EK Janaki Ammal

Today is the birthday of the Indian botanist EK Janaki Ammal who was born on this day in 1897.

She was born in Kerala and studied in numerous colleges in India and received her masters and doctorate at the Unversity of Michigan.
Before Ammal's work, the sugar cane grown in India didn't grow well and wasn't sweet. After her schooling, Ammal worked at a sugar cane breeding station, and she began experimenting with varieties of sugar cane. Although she faced significant jealousy and discrimination from her male counterparts, Ammal managed to create a variety of sugar cane that grew well in the climate of India and it was sweet. It made India a significant grower of sugar cane.