Sad to hear that Dr Ed Percival, a world expert on cotton and its genetic resources, passed away last month. He collected wild and cultivated germplasm widely, and he was formerly curator of the USDA cotton germplasm collection at College Station, Texas, one of the more important in the world. ((Incidentally, College Station was hit by a tornado recently. There was some damage to the research station. The collections, which include trees such as pecan, were not affected, but this does serve to remind us all of the need for proper safety duplication of germplasm and associated data.))
Ed’s father was working for the United Fruit Company in Guatemala where he met and married Ed’s mother, a Guatemalan. Ed was born at the United Fruit Company hospital in Quiriguá, an archaeological site on the Rio Motagua, famous for its incomparable array of Mayan stelae, one of which is featured on the country’s 10 centavo coin. I don’t believe that anything remains of the hospital or company town at Quriguá, only the Mayan stelae. As a result of Ed’s childhood in Guatemala, he spoke Spanish as his mother tongue. He served as a valued advisor to several Latin American genetic resources specialists on topics of germplasm collecting and genebank management. I recall Ed as a quiet and generous man, and one who made a lifelong contribution to the conservation and use of cotton genetic resources. He will be missed.
Sad news, but thanks for sharing. It is kinda liberating to read stories such as the 1996 article from Agricultural research magazine linked to above. Free from reference to the widespread biopiracy paranoia. While I did not know Ed Percival personally I was delighted to encounter such a knowledgeable curator when I once requested cotton seeds from College Station. Very good seeds he sent too. And he produced some really interesting science too.