CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. E K JANAKIAMMAL

1. EDU-04.9 : THEORETICAL BASIS OF NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION
SEMINAR
TOPIC: CONTRIBUTIONS OF SCIENTISTS-
JANAKI AMMAL
Submitted to, Submitted by,
Dr. Asha K Thomas Ardra S B
Assistant Professor B.Ed Natural Science
Mount Tabor Training MTTC,
College, Pathanapuram. Pathanapuram.

2. E.K. JANAKI AMMAL
Born 4 November 1897
Tellicherry, Madras
Presidency, British
India
Died 7 February 1984
(aged 86)
Madras, Tamil Nadu
Nationality Indian
Alma mater University of Michigan
Awards Padma Shri 1977
Scientific career
Fields Botany, Cytology
Institutions Madras
University, John Innes
Centre
Thesis Chromosome Studies
in Nicandra
physaloides
DR. EDAVALATH
KAKKAT JANAKI-
AMMAL – “THE
MOTHER OF MODERN
BOTANY IN INDIA”

3. LIFE
 Born in Tellichery, Kerala in a cultured middle class family on
4th November 1897.
 Ammal’s father was a sub-judge in the Madras Presidency.
 She had six brothers and five sisters.
 Schooling in Tellichery,
the Bachelor’s degree from Queen Mary’s College, Madras,
Her Honours degree in Botany from the Madras Presidency
College in 1921,
Master’s degree in 1925 from University of Michigan in USA,
Obtained a PhD in 1931 from University of Michigan in USA.

4. CARRIER
 1932-34: Professor of Botany at the Maharaja’s College of
Science, Trivandrum.
 1934-39: Geneticist at the Sugarcane Breeding Institute at
Coimbatore.
 1940-45:Assistant Cytologist at the John Innes Horticultural
Institution in London.
 1945-51:Cytologist at the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley.
 From then on, besides the reorganization of the BSI, Ammal
continued to be in the service of the Government of India.
 She worked for a brief spell at the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre at Trombay.
 1970: Emeritus Scientist at the Centre for Advanced Study in
Botany, University of Madras.
 She lived and worked in the Centre’s Field Laboratory at
Maduravoyal near Madras until her demise in February 1984.

5. MAJOR SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS
 As the first woman scientist from India in Botany her
contributions span from development of cytogenetics to
conservation of biodiversity.
 She was able to manipulate the polyploid cells by cross-
breeding of hybrids to develop high yielding strain of the
sugarcane that grows in Indian conditions.
 Through her works, which was published in journals
such as Nature she established that the sugarcane
variety S. Spontaneum originated in India.
 She developed several intergeneric hybrids and
spanned a research direction from sugarcanes to
Bamboo.

6.  One of the biggest contributions came with CD Darlington,
who remained Janaki’s friend for long, in the form of a book
on “Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants” in 1945.
 She was an environmental activist in the later stages of her
life in India.
 She played a major role in the protest that stood against the
plans to setup hydro-power dam in Kunthipuzha river in
Kerala. In 1955, she was the only woman invited to the
conference by the Wenner Gren Foundation for
Anthropological Research at Princeton.
 In her return to India, her focus on polyploidy and evolution of
plants led to work in some of the most important works in the
genera - Solanum, Datura, Mentha, Cymbopogon and
Dioscorea, in addition to several of medicinal plants.
 After retirement, the main contributions were in the area of
medicinal plants and ethnobotany.

7. RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
 In her career, she was recognized for her services, an
elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) in
1935, and Indian National Science Academy in 1957.
 In 1956, the University of Michigan conferred honorary
LL.D. to Dr. Janaki for her contributions to cytogenetics and
botany.
 In recognition of her contribution to the John Innes Centre
offers Janaki Ammal Scholarships for overseas
postgraduate research students from developing countries
to study for a Ph.D. program.
 The recognition from the Indian Government came in the
form of Padma Shri in 1977.
 Later in the year 1999, the Government of India from the
Ministry of Environment and Forestry honored Dr. Janaki by
starting a National Award of Taxonomy in her name.

8. PLANTS IN HER NAME
 To honor her work in plant breeding , the Royal
Horticultural Society , Wisley , UK named a variety
of Magnolia she created as Magnolia kobus Janaki
Ammal
 In 2018 , to celebrate her remarkable career and
contribution to plant science , two Rose breeders
Viru and Girija Viraraghavan breed a new rose
variety which they named E K JANAKI AMMAL.
 The name Janaki arayalpathra is also after her.
 Sonerila janakiana , a new species of plant in the
family Melanstomaceae , is named after her