Charles Alfred Barber

Charles Alfred Barber C.I.E. was a British botanist and specialist on sugarcane, who worked for much of his life in southern India. Saccharum barberi, a species of sugarcane that grows wild in northern India is named after him. He was a pioneer in the nobilization of wild canes in India, by producing hybrids between wild and hardy local species and the high-sugar-yielding cultivated Saccharum officinarum that could survive the cold winters of northern India. He was also involved in establishing the agricultural college at Coimbatore.