Area of specialization
Chickpea breeding
Current area of research
- Chickpea breeding for heat and drought tolerance
- Plant genetic resources for blackgram
- Genome-wide association studies, metabolomics and lipidomics
Major research achievements
- Involved in developing chickpea varieties IPC 2011-163, IPC 2015-132, IPC 2005-62, IPC 2004-01, IPC 2007-28, IPC 2004-98, IPC 2010-134, IPC 2009-145 and IPC 2010-142.
- Registered donors for heat tolerance (ICC 15925, IPC 2019-05), multiple seeds per pod (IPC 2020-98) and herbicide tolerance (ICC 12315) with NBPGR, New Delhi.
- Developed a RIL mapping population (DCP 92-3 × ICCV 92944) for heat tolerance and identified QTLs contributing to it.
- Metabolomics and lipidomics of chickpea and mungbean reproductive tissue and seed under heat stress; genomics resources developed for heat tolerance in both crops.
- More than 100 international publications, including in Theoretical and Applied Genetics, Plant Biotechnology Journal, Biotechnology Advances, Plant Physiology and The Plant Journal.
Awards and recognitions
- Recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists in 2024 and 2025 (Stanford University / Elsevier ranking)
- Visiting Scientist, Kansas State University, USA; Adjunct Senior Lecturer, University of Western Australia
- Associate editor / editor — Functional Plant Biology, Plant Breeding, BMC Plant Biology, BMC Genomics
- Fellow, Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development
Publications
Personal information
- Date of joining ICAR
15th December 2009
- Discipline and specialization
Genetics & Plant Breeding.
Training & Exposure
- Attended training on Food Legumes Improvement from 8th May to 17th May 2011 at ICARDA(The International center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas) Aleppo, Syria.
- Attended training on Application of Molecular markers in Crop Improvement (Eight ICRISAT-CEG Course) on 8-19 Novemeber 2010, at ICRISAT, India.