Dr. Patrick Brown

The 2021 IFA Norman Borlaug Plant Nutrition Award recipient is Dr. Patrick Brown, Distinguished Professor at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California-Davis, U.S., for his varied work that has tackled many of the key challenges threatening crop productivity, resource use, environmental degradation and climate change.

Dr. Brown’s research includes groundbreaking contributions to understanding of the function, uptake and transport of boron, an essential nutrient for plants, as well as a decade of research of the nitrogen ecosystem in orchards. His more recent focus is on biostimulants – a set of microbial and non-microbial compounds that can enhance the growth of crops when applied to seeds, plants or soil – which has contributed to the development of national and international regulations that have helped bring legitimacy to this expanding area of plant nutrition.

In addition, Dr. Brown has developed widely used applied research and extension products. Since 2000, he has produced more than 200 applied articles, videos, podcasts and decision support websites that target agricultural producers, industries and regulatory agencies.