Pedro Martínez Colón

Puerto Rican agricultural scientist who developed drought-resistant crops saving millions from famine across Latin America

Pedro Martínez Colón (1918-1998) transformed agricultural science through his development of the first drought-resistant corn varieties in the 1960s. His work at the University of Puerto Rico's Agricultural Experiment Station led to the creation of the 'Taino' maize strain that doubled yields in arid regions. This innovation prevented famine in Mexico's Yucatán during the 1970s drought and became the basis for modern drought-resistant crop research. Research legacy

His 1963 discovery of the 'hydrophobic root adaptation' technique allowed crops to store moisture underground, a principle now used in climate-resilient farming. Martínez Colón also created the first seed bank in the Caribbean, preserving 1,200+ indigenous crop varieties. His 1972 manual Cultivo Sostenible en Zonas Áridas remains a textbook in agricultural colleges from Argentina to Spain. NASA later adapted his irrigation techniques for space agriculture experiments.