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Obituary - DR. MOHAMMAD ASLAM (1938-2002)
Dr. Abdul Ghaffar, Dr. Anjum Munir**
and Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad **
Dr. Mohammad Aslam, an eminent Plant Pathologist of Pakistan, died of
heart failure on 29 May 2002. He was buried at Haripur. May God Almighty
shower His choicest blessings upon the departed soul and may his soul
rest in peace in heaven. Amen.
Dr. Mohammad Aslam s/o Mr. Khaliq Dad Khan was born on 1st January 1938
at Dhudial, Mansehra, NWFP, Pakistan. He obtained his early education
at Mansehra and B.Sc degree in Agriculture from the Islamia College,
University of Peshawar (1956). He worked with Prof. Lewis E.Browder
at the Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, Manhattan,
Kansas, USA and was awarded the degree of Ph.D (1972) for his work on
"Aggressiveness in Puccinia recondita f.sp. tritici.
Dr.Aslam also received Alexander von Humboldt Post Doctoral research
fellowship (1978-1980) and worked with Dr. E.Sdhwarzbach at the University
of Munchen, Germany on "Specificity of quantitative interactions
between isolates of Puccinia hordei and barley cultivars".
Under the Royal Society of London Fellowship (1996), Dr. Aslam worked
at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge, UK, with
Dr. R.A.Bayles on "Genetic analysis of spring wheat cultivars for
resistance to yellow rust through multipathotype testing".
Dr. M. Aslam started his career as a Farm Manager at Haripur, Hazara
(1958-59) and then joined the Department of Plant Pathology, Agricultural
Research Institute, Tarnab, Peshawar (1959-1981) before becoming the
Director of Crop Diseases Research Institute, Islamabad (1981-1996),
Deputy Director General, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Islamabad
(1997) until his retirement in 1999. Dr. Aslam is well known for his
work on genetic relationships in wheat against rusts, smuts, powdery
mildew and foliar diseases; host-parasite systems specially identification
of sources of resistance, epidemiology of cereal rusts, transfer of
rust resistance from related alien species into bread wheat.
Dr. Aslam was a member of American Phytopathologcal Society, British
Society of Plant Pathology, Pakistan Botanical Society, Founding member
of the Pakistan Society of Nematologists. Dr. Aslam was a widely travelled
Plant Pathologist and apart from delivering lectures in scientific meetings
and conferences in different parts of Pakistan, he also presented scientific
papers at Plant Pathology Congress at Kyoto (Japan), Melbourne (Australia)
etc. Dr. Aslam has published <200 scientific papers in journals of
international repute,
Dr. Aslam has left behind his wife, a son, 3 daughters besides a large
number of his friends and associates to mourn the loss.
Department of Botany University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.
IPEP-CDRP, NARC, Park Road, Islamabad-45500, Pakistan.
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