With the death of Dr. Raghubir Prasada at Delhi, on February 17, 1992, India lost an eminent Plant Pathologist, renowned all over the world. Born at Chandausi in U.P., on December 11, 1907, Dr. Prasada received his early education at S.M. School, Chandausi. He took his B.Sc., M.Sc. degrees in 1928 and 1930 respectively from Agra University, Agra. At Agra College, he came under the influence of an eminent pathologist Prof. K.C. Mehta who initiated him to work on cereal rusts. 

In 1930, Dr. Prasada moved to Shimla, for the establishment of a Cereal Rust Research Laboratory, which he did with utmost planning and foresight. He remained Incharge of the laboratory till 1946 when he shifted to Indian Agricultural Research Institute at New Delhi. The laboratory has become a nodal point for monitoring rust virulence beyond national boundaries. This station has the distinction of maintaining rust virulences on live rusts. Some of the original rust cultures started by Dr. Prasada have completed more than 700 generations. Dr. Prasada did commendable work on epidemiology of cereal rusts in association with Dr. Mehta which was published in the form of scientific monographs of Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 1940 and 1952. Apart from this, Dr. Prasada also contributed significantly on rusts of grasses, maize, millets, legumes, oilseeds and fibre crops; Alternaria blight of linseed and cucurbits; powdery mildews of wheat and pea and Pyricyln- in blight of pearl millet. His monumental work on linseed rust decorated him with D.Sc. degree from Agra University in 1943. 

Since 1935, Dr. Prasada was associated with the breeding of rust resistant varieties of wheat. A similar project, on the improvement of linseed, with his collaboration has resulted in the wide cultivation of high yielding rust resistant varieties. 

During a short visit to Australia in 1956, he found, for the first time in Tasmania, the natural occurrence of barberries infected with wheat stem rust. The finding has thrown considerable light on rust epidemiology and origin of new races in that country. 

Dr. Prasada used to work with devoted interest and a missionary zeal to contribute significantly to the cause of Plant Pathology. During 1960­61, a very serious disease of wheat, exhibiting symptoms like that of leaf blight flared up and baffled Plant Pathologists. Dr. Prasada and his student took up the challenge sportingly and established the causal organism of the disease as Alternaria triticina Prasada and Prabhu. They investigated the epidemiological and other aspects of the disease and suggested strategies for its management. 

Being one of the founder members, Dr. Prasada was closely connected with Indian Phytopathological Society since its inception. He was the Secretary-Treasurer for three terms from 1950 to 1958 which he took over from Dr. B.B. Mundkur. He had been Editor-in-Chief of the Journal in 1958 and again from 1962 to 1967. He was elected President of the Society in 1959 and Honorary Fellow in 1976. The Society has attained the status of one of the professional societies at the foremost global level which is the outcome of Dr. Prasada's vision and wisdom. He served IPS as a soldier when there was a move to shift its headquarters to Madras in 1962-IPS annual meeting. His utterances and arguments left no residual rancour after the meeting. He was also president of the Agricultural Science section of 51st and 52nd sessions of the Indian Science Congress Association during 1964-65. 

After his retirement from IARI in 1967, Dr. Prasada took over as Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Pathology at Udaipur University of Jobner Campus. He continued to hold this position until 1971 and thereafter he worked as Scientist Emeritus at Jobner till 1975. In the late sixties he had felt the necessity of another supporting orgainzation to share the burden of IPS. So he carved the society of Mycology and Plant Pathology in 1970 alongwith late Dr. N. Prasad and started the publication of the journal becoming its, first Editor and Chief Editor from 1971 to 1980. He was elected as the President of the Society in 1981. 

In 1973, he was invited to deliver special lectures on cereal rusts in different universities of U.S.A. He also participated in the 4th International Wheat Genetic Symposium held at Columbia Missouri, U.S.A. and 2nd International Congress of Plant Pathology held at Minnesota, U.S.A. in the same year; where he spoke on "the origin of new races in wheat rusts in the absence of alternate hosts and impact on breeding" and "International dispersal of wheat rusts in South West Asian countries, respectively. He also visited CIMMYT, Mexico on the invitation of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. Besides this, he also visited Nepal and Canada. 

Dr. Prasada was an excellent teacher and could enlighten the hearts and enrich the brains of his students. His lectures on cereal rusts are memorable. He always enjoyed discussing and critically analysing the research results with his students and colleagues and gave very practical and sound suggestions. He guided a number of "Associates of IARI", M.Sc. and Ph.D. Students. He was a strict disciplinarian. His students and colleagues regarded him with great respect and love. 

Dr. Prasada was an excellent orator. It was always a pleasure to hear his forceful discourse full of humour, appropriate simles and anecdotes. He had the courage and wisdom to silence his critics with straight arguments. He availed every opportunity to speak for the cause of Plant Pathology and always advocated for the recognition of this discipline and demanded a rightful place for Plant Pathologists. His contributions to the science have been published in the form of more than 150 research papers in various Indian and International journals which will be a source of inspiration and guidance for the future Plant Pathologists. 

Dr. D.N. Srivastava, former Deputy Director General (CS), ICAR, New Delhi expressed professional excellence of Dr. R. Prasada by saying "I have regards for his professionalism for three main reasons, firstly, he excelled in area of rust diseases, secondly, he gave unstinted support to IPS in the formative years and thirdly, he founded the Society of Mycology and Plant Pathology."