John Dunstan "Torchy" Atkinson OBE (3 March 1909 – 27 February 1990) was a New Zealand horticultural scientist and scientific administrator.

He was known as Duncan by his family, but friends and colleagues almost all referred to him as Torchy for his red hair, and the name stuck even after he had turned grey.

[1] Atkinson wrote his master's thesis at Massey University in 1932 with the title Studies on the dieback of lacebarks, Myxosporium hoheria.

His research has contributed significantly to New Zealand's strong position as an exporter of fruit.

In the 1975 New Year Honours, Atkinson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to scientific research.