By Amy Quinton
Jorge Dubcovsky, distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been named the 2026 World Agriculture Prize Laureate.
The award, given by the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences, or GCHERA, recognizes his pioneering scientific achievements to improve wheat and strengthen global food security. Wheat is one of the world's most widely grown staple crops and provides essential nutrition for billions of people. The prize is for the category of countries classified as having a developed economy.
Dubcovsky is internationally recognized as one of the world's most influential wheat geneticists. Through groundbreaking advances in wheat genetics, genomics and breeding, his research has enabled the development of more productive, resilient and climate-adapted wheat varieties that benefit farmers and consumers across the globe. His discoveries have provided critical tools for addressing some of agriculture's most pressing challenges.
For more than three decades, Dubcovsky has led innovative research that has significantly advanced scientific understanding of wheat biology and accelerated the application of genomic technologies in crop improvement. His work has been instrumental in identifying and characterizing key genes controlling yield, disease resistance, flowering time, nutrient use efficiency and adaptation to diverse growing environments. These discoveries have been widely adopted by breeding programs and have contributed to the development of improved wheat varieties cultivated on millions of hectares worldwide.
Source : ucdavis.edu