Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (RJP)

Mangaluru, Dec 14: Famous horticulturist, plant breeder and writer Manmohan Attavar passed away in city on late Tuesday, December 12

Manmohan was 85. He is survived by two children.

Manmohan was known as revolutionary in production of hybrid seeds and commercial flowers. He was the first to introduce hybrid tomato to Indian market.

Manmohan was the founder of Indo American Hybrid Seeds (IAHS), an organization engaged in scientific plant breeding and horticulture. He founded the enterprise in 1965 and the organization, headquartered in Bengaluru, has grown to include 9 regional centres across India.

He had served as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Commerce and the Federation of International Seedsmen, Switzerland and has been a director of the National Horticultural Board. He has co-authored a book, Floriculture : technology, trades, and trends, which was published by Oxford and IBH Publishing House in 1994.

Attavar is a recipient of several awards such as Dr M H Marigowda National Award, APEDA Award, Golden Jubilee International Award of the International Chrysanthemum Society, California and ISF Award. The Government of Karnataka awarded him the Rajyotsava Prashasti in 1991. He received the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 1998 for his contributions to the field of Horticulture.

Subsequent to the death of his wife Mamatha, Manmohan Attavar had donated a women's theatre block to CSI Lombard Memorial Hospital, Udupi and the hospital has named the facility as Martha Mamatha Attavar Memorial Block.

Manmohan stayed in Bengaluru. He had come to Mangaluru on a visit where he breathed his last.