101 year-old retired WVU professor who introduced disease resistant tomatoes, passes away

Plant pathology professor emeritus Mannon Gallegly from WVU has introduced a cool new tomato. WVU photo

It’s sad to report that 101 year-old plant pathology professor emeritus Mannon Gallegly from WVU, passed away. He was an amazing man, who dedicated his life to plant breeding and education.

Here’s his obituary from WVU.

I was honored to interview him and learn about his amazing life. He created his fourth and final tomato called "Mannon's Majesty, and was featured on the February 4, 2024 Organic Gardener Radio show.

The tomato is resistant to Septoria leaf spot, one of the major diseases that home gardeners deal with. It’s also resistant to fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt and late blight.

His first introduction was West Virginia ‘63 which is resistant to late blight. It wasn’t until after he retired that Dr. Gallegly went back to tomato breeding

Here’s the whole story and how to get free seeds if they are still available. West Virginia ‘63, Mountaineer Pride ('17A) and Mountaineer Delight (‘17B) are all available from the university. Those three are also for sale from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Here’s the full interview.