Ukrainian botanist, geneticist and plant breeder academician M. M. Gryshko - founder of The National Botanical Garden of the NAS of Ukraine

Mykola Mykolaiovych Gryshko (1901–1964) was an outstanding Ukrainian botanist, geneticist and plant breeder, and one of the founders of the national school of plant introduction in Ukraine. His scientific activity encompassed genetics, plant breeding, plant introduction and acclimatization, which contributed to the formation of the fundamental principles of modern plant resource science. The scientist substantiated plant introduction as a complex biological and ecological process of plant adaptation, integrated it with plant breeding and agricultural production, and thereby laid the foundations for the rational use of plant resources. He is the founder and first director of the M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, under whose leadership the botanical and geographical principles for the formation of the garden’s collection and exposition areas were developed and implemented. M.M. Gryshko developed theoretical provisions of plant genetics, demonstrated the importance of hereditary variability for plant breeding, initiated studies on the genetic nature of sex in plants and created methods for its regulation. His works became the scientific basis for the development of ecological genetics and adaptive breeding. The scientific legacy of the scholar determined the strategic directions for the development of botany, plant breeding and biodiversity conservation, while the scientific school he established ensured the integration of fundamental research with the practical needs of agricultural production and ornamental horticulture.