Dedication of a new fungal species in honor of renowned Plant Pathologist, Prof. NKB Adikaram
Mycologists at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ) dedicate two new fungal species in honour of Thomas Petch, an English Mycologist and, Prof. NKB Adikaram, a renowned Plant Pathologist.
The Mycology research group recently published two new species of ascomycetous fungi from Sri Lanka. Bipolaris adikaramae Ferdinandez, Manamgoda, Udayanga sp. nov and Bipolaris petchii Ferdinandez, Manamgoda, Udayanga sp. nov, were newly described, from cultivated rice and weedy grass hosts, based on molecular data and morphological characteristics.
Himashi Ferdinandez, a PhD student at the USJ and the team have generously decided to name the fungi, after Thomas Petch, a prolific English mycologist who worked in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and was best remembered for his work on the interaction between fungi and insects, and Prof. NKB Adikaram, a renowned Plant Pathologist, a dedicated teacher and, the founder President of Sri Lanka Association of Mycology and Plant Pathology (SLAMPP).
Prof. NKB Adikaram is currently working as a Visiting Research Professor at the Natural Products Research Unit, National Institute of Fundamental Studies (NIFS). We Congratulate Prof. Adikaram on his success and wish him all the best in his future research career as well.
