Plant Pathology

The society was founded in December 1908 by a group led by Cornelius Lott Shear. It was the first scientific organization in the world to be devoted exclusively to phytopathology.

Unlike other agricultural sciences like entomology or plant pathology, the emergence of weed science is comparatively recent, occurring largely within the 20th century and coinciding with the development of herbicides.

Plant pathology, Virology

Elvin Charles Stakman (May 17, 1885, January 22, 1979) was an American plant pathologist who was a pioneer of methods of identifying and combatting disease in wheat. He became an internationally renowned phytopathologist for his studies of the genetics and epidemiology of stem rust.

Pamela Christine Ronald (born January 29, 1961) is an American plant pathologist and geneticist.

Jonathan Dallas George Jones (born 14 July 1954) is a senior scientist at the Sainsbury Laboratory and a professor at the University of East Anglia using molecular and genetic approaches to study disease resistance in plants.

Karl Maramorosch (January 16, 1915, May 9, 2016) was an Austrian-born American virologist, entomologist, and plant pathologist.

John Charles Walker (July 6, 1893, November 25, 1994) was an American agricultural scientist noted for his research of plant disease resistance. The New York Times said that Walker's "pioneering research in disease resistance in plants had a strong impact on world agriculture" and that Walker "was the first scientist to demonstrate the chemical nature of disease resistance in plants". Walker is most known for developing disease-resistant varieties of onions, cabbages, beans, peas, beets and cucumbers. The National Academy of Sciences said that he was considered "one of the world's greatest plant pathologists" and that "his fundamental discoveries of plant disease resistance made a lasting impact on world agriculture". Walker was professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was also president and a fellow of The American Phytopathological Society and received the APS Award of Distinction.

Roger N. Beachy is an American biologist and member of the National Academy of Sciences who studies plant virology.

Theodor Otto Diener (28 February 1921-28 March 2023) was a Swiss-American plant pathologist who discovered viroids in 1971, recognized by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses as a new order of subviral agents.

Robert James Cook (born 1937) is an American phytopathologist (plant disease researcher).

Karl Fritz Lauer (11 April 1938-5 June 2018) was a Romanian-German agricultural scientist in phytopathology and herbology.

Peter Posnette (real name Adrian Frank Posnette) (11 January 1914-17 July 2004) was a British plant pathologist.

James Gordon Horsfall (January 9, 1905, March 22, 1995) was an American biologist, plant pathologist, and agriculturist.

Israel Reichert (Hebrew: ישראל רייכרט; 5 August 1891-22 May 1975) was a Polish-born Israeli agriculturist and biologist who established the field of phytopathology in Israel.

Govindachetty Rangaswami (10 May 1925-7 September 2005), commonly referred to as G. Rangaswami, was an Indian agricultural scientist and administrator known for his contributions to agricultural microbiology, plant pathology, and sericulture.

Mark Alfred Carleton (Ohio, United States 7 March 1866, Paita, Peru 25 April 1925) was an American botanist and plant pathologist, most notable for his introduction of hard red wheats and durum wheats from Russia into the American wheatbelt.

Raffaele Ciferri (30 May 1897, Fermo, 12 February 1964, Pavia) was an Italian botanist, agriculturalist and mycologist.