Former director of Clemson University Florence research center dies

Published: February 23, 2010

John B. Pitner served Clemson University for 32 years. He died Sunday aged 92. image by: Peter Hull

FLORENCE – John. B. Pitner, the man who transformed a sleepy Pee Dee agricultural experiment station into a modern research facility, died Sunday. He was 92 years old.

During his 32-year career with Clemson University, including 29 years as director of the Pee Dee Research and Education Center, Pitner’s leadership, dedication and innovation in agricultural research touched lives the world over.

A meticulous researcher, he was instrumental in selecting, planning and overseeing the nearly 2,300-acre site and construction of the research center’s main office building. Pitner retired in 1986 at age 69. On August 10, 1999, the building off Pocket Road was named the John B. Pitner Center.

In May 2009, shortly before receiving an honorary doctorate of humanities from Clemson, he described the research center as “one of the best investments Clemson ever made.” The center’s soils are diverse enough that scientists can cover just about all the crops of the Pee Dee, he said.

He also was awarded an honorary doctor of humanities in 1984 by Francis Marion University in recognition of improving the quality of agriculture in the Pee Dee region.

Pitner is survived by three sons, John, Phil and David; by daughters-in-law Margaret and Scottie; and by his granddaughter, Leslie, and her husband, Kirk. Pitner will be buried in a plot adjacent to his wife, Mary.  

Pitner was born in Tiplersville, a small town in northern Mississippi. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University, and received a Ph.D. in soils chemistry from the University of Wisconsin.

His career began in 1944 when he went to work for Mississippi State University. There, he was in charge of the soil-fertility and plant-nutrition programs for all crops in the Mississippi Delta.

In 1947, he was chosen by the Rockefeller Foundation as the soils scientist to join four select agricultural scientists to form the Mexican Agricultural Program. The research group was created to investigate and develop plant production to increase harvests of corn, wheat and beans in the region. Pitner’s research highlighted the key role played by fertilizer and its use in increasing crop productivity.

After nearly eight years in Mexico, during which time he worked with some of the biggest names in agriculture, including Norman Borlaug and E. C. Stakeman, Pitner returned to the United States in 1954, becoming head of Clemson’s agronomy and soils department, now part of entomology, soils and plant sciences.

After three years on the main campus, Pitner moved to Florence. As director of the Pee Dee center, he conducted research programs focusing on cotton, corn, soybeans, turf grasses and tobacco. His paramount concern was the conservation of soils and water, and he championed a multidisciplinary approach to crop research.

He is co-inventor of a mechanical tobacco harvester that brought machine harvesting to the small farmer. His involvement in basic research produced recommendations that led to the eradication of the cotton boll weevil, which was introduced to the United States in 1892 and was one of the most damaging pests in the history of crop production.

The Pee Dee center’s current director, Bruce Fortnum, said that Pitner transformed the facility into a world-renowned research and education center.

The center has become the recognized name for certain fields of research, particularly tobacco, cotton and turfgrass, and regularly welcomes visiting scientists from around the world. More recently, biofuels has become an important research area.

“I don’t think there’s a single major research center in the world that works on tobacco that hasn’t sent people here,” Fortnum said. “It is not unusual to have scientists from across the globe visit and work with scientists at our center,” he said.

John Kelly, Clemson's vice president of public service and agriculture, said that what the university gained from Pitner's knowledge and experience cannot be measured.

“Dr. Pitner led one of the most interesting lives of anyone I have known in academia,” Kelly said. “He was heavily involved in international agriculture and had a unique ability to apply science at the local level.”

He remained a regular visitor to the research center throughout his retirement.

In lieu of flowers, people are asked to send donations to the Christmas Gift Fund for workers at the Presbyterian Community of Florence, 2350 W. Lucas St., Florence, SC 29501.  

Funeral services will be held at a cemetery in Chalybeate, Miss. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. March 1 at the Presbyterian Community Chapel in Florence.

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