by other selectionists. He worked out theoretical basis and some practical means for hybridization of geographically distant plants. Michurin also proposed means for overcoming the genetic barrier of incompatibility during the process of hybridization, such as pollination of the young hybrids during their first florescence, preliminary vegetative crossing, and use of a “mediator”, pollination with the mix of different kinds of pollen. The Soviets began to cultivate Michurin's hybrids of apple, pear, cherry, rowan and others. The variety Antonovka is the most famous apple he developed. It is so popular in Russia that it was given the name The People's Apple. It is widely used in Russia and Poland for fresh eating and culinary purposes. In other parts of Europe and North America, it is principally used as a hardy rootstock. Michurin also cultivated hybrids of grape, apricot, sweet cherry and other southern plants in the northern climates. One of the most highly cited phrases by Michurin was: "We cannot wait for favors from Nature. To take them from it – that is our task." After his death Michurin's work was distorted and misinterpreted during the Lysenkovshchina, with Trofim Lysenko, a Ukrainian agronomist and biologist who rejected Mendelian genetics in favour of Lamarckism, claiming to be following in Michurin's footsteps. Lysenko's unorthodox and pseudo-scientific arguments earned the support of the party hierarchy, including that of Stalin himself, and hundreds of his opponents were purged from state institutions, with some being imprisoned or executed. The application of his ideas played an important factor in the famines that affected the Soviet Union. Although his theories fell from favour already in the 1950s, it was not until the 1960s that Lysenko's ideas would be fully condemned as quackery. References External links Selected Works in English, published in 1950. Some Problems of Method by I.V. Michurin Мичурин И. В. Итоги шестидесятилетних работ. Издание пятое. М.: ОГИЗ СЕЛЬХОЗГИЗ, 1949. 1855 births 1935 deaths People from Pronsky District People from Pronsky Uyezd Soviet botanists Russian inventors Pomologists 19th-century botanists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian botanists Academicians of the VASKhNIL Honorary Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour