Claude Fuller

Who was Claude Fuller?

Claude W. Fuller graduated from Australia's Melbourne University. He worked as an entomologist in Australia but worked more extensively in South and Southern Africa.

At age 19, Fuller was first employed as a vegetable pathologist in New South Wales and transferred to Western Australia six years later. In 1898 he emigrated to the Cape Colony where he filled the post of Government entomologist. The following year he became the first Government entomologist in Natal where his brief became the control and eradication of subtropical pests. He widened the ambit of his post by doing a survey of local fungus diseases and plant parasites, and performed valuable work on the control of locusts. During his stay in Natal he devoted a large amount of time to the control and extermination of orchard pests and noxious weeds. He became one of the pioneers of termite taxonomy in Natal, continuing the work of the Swede Bror Yngve Sjöstedt.

Maize streak virus was first observed by Fuller and described in his 1901 report as “mealie variegation". It is widespread in Africa and is one of the continent's serious crop diseases. The virus is spread by insects and shows as pale yellow or yellow-white leaves, leading to stunted plants that do not produce cobs.