He created resilient tomato species, published impeccable research and generated successful students. Mannon Gallegly, professor emeritus of plant pathology at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, celebrates his 100th birthday today.
Gallegly started working at West Virginia University in 1949 and began developing disease-resistant tomatoes soon after. In 1963, he succeeded. After 13 years of trying, he created the “West Virginia ‘63,” also known as the “People’s Tomato,” renowned for its heartiness in the face of tomato blight. Tomato blight signs include brown spots or lesions on the stems or leaves and a white fungal growth underneath. The disease causes leaves, flowers, fruits and sometimes even the entire plant to wither and die–making it the ultimate killer feared by farmers.
Gallegly retired from WVU in 1986 but never stopped working.
Since his retirement, the plant pathology legend developed and released two tomato varieties resistant to late blight and tolerant to Septoria leaf spot, a fungus that causes leaf spot diseases on vegetables and can result in significant yield losses for farmers. The two varieties were named “West Virginia ‘17A - Mountaineer Pride” and “West Virginia ‘17B - Mountaineer Delight.”
Gallegly donated his tomato seeds to the World Vegetable Center, a global nonprofit institute for vegetable research and development. The center aims to reduce malnutrition and poverty in developing nations using vegetables.
He has received several accolades and recognitions for his dedicated efforts and contributions for the agriculture community. Some of these include the AAAS Campbell Soup Award, certificates of recognition from the USDA Agricultural Research Service North Atlantic Region and induction into the West Virginia Agriculture Hall of Fame. He was named “Most Loyal” during the 70th annual Mountaineer Week in 2017, and in 2018, he was inducted into the WVU Order of Vandalia, the highest honor of service to the University.
Gallegly can say he has survived the Great Depression, multiple wars, a worldwide pandemic and rowdy WVU students ready for summer break. During all of which, he relentlessly labored for science, for people and for the future. His achievements are as impressive as they are multitudinous, and his legacy is as hearty as his tomatoes.
-WVU-
ls/04/11/23
CONTACT: Leah Smith
Public Relations Specialist
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
lnestor2@mail.wvu.edu
304-290-8680
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