Induced resistance: destined to remain on the sidelines of crop protection?

Abstract

Dale Ronald Walters was born in Tenby in the United Kingdom in 1957 and spent his childhood in Trinidad, West Indies, attending Queen’s Royal College from 1969–1975. He obtained a BSc in Plant Science from Wye College, University of London in 1978 and studied for a PhD at Lancaster University from 1978–1981, under the supervision of Peter Ayres. The PhD (on root function in powdery mildew-infected barley) was followed by a postdoctoral period at Lancaster working on photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolism in mildew-infected barley. Walters moved to the West of Scotland Agricultural College (later to become part of the Scottish Agricultural College) in August 1982 as a lecturer in plant physiology and immediately started research on physiological responses of diseased plants. This research included much work on polyamine metabolism, as well as work, starting in 1987, on induced resistance. Promotion to senior lecturer in 1990 was followed by appointment as Head of the Department of Plant Biology in 1997. He was elected to a Fellowship of the Institute of Biology in 1998, was awarded a DSc by Lancaster University for his work on host–pathogen physiology in 1999, and was awarded a personal professorship in 2000. He is currently leader of the Plant Pathology Team at the Scottish Agricultural College in Edinburgh, where he is also Manager for Research Postgraduate Studies. Walters has been an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Glasgow since 1985. Publications: 116 refereed publications, plus 136 other publications, edited three books, currently writing a textbook; Senior Editor of Physiological & Molecular Plant Pathology since 1992, on the Editorial Board of the UK Institute of Biology journal Biologist, and has been on the Editorial Board of Mycological Research and the Italian journal Plant Biosystems. Current research: Induced resistance to plant disease, especially in relation to field implementation; fitness and ecological costs associated with induced resistance; novel approaches to control of plant disease; physiological responses of plants to pathogens. Phytoparasitica (2010) 38:1–4 DOI 10.1007/s12600-009-0067-y