' Saccharum''. Its stout stalks are rich in sucrose, a simple sugar which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It originated in New Guinea, and is now cultivated ...

'' that could survive the cold winters of northern India.

Education

Born on 10 November 1860 at Wynberg,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, son of Rev. William Barber. He went to study at New Kingswood, Bath and later at Bonn University (1883-84). At Bonn university, he studied under Eduard Strasburger. He joined

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and passed the natural sciences Tripos with first class in 1887 (part I) and 188 (part II). He received an MA in 1892 and a Sc.D. in 1908. He joined in the Leeward Islands as a Superintendent of the Botanical Station in 1892 and worked for four years before joining as a lecturer in botany at the Royal Engineering College at Cooper's Hill. In 1898 he joined the Madras Presidency as Government Botanist. He studied root-parasitism in plants from 1906-1908. He became an expert on sugarcane to the Government in 1912. He became a lecturer on Tropical Agriculture at Cambridge University in 1919. He was made C.I.E. in 1918.

Professional activity

Charles Alfred Barber worked on many aspects of sugarcane breeding and in basic botany. He established a sugarcane research station that is now known as the

Sugarcane Breeding Institute Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI) is a central research institute in Coimbatore, India. It was established in 1912 and is affiliated to Indian Council of Agricultural Research. It was established to promote research efforts in sugarcane product ...

at Coimbatore and along with T.S. Venkatraman developed hybrid sugarcane varieties suitable for India. These included hybrids between local and hardy canes from India which are now called ''Saccharum barberi'' after him and the tropical high-sugar yielding ''Saccharum officinarum'' which did not survive in the winter of northern India. This transfer of commercially useful traits from "noble" cane to Indian cane is referred to the nobilization of Indian canes. He was awarded the Maynard-Ganga Ram prize in 1931.

Death

Charles Alfred Barber died at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

on 23 February 1933.

References

External links

Sugarcane Breeding Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Charles Alfred British botanists 1860 births 1933 deaths Agricultural researchers in India Cape Colony people Botanists from British India British people in colonial India Botanists active in India