Udon Thani _ Pradit Khampermpoon, one of the country's top orchid growers best known for having bred the fragrant orchid ''Miss Udon Sunshine'', died of heart failure on Thursday. He was 69. According to his wife, Saranphat Tunruangsri, 48, Pradit was found lying unconscious in the bathroom in the morning at their home in Muang district of northeastern Udon Thani province. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Pradit was born on April 7, 1936, in Khon Kaen province. He studied botany in England and returned home to work at the US consulate in Udon Thani.
In 1987, Pradit successfully bred a new hybrid orchid, a cross between the Josephine Vanbrero and Denisoniana (indigenous to the Northeast), which he named Miss Udon Sunshine.
The plant was patented with the London-based World Orchid Association, and became one of the most recognised orchid breeds.
Pradit was named the country's Outstanding Person in the Field of Culture in 1992. He was also granted an honorary science degree by the Rajabhat Institute.
He is survived by his wife and a 33-year-old son.
