Wolf Prize for Agriculture: Winners by Year

Award years

• 2025

  • Brian J. Staskawicz, Jeffery L. Dangl, Jonathan D. G. Jones

    For groundbreaking discoveries of the immune system and disease resistance in plants.

• 2024

  • Elliot M. Meyerowitz, Joanne Chory

    for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvements.

  • Venkatesan Sundaresan

    for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.

• 2023

  • Martinus Theodore van Genuchten

    for his groundbreaking work in understanding water flow and predicting contaminant transport in soils.

• 2022

  • Pamela C. Ronald

    for pioneering work on disease resistance and environmental stress tolerance in rice.

• 2020

  • Caroline Dean

    for pioneering discoveries in flowering time control and epigenetic basis of vernalization.

• 2019

  • David Zilberman

    for developing economic models to answer fundamental agricultural economic and policy questions.

• 2018

  • Gene E. Robinson

    for leading the genome revolution in the biology of honey bee populations.

• 2016

  • Trudy Mackay

    For pioneering studies on the genetic architecture of complex traits and the discovery of fundamental principles of quantitative genetics with broad applications for agricultural improvements.

• 2015

  • Linda J. Saif

    for advancing animal and human health through research in virology and immunology.

• 2014

  • Jorge Dubcovsky, Leif Andersson

    for providing groundbreaking contributions to plant and animal sciences, respectively, by using modern technologies of genomic research.

• 2013

  • Jared Diamond

    for pioneering theories of crop domestication, the rise of agriculture and its influences on the development and demise of human societies, as well as its impact on the ecology of the environment.

  • Joachim Messing

    for innovations in recombinant DNA cloning that revolutionized agriculture and deciphering the genetic codes of crop plants.

• 2011

  • Harris A. Lewin

    for highly significant discoveries, that contribute to both fundamental and practical aspects of animal agriculture. Through studies on genetics and genomic studies in cattle. Prof. Lewin has greatly expanded our understanding of immunogenetics and disease resistance. Lewin has led efforts to establish research and programs that ensure training of the next generation of animal scientists.

  • R. James Cook

    for seminal discoveries in plant pathology and soil microbiology that impact crop productivity and disease management. Through an understanding of the factors that impact the ecology of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes. Prof. Cook's work has improved disease control in wheat and barley and altered paradigms of plant disease control in other crops.

• 2010

  • David Baulcombe

    for pioneering discovery of gene regulation by small inhibitory RNA molecules in plants is of profound importance, not only for agriculture, but also for biology as a whole, including the field of medicine.

• 2008

  • James H. Tumlinson, John A. Pickett, W. Joe Lewis

    for their remarkable discoveries of mechanisms governing plant-insect and plant-plant interactions. Their scientific contributions on chemical ecology have fostered the development of integrated pest management and significantly advanced agricultural sustainability.

• 2006/2007

  • Michel A. J. Georges, Ronald L. Phillips

    for groundbreaking discoveries in genetics and genomics, laying the foundations for improvements in crop and livestock breeding, and sparking important advances in plant and animal sciences.

• 2004

  • Steven D. Tanksley, Yuan Longping

    for innovative development of hybrid rice and discovery of the genetic basis of heterosis in this important food staple.

• 2002/2003

  • Fuller W. Bazer, R. Michael Roberts

    for discoveries of Interferon-t and other pregnancy-associated proteins, which clarified the biological mystery of signaling between embryo and mother to maintain pregnancy, with profound effects on the efficiency of animal production systems, as well as human health and well-being.

• 2001

  • James E. Womack, Roger N. Beachy

    for the use of recombinant DNA technology, to revolutionize plant (Beachy) and animal (Womack) sciences, paving the way for applications to neighboring fields.

• 2000

  • Gurdev Khush

    for his extraordinary contribution to theoretical research in plant genetics, evolution and breeding especially of rice, with regard to food production and alleviation of hunger.

• 1998

  • Baldur R. Stefansson, Ilan Chet

    for their contributions to the environmentally safe development of world agriculture through innovative approaches in breeding and bio-control.

• 1996/1997

  • Neal L. First

    for his pioneering research in the reproductive biology of livestock.

• 1995/1996

  • Frank J. Stevenson, Morris Schnitzer

    for their pioneering contributions to our understanding of the chemistry of soil organic matter and its application to agriculture.

• 1994/1995

  • Carl B. Huffaker, Perry Adkisson

    for their contributions to the development and implementation of environmentally beneficial integrated pest management systems for the protection of agricultural crops.

• 1993

  • John E. Casida

    for pioneering studies on the mode of action of insecticides, design of safer pesticides and contributions to the understanding of nerve and muscle function in insects.

• 1991

  • Shang Fa Yang

    for remarkable contributions to the understanding of the mechanism of biosynthesis, mode of action and applications of the plant hormone, Ethylene.

• 1990

  • Jozef Stefaan Schell

    For his pioneering work in genetic transformation of plants, thereby opening up new horizons in basic plant science and breeding.

• 1989

  • Michael Elliott, Peter M. Biggs

    for distinguished contributions to basic science and its successful translation into practice in the fields of animal health and crop protection.

• 1988

  • Charles Thibault, Ernest John Christopher Polge

    for pioneering work in reproductive physiology including cell preservation, fertilization processes, egg biology and embryo manipulations for domestic animal improvement.

• 1987

  • Theodor O. Diener

    for his discovery and pioneering fundamental research on viroids, the smallest subviral pathogens, and his applied work on viroid detection in crops.

• 1986

  • Ernest R. Sears, Ralph Riley

    for their fundamental research in cytogenetics of wheat, providing the basis for genetic improvement of cereal grains.

• 1984/1985

  • Robert H. Burris

    for his pioneering fundamental research on the mechanisms of biological nitrogen fixation and its application in crop production.

• 1983/1984

  • Cornelis T. de Wit, Don Kirkham

    for their innovative contributions to the quantitative understanding of soil-water and other environmental interactions influencing crop growth and yield.

• 1982

  • Wendell L. Roelofs

    for his fundamental chemical and biological research on pheromones and their practical use in insect control.

• 1981

  • Glenn W. Salisbury

    for his outstanding achievements in basic-and-applied research on artificial insemination.

  • Henry A. Lardy

    for his pioneering research on storage and preservation of spermatozoa thus enabling artificial insemination to become a universal practice.

  • John O. Almquist

    for his significant contributions to the application of artificial insemination to livestock improvement.

• 1980

  • Karl Maramorosch

    for his pioneering and wide-ranging studies on interactions between insects and disease agents in plants.

• 1979

  • Jay L. Lush

    for his outstanding and pioneering contributions to the application of genetics to livestock improvement.

  • Kenneth Blaxter

    for his fundamental contributions to the science and practice of ruminant nutrition and livestock production.

• 1978

  • George F. Sprague

    for his outstanding research on the genetic amelioration of maize for human welfare.

  • John Charles Walker

    for his research in plant pathology, developing of disease-resistant varieties of major food plants.