Paul Christoph Mangelsdorf; Expert on Grain Hybridization

Paul Christoph Mangelsdorf, 90, a retired Harvard professor and leading expert in the origins and breeding of corn and other grains. Harvard University spokesmen said Mangelsdorf helped develop hybrid seed corn without the costly process of removing corn tassels by hand and was the first person to develop winter wheat with rust-resistant stems. He traced modern corn back to the maize grown by native Americans and through back-breeding produced maize that resembled 7,000-year-old specimens found in Mexico. He joined Harvard as a professor of economic botany and spent his final years at the school as the Fisher Professor of Natural History. After he retired in 1968, Mangelsdorf held a retirement professorship in botany at the University of North Carolina. At Chapel Hill, N.C., on July 22.