Dr. Theerayut Toojinda, BIOTEC Senior Researcher from Rice Gene Discovery Laboratory was named the recipient to the 2015 Plant Breeder Award presented by the Plant Breeding and Multiplication Association of Thailand.
Dr. Theerayut has accumulated expertise in plant breeding for 28 years. His research is centered on the use of marker aided selection (MAS) to improve the effectiveness and precision of conventional rice breeding with the goal to improve tolerance to unfavorable environmental conditions and resistance to pests and diseases. Examples of new rice varieties developed under his leadership are flood-tolerant jasmine rice (Homcholasit), blast-resistant glutinous rice (Thanyasirin) and two varieties that have been certified by the Rice Department of Thailand. Before focusing his attention on rice, Dr. Theerayut worked on wheat and barley breeding.
Plant Breeding and Multiplication Association of Thailand presents Plant Breeder Award annually to recognize breeder with excellent performance.