Mary Dilys Glynne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1895-02-19)19 February 1895 Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales |
| Died | 9 May 1991(1991-05-09) (aged 96) Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Plant pathology, mycology |
| Institutions | Rothamsted Experimental Station |
Mary Dilys GlynneOBE (19 February 1895 – 9 May 1991) was a Britishplant pathologist andmountaineer.
She was the first plant pathologist atRothamsted Experimental Station and was particularly interested in soil-based fungal diseases including potato wart,eyespot in wheat andtake-all. She discovered a method for identifying varieties of crop resistant to these fungal diseases and proved that methods such ascrop rotation only perpetuated the problem. Her research led to increased yields in agriculture, which was of particular note duringWorld War II, and was appointed an OBE for her services to agriculture.
Glynne was also a passionate mountaineer, climbing a number of famous Alpine peaks. She was the second person, the first woman, to climbMount Spencer in New Zealand.
Glynne was born Mary Dilys Glynne Jones in UpperBangor, Gwynedd inNorth Wales on 19 February 1895. Her father, John Glynne Jones, was a solicitor and her mother,Dilys Lloyd Glynne Jones was secretary (and later vice-president) of theAssociation for Promoting the Education of Girls in Wales. The couple had a total of five children. Glynne, as the middle child, had both an older and younger brother and sister.[1] Glynne's elder sister wasEryl Smith, a doctor and plant collector. Glynne's mother was one of the founders of theBangor School for Girls, so Glynne was educated there before attendingNorth London Collegiate School, another school with links to her mother. Her degree in botany was attained fromUniversity College of North Wales in 1917 and soon after she dropped the "Jones" from her name.[1]
As soon as Glynne graduated she was offered a post in the University College of North Wales department of agriculture, but within a few months she was volunteering atRothamsted Experimental Station whereE. John Russell was director.Winifred Brenchley, the first woman to work in agricultural sciences, soon offered her a permanent assistant botanist position at Rothamsted,[1] where she remained for 43 years. Glynne was one of the original members of theMycology Department in 1918[2] and later founded thePlant Pathology Department.[3][4] Glynne's first major work was studyingSynchytrium endobioticum, the cause of potato wart disease. A modified version of her method for identifying varieties resistant to the disease, the Glynne-Lemmerzahl method, is still in use today.[1] The work was sufficiently notable that theUniversity of Wales awarded Glynne an MSc in 1922 for her achievements.[2]
Glynne was the British winner of the Dr.Georgina Sweet fellowship in 1927,[1] awarded at the Vienna conference ofInternational Federation of University Women.[5] The award included a year's study in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, which she undertook in 1928 after spending time with Dr. Sweet.[5] Whilst there, she worked at theUniversity of Melbourne and toured the country with the Department of Agriculture to promote better farming techniques. As part of her return journey, she visited a number of African countries, learning about the agricultural difficulties they faced.[1] Whilst in South Africa, she attended the 1929 meeting of theBritish Association.[5]
By the 1930s, Glynne's focus was on cereal diseases, especially soil-borne varieties. She was able to prove that the lodging or flattening of wheat close to harvest was frequently not the result of wind or rain, but instead caused bytake-all andeyespot, both soil-borne fungal diseases.[3] Glynne was able to not only identify the fungal cause and which strains of cereal were less susceptible, but also establish that crop rotation exacerbated the issue. On this basis, she was able to advise which strains of cereal should be planted in the affected fields.[1][3] Glynne also discoveredGibellina cerealis in 1935, a fungal pathogen thought to be introduced to the UK by Roman settlers.[1]
Glynne's work on crop diseases was subject to significant attention towards the end ofWorld War II, as maximising the production of food was essential due toshortages.[1] Her work, especially on eyespot in wheat, afforded her aDSc from University of Wales in 1943.[2] In both the 1940s and 1950s, she carried on her pioneering work in cereal pathology[6] and made "unexpected" discoveries related to the disposal of organic material in the soil.[7]
One of Glynne's main interests was mountaineering and rock climbing, although her family did not support the hobby,[3] as her mother's cousin,Owen Glynne Jones died at the age of 32 in a climbing accident onDent Blanche.[8] Despite this, Glynne climbed throughout her life, including in Australia and New Zealand whilst she was touring there.[3] She recorded the second ever ascent ofMount Spencer in New Zealand,[n 1] the first by a woman.[3] When she returned to Europe, she climbed majorAlpine peaks such asMatterhorn,Mont Blanc,La Meije andAiguille du Dru in the 1930s.[3] She carried on climbing into her 60s, ascendingMount Fuji in Japan in 1963.[3]
Glynne gave a series of lectures to the Royal Geographic society onAngkor Wat and other parts ofCambodia during the 1950s and 1960s.[1][11] She was recognised by the Cambodia tourist board in their printed guides to the site.[11]
Glynne was made a fellow of theInstitute of Biology[1] and in the1960 Birthday Honours, she was appointed Officer of the Most ExcellentOrder of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to agriculture,[12] and retired that same year. Instead of giving up work completely she moved to a volunteer role at Rothamsted for two more years.[1] In mountaineering, Glynne was a member of theFell & Rock Climbing Club, thePinnacle Club and vice-president of theLadies' Alpine Club.[3] In 1991, at the age of 96, Glynne developedbronchopneumonia and died in her nursing home in Harpenden.[1]