Area of specialization
Diagnosis and detection, biological plant disease management, mycology and plant virology.
Current area of research
- Sick plot development.
- Biological disease management of lentil wilt and collar rot diseases.
- Identification and characterization of new pathogens and diseases on different pulse crops.
- Identification and screening of disease-resistant genotypes against major diseases in economically important pulse crops.
Major research achievements
- Identification of Podosphaera xanthii as the powdery mildew pathogen of mungbean in Bhopal.
- Eight promising isolates identified as Bacillus altitudinis, Bacillus velezensis and Bacillus inaquosorum through 16S rRNA sequencing, with antagonistic properties against lentil wilt and collar rot pathogens, indicating potential as bioinoculants.
- Identification of Fusarium falciforme causing root rot and wilt symptoms in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik).
Awards and recognitions
- Best Ph.D. thesis award, Indian Society of Plant Pathologists, PAU Ludhiana — National Symposium at TNAU Coimbatore, 16–17 December 2019.
- Best oral presentation, session 14 “Genomics and Bioinformatics”, Indian Phytopathological Society 7th International Conference, IARI New Delhi, 16–20 January 2020.
- Best poster award, session 04, Progressive Horticulture Conclave 2019, ICAR-IISR Lucknow, 8–10 December 2019.
- Second best poster award for “Unveiling the etiology of powdery mildew in mungbean and screening for its resistance”, PAU Ludhiana, 18–20 November 2025.
- Third best oral presentation for “Mango anthracnose: pre- and post-harvest symptoms, pathogen diversity and biological management approaches”, PAU Ludhiana, 18–20 November 2025.
- Best oral presentation for “Exploring beneficial rhizospheric and endophytic bacteria for disease suppression in lentil”, National Conference on Pulses, IIPR Kanpur, 10–12 February 2026.
Profile links
Personal information
- Discipline and specialization
Plant Pathology (Plant Virology and Mycology), Biological Disease Management.
Professional Information
Current area of research
- Detection and management of soil borne diseases of Pulses (chickpea, pigeonpea, and lentil)
Publications
- 1. Dhiman S, Kumari N, Badiyal A, Sharma V, Sharma PN. 2022. Development and validation of a direct PCR based assay for the detection of Colletotrichum species on chili seeds. Seed Science and Technology. 50(1). https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2022.50.1.12
- 2. Ganesan S, Sahu S, Kishore K, Kumari N, Acharya GC. 2022. First report of pineapple leaf blight caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae in India. Journal of Plant Pathology 104, 885. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-022-01087-1
- 3. Kumari N, Shukla PK, Singh H, Fatima T, Bajpai A. 2021. Development of species-specific PCR based detection assay for Ceratocystis fimbriata, mango wilt pathogen. Indian Phytopathology 75, 215–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42360-021-00438-9
- 4. Shukla PK, Fatima T, Kumari N. 2021. First Report of Berkeleyomyces basicola causing mango root rot and decline in India. Plant Disease: 105. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-20-2133-PDN
- 5. Damodaran T, Rajan S, Muthukumar M, Ram Gopal, Yadav K, Kumar S, Ahmad I, Kumari N, Mishra VK and Jha SK. 2020. Biological Management of Banana Fusarium Wilt Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 Using Antagonistic Fungal Isolate CSR-T-3 (Trichoderma reesei). Frontiers in Microbiology. 11 :595845. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.595845
- 6. Katoch S, Kumari N, Salwan R, Sharma V, Sharma PN. Recent developments in social network disruption approaches to manage bacterial plant diseases. Biological Control. 150:104376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2020.104376
- 7. Sharma N, Kumari N, Sharma SK, Padder BA, Sharma PN. 2019. Investigating the virulence and genetic diversity of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum populations distributed in the North Western Himalayan hill states. Journal of Plant Pathology. 101: 677-688