George Frederick Sprague (September 3, 1902 – November 24, 1998) was an American geneticist and maize researcher. He was a faculty member at the Iowa State University and the University of Illinois and a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He is credited with developing a genetically strong line of maize known as Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic. A recipient of the Wolf Prize in Agriculture, Sprague was also a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Biography

Sprague was born in Crete, Nebraska. He was the son of Lucy Manville Sprague and minister Elmer Ellsworth Sprague. After graduating from Lincoln High School, he received an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Ph.D. from Cornell University under supervision of

Rollins A. Emerson Rollins Adams Emerson (May 5, 1873 – December 8, 1947) was an American geneticist who rediscovered the laws of inheritance established by Gregor Mendel. Early life Emerson was born on May 5, 1873, in tiny Pillar Point, New York, but at th ...

. Sprague was a professor at Iowa State University. At Iowa State, Sprague realized that open-pollinated corn often suffered from weak roots and stalks. After intermating 16 lines known to have strong stalks and roots, Sprague created Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic. This variety was still used in corn breeding as of 2008. Sprague's techniques took advantage of his belief that good germplasm was crucial to successful breeding.Hallauer, Arnel R. (2008)
Corn Breeding
Iowa State Research Farm Progress Reports. Paper 475. Retrieved December 9, 2015. Leaving Iowa State for the USDA

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...

(ARS) in 1958, Sprague led the Corn and Sorghum Investigations Unit. He served as president of the American Society of Agronomy in 1960. Sprague retired from the ARS in 1972 and took a research position at the University of Illinois, where he was employed until 1994. In 1998, Sprague died at his home in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

Honors

Sprague was inducted into the ARS Science Hall of Fame in 1990. He was a fellow of the

. He was elected to the

and he later chaired the organization's section on applied biology. Sprague shared the 1978 Wolf Prize in Agriculture with plant pathologist

John Charles Walker John Charles Walker (July 6, 1893 – November 25, 1994) was an American agricultural scientist noted for his research of plant disease resistance. ttp://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9681&page=319 Biographical Memoirs V.77 (1999);National Aca ...

. In 2007, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy established the George F. Sprague Endowed Chair.

References

External links

* Google Scholar search fo
G. F. Sprague
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprague, George F. 1902 births 1998 deaths American geneticists People from Crete, Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni Cornell University alumni Iowa State University faculty United States Department of Agriculture people Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Illinois faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Presidents of the American Society of Agronomy 20th-century agronomists