Professor Andrew Martin Mortimer, 71, passed away peacefully after a short illness at his home in North Wales on Sunday, 22 December 2019, surrounded by his family. Martin was a weed ecologist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Agronomy, Plant Physiology, and Agroecology (APPA) Division from 1996 to 2003, also serving as APPA deputy head (1998-2000). He continued as an IRRI consultant afterwards.
Martin was an expert in plant ecology, agricultural botany, genetics, and environmental and evolutionary biology. He pointed out that, as a plant population biologist, he studied the development and application of agro-ecology in tropical and temperate agro-ecosystems.
In IRRI’s 1997-98 Annual Report, he explained that natural plants in a location—weeds to most people—present a particular challenge. "All non-rice plants in a field are not necessarily bad," he said. "If we can identify which weeds are good for natural enemies and bad for pests, we may recommend that farmers selectively weed their fields. But managing the vegetation around the field edges will probably have even greater benefit for beneficial insects."
