Martin Mortimer, 1948-2019

A leading expert on weed management and herbicide resistance in the developing world has died.

Martin Mortimer was born in Maidstone, Kent in 1948 and studied agricultural botany at the University of Wales, Bangor (now Bangor University). After graduating in 1969, he went on to a PhD in plant ecology (1972) and secured his first position as a Lord Leverhulme postdoctoral research fellow (1972-75), split between Bangor and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. From there, he moved to the University of Liverpool for the rest of his career, initially as a lecturer in the department of botany (1975-90).

After a promotion to senior lecturer (1990-96), Professor Mortimer was seconded to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (1996-2002) and rapidly established an international reputation in plant population dynamics, weed management systems and herbicide resistance, topics absolutely crucial to crop production in developing countries. He returned to Liverpool as reader in plant population biology (2002-07) and then professor of agricultural ecology.

A further secondment saw Professor Mortimer taking on the role of science manager for an Anglo-Indian collaboration on climate change at the Natural Environment Research Council (2008-10) before he again returned to Liverpool as head of the department of plant sciences (2010-13). In 2015, he helped to set up – and went on to co-run – the university’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Food Systems. He also built on his old links with the Philippines by leading a joint postgraduate programme that was established with Central Luzon State University.

As well as more specialist publications for the International Rice Research Institute, Professor Mortimer co-authored Weed Population Dynamics (1995) and three editions of a standard textbook on Population Ecology (1982, 1985 and 1995), which has been translated into German and Polish and was described in The Biologist as “without doubt…the best introduction” to the field.

Michael Begon, professor of ecology at Liverpool, who worked with Professor Mortimer on Population Ecology, said that “Martin possessed that very rare combination of an insightful understanding of the fundamentals of plant population ecology and the ability to apply those fundamentals to the dynamics of crops and ultimately the production of food. Personally, Martin had a wonderful blend of generosity of spirit and a healthy, often acerbic but always good-natured scepticism of those ‘in power’ trying to take us in directions neither of us – from the ‘old school’ – wanted to go.”

Professor Mortimer died on 22 December after a short illness and is survived by his wife Sue, three children and three grandchildren.

matthew.reisz@timeshighereducation.com