James Kirkham Ramsbottom

James Kirkham Ramsbottom (11 October 1891 – 9 February 1925) was an English botanist. He became interested in the field after he was recommended to pursue an outdoor career for his health. After a short period at the Chelsea Physic Garden, Ramsbottom studied at the RHS Garden Wisley. Coming first in their diploma examinations, Ramsbottom became a research student at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1913. He studied leaf blotch disease in irises and became assistant editor of Gardeners' Magazine.

In March 1916, Ramsbottom was appointed to lead a study into a mysterious disease, known as "rootless disease", that was affecting daffodil (Narcissus) bulbs and threatened the destruction of the nascent daffodil-growing industry. The disease had been known for around 30 years, but its cause was not certain, although a number of pests and fungi were suspected. By April 1917 Ramsbottom was able to prove the disease was caused by an infestation of the Ditylenchus dipsaci nematode and developed a treatment involving dipping affected bulbs in hot water. The treatment saved the daffodil-growing industry and remains the basis for modern-day treatment of the disease. Ramsbottom continued to work on the treatment and was invited to lecture in the United States. He died in New York by either falling or jumping from a 19th-storey window in the Hotel McAlpin.

Early life

Ramsbottom was born in Manchester on 11 October 1891. Ramsbottom worked as a gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London before studying at the RHS Garden Wisley from 1911. an account of his study was published in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1915. From 1914 to 1916 Ramsbottom served as an assistant editor of Gardeners' Magazine.

The disease was not new and was first noted at an 1887 conference of the Royal Horticultural Society. It became more widespread after the exchange of bulbs of hybridised varieties among growers, common in the early period of the industry. The disease had also reached Narcissus growers in the Netherlands.

Ramsbottom dissected the bulbs to produce thousands of microscope slides, which he studied for pathogens. He noted that while many contained fungal infections, all of the bulbs he checked showed the presence of the nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci, first discovered by Friedrich Adalbert Maximilian Kuhn in 1858. He also advised growers to harvest daffodils higher up the stem to avoid reinfection by nematodes moving from the soil into the cut stem.

Ramsbottom's study saved the British daffodil industry from destruction. Ditylenchus dipsaci is now known as the stem and bulb nematode because of its means of infection, proven by Ramsbottom, and it remains the most significant pest in daffodils. Ramsbottom's treatment for the infection remains the basis of modern nematode control in daffodils, though by the 1960s, a slightly higher temperature of was preferred.

The 1967 Daffodil Yearbook describes Ramsbottom's death as "a grievous loss to the narcissus industry that no man can measure". Fiona Davison of the RHS said in 2018 that "we wouldn't have the richness of daffodils and narcissus if it wasn't for him ... He's completely forgotten now." The RHS exhibits Ramsbottom's equipment at the Wisley laboratories and has also erected a plaque in his memory. The daffodil cultivar “J.K. Ramsbottom” is named after him.