Position Title
In Memoriam
Assistant Professor of Truck Crops
1895-1928
JOSEPH TOOKER ROSA, Jr.
Birth: July 16, 1895, Waverly Mills, South Carolina
Death: August 8, 1928, Davis, California
Education
- B.S., University of South Carolina, 1915
- M.S., Iowa State College, 1916
- Ph.D., University of Missouri, 1922
Employment
- Instructor, Iowa State College, 1915–1916
- Researcher, Virginia Truck Experiment Station, 1916–1917
- Assistant Professor, University of Missouri, 1917–1922
- Assistant Professor of Truck Crops, University of California, 1922–1928
Research Contributions and Impact
Rosa devoted his career to vegetable crop research, working on potatoes, spinach, melons, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and other crops. His studies combined field and laboratory investigations, producing fundamental insights into crop production, genetics, and plant breeding. He was among the first to apply genetic principles to cucurbit breeding and was an early investigator of sex expression in spinach.
Publications and Scholarly Leadership
Rosa co-authored Truck Crop Plants (1928) with H.A. Jones, a landmark reference in vegetable crop science that remained influential for decades. He published pioneering papers on muskmelon breeding and physiology, including studies on the inheritance of flower types and inbreeding, which informed later hybrid development in cucumbers and squash.
Teaching and Mentorship
As a teacher, Rosa was admired for his clarity in lectures and his dedication in the laboratory and field. He inspired students with his discipline, optimism, and encouragement, instilling in them a drive for scientific discovery.
Legacy
Though his life and career were cut short, Rosa left a foundational legacy in vegetable crop research. His experimental work shaped future advances in cucurbit and spinach breeding, and his textbook became a standard reference for researchers and growers.
References
For additional tributes, interviews, and biographies, see the following resources: