Charles W. Schaller

Profile photo of Charles W. Schaller

In Memoriam
Professor Emeritus of Agrononmy
1920-2015

Charles W. Schaller

Born: June 8, 1920, La Crosse, Wisconsin
Died: February 12, 2015, Davis, CA

Education: 

  • B.S. Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, 1938-1940
  • M.S. & Ph.D. Agronomy and Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, 1940-1946

Employment: 

  • University of California, Davis, 1946-1985
    • Acting Department Chair

Research Interests:
Over his 39-year career at UC Davis, Schaller won international renown for his work on California barley.  His professional interests in plant breeding methods, the genetics of disease resistance, and host-pathogen interactions led him to identify numerous genes controlling resistance to the major barley diseases.  The 10 barley and 3 wheat cultivars he developed and released were high-yielding, early to mature, and disease resistant.

Activities and Honors: 

  • Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy in 1983
  • Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America in 1985

Edited Excerpt from University of California Academic Senate

Dr. Schaller joined the faculty of the University of California-Davis in 1946 in the breeding of wheat (1946-61) and barley (1946-85). He retired in 1985. He was recognized as one of the world's authorities on the genetics and breeding of barley, especially in disease resistance. He and his coworkers developed and released 12 barley and four wheat varieties. Dr. Schaller's contributions to California and global barley production will be memorialized by the naming of Schaller barley (2017) in his honor. Additional barley varieties were released after his retirement, based on germplasm he developed. 

At the time of his retirement, the increased productivity of Dr. Schaller's varieties was conservatively estimated as providing $30,000,000 annually to California's economy. He served as technical advisor to the USDA Cotton Breeding Program and supervisor of the Variety Testing Program from 1966-79. Commendations from the California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Chapter of the American Society of Agronomy recognized his many contributions. In 1979, he was presented a Certificate of Appreciation from the Director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture for outstanding service to California Agriculture and the One-Variety Cotton District. He spent a sabbatical leave in New Zealand, attended and presented at many international fora and advised international research centers on barley breeding. He participated in a noteworthy review of barley breeding in Tunisia.

Dr. Schaller's research contributions and those of his students included studies on genetic mechanisms of disease resistance, host-pathogen interactions and plant architecture related to production efficiency. He pioneered the use of isogenic lines of barley having disease resistance to document the impacts of scald, powdery mildew (1951) and barley yellow dwarf (1967) on yield losses. His improved barley varieties combined disease resistance with better straw strength and have proven to be valuable sources of disease resistance and adaptation genes for many countries, especially those in areas with a Mediterranean-type climate. He emphasized powdery mildew, net blotch, scald and barley yellow dwarf virus (BYD), screening the world collection of barley for resistance to these diseases and identifying several significant genes conditioning resistance that became widely used in breeding programs worldwide.

His research was especially noteworthy, as it led to the discovery of the Yd2 gene for resistance to BYD. The disease was first identified in California in 1951 and subsequently recognized as a significant worldwide disease of barley, wheat and oats.

While he developed many barley varieties that dominated California barley production, he spent many years breeding malting barley for California. However, his breeding materials never met the fickle standards of the brewing industry, which was his greatest disappointment as a California plant breeder.

As a professor of agronomy, Dr. Schaller was a popular teacher of his undergraduate course, Cereal Crops of the World, and an active participant in department and college teaching activities. He advised many undergraduates who became leaders in California's agriculture. His 28 Agronomy M.S. and Genetics Ph.D. students likewise impacted research and education in the USA and many countries. He was immensely proud of his graduate students, and they were proud to have such a considerate and generous mentor as they embarked on their professional careers. He was generous with his time in Departmental affairs, serving as Acting Department Chair several times.

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