M.P.M. Nair

Orchid breeder and grower

Nair immigrated to Canada in 1968 and enjoyed a 42‑year career as a computer hardware engineer, working across major technological eras from punch cards to modern microcomputers. He held several senior roles, including national training coordinator, authored instructional materials, completed numerous international postings, and earned multiple industry honors. A lifelong orchid breeder and grower, Nair has cultivated more than 4,000 orchids at a time and has received major awards, including the American Orchid Society’s Educational Exhibit Award. He is a past vice‑president of the Regina Orchid Society and a frequent invited speaker. He also developed a home system to reduce carbon‑dioxide footprint. Born in tropical South India, he grew up among spice plantations and later taught popular seminars on spices and cooking. Known as a natural educator, he explains complex topics with clarity and enthusiasm. Since 1981, Nair has focused extensively on low light tolerant plants, especially Phalaenopsis orchids, citrus, and other indoor crops adapted for windowsill conditions. Low light tolerant lemon breeding is one of his major hobbies, and his research has expanded to indoor, low‑light vegetables. He has exhibited a wide range of plants, fruits, and vegetables at provincial and local shows and has lectured in advanced horticulture courses at the University of Saskatchewan. Nair has presented seminars internationally—in Canada, the U.S., Australia, the Netherlands, Iceland, Finland, and India—and regularly attends global grower and breeder conferences. For over 40 years, he has served as a horticulture judge in Saskatchewan and was part of the first Master Gardener cohort certified by the University of Saskatchewan. His many awards include hundreds of ribbons, multiple grand aggregates, and an Honourary Life Membership from the Saskatoon Horticultural Society. In 2017, he obtained Plant Breeder’s Rights for his ‘First Canadian’ lemon and ‘First Canadian Golden’ lime, receiving U.S. patents for both cultivars in 2019.

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