Keith Thompson obituary

From the mid 1980s, after decades of overseas assignments, Keith Thompson became professor of crop science at Cranfield University, Bedfordshire Photograph: family handout

My former husband Keith Thompson, who has died aged 86, was an academic and horticulturalist specialising in the area of optimum harvest, and the packing and storing of fruit and root crops.

Working as a crop scientist for the government-run Tropical Products Institute from the 1960s to mid-80s, Keith worked on overseas assignments in many countries including Trinidad, Colombia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, Turkey, Thailand and Yemen.