A prickly business-Edward Shelton, Henry Tryon and the mysterious pineapple disease
Article
Ryley, Malcolm J. and Drenth, Andre. 2024. "A prickly business-Edward Shelton, Henry Tryon and the mysterious pineapple disease." Historical Records of Australian Science. 35 (2), pp. 130-141. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR23008
| Article Title | A prickly business-Edward Shelton, Henry Tryon and the mysterious pineapple disease |
|---|---|
| ERA Journal ID | 3482 |
| Article Category | Article |
| Authors | Ryley, Malcolm J. and Drenth, Andre |
| Journal Title | Historical Records of Australian Science |
| Journal Citation | 35 (2), pp. 130-141 |
| Number of Pages | 12 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Publisher | CSIRO Publishing |
| Place of Publication | Australia |
| ISSN | 0727-3061 |
| 1448-5508 | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1071/HR23008 |
| Web Address (URL) | https://www.publish.csiro.au/HR/HR23008 |
| Abstract | The earliest record of pineapple plants being grown around Sydney in the British colony of New South Wales was that of Governor King in 1803. However, the climate of a new northern settlement at Moreton Bay (later Brisbane) soon proved to be far more conducive to growing the fruit. Pineapples prospered for over 50 years around Brisbane until a mysterious disease appeared in the late 1890s. In April 1891, Professor Edward Shelton, an American who had been appointed as the Queensland government's first Instructor in Agriculture, was the first scientist to inspect the affected crops and concluded that the disease was caused by a fungus. In the following year, Shelton, Henry Tryon (then assistant curator at the Queensland Museum) and others again inspected the diseased pineapple crops. Tryon described the symptoms in detail as well as spores which were composed of two rounded elements, each having a double contour (chlamydospores). There is no doubt that the disease was caused by the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi that was described decades later. In 1897, Shelton was passionate about agricultural education and was appointed as the first principal of the Gatton Agricultural College, but his disciplining of some students of the college led to his forced resignation just 18 months later. In the early 1890s a serious mystery disease appeared in pineapple plantations around Brisbane, Queensland. The American-born Professor Edward Shelton, Queensland's first instructor in agriculture, Henry Tryon, assistant curator at the Queensland Museum, and others inspected diseased plants and concluded that the disease was caused by a fungus, later identified as the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi. Shelton went on to become the first principal of the Gatton Agricultural College, but was forced to resign after severely disciplining some of the students. Photograph by an unknown person. |
| Keywords | chlamydospores; disease; Edward Shelton; Gatton Agricultural College; Henry Tryon; Phytophthora cinnamom; pineapple; symptoms |
| Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
| ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 300499. Crop and pasture production not elsewhere classified |
| Byline Affiliations | Centre for Crop Health |
| University of Queensland |
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https://research.usq.edu.au/item/z994q/a-prickly-business-edward-shelton-henry-tryon-and-the-mysterious-pineapple-disease
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