Head and shoulders image of Dr. Doug Knott, Professor, Crop Science and Plant Ecology.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Douglas Ronald Knott was born in 1927 in New Westminster, British Columbia. He obtained a BSA from the University of British Columbia in 1948, followed by a Master’s and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1952, specializing in plant genetics. That same year Dr. Knott joined the Department of Field Husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan. From 1965-1975 he was head of the Crop Sciences Department. Dr. Knott also served as Acting Dean of Agriculture in 1979 and again in 1989. Dr. Knott was Associate Dean of Research from 1988-1993. In 1986 he was named as the first holder of the W.J. White Chair in Crop Science. He was instrumental in developing the Crop Development Centre at the U of S. Dr. Knott became an internationally recognized expert in wheat stem and leaf rust resistance. He developed methods for identifying genes that can be used in breeding rust resistant wheats, and an innovative way to transfer genes from wild wheats to domesticated varieties. Dr. Knott’s book, The Wheat Rusts: Breeding for Resistance, is highly regarded by specialists. He also developed several varieties of durum: Stewart 63 durum in 1963; Arcola in 1983; Sceptre in 1985; and Plenty in 1990. His skills were in demand internationally: he was wheat research director for the Zambia-Canada Project from 1983 to 1988, and was a research consultant and lecturer in Brazil, China, and Kenya. Dr. Knott was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1995, and in 1999 was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to agricultural science. Dr. Knott contributed to the development of soccer, track and field, and tennis in Saskatoon and was an organizer and the chairman of the Saskatoon Field House committee when its construction was completed in 1979. Dr. Knott died in 2009.