Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy

Last updated
Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy
Born(1928-03-27)March 27, 1928
NationalityIndian
Known for43 cotton hybrids including Suvin & LRA 5166
Awards
  • ABLE Award, for excellence in Agriculture Sciences (2007). * Honorary Fellowship to Sri. R. Krishnamourthy, by ISCI on 16 June (2007)
Scientific career
FieldsCotton breeder

Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy (born 27 March 1928) is an Indian cotton researcher. He is a prolific Indian plant breeder who introduced a myriad of cotton varieties for commercial cultivation. [1] He served in the Department of Agriculture of Tamil Nadu for one decade and almost 28 years in Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He has released as many as 6 varieties from G. Hirsutum, two from G. Barbadense and three hybrids during his tenure in ICAR Service. All of them are prominent and accepted by the farmers as well as the textile mills at Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. He completed B. Sc.(Agri.) and M. Sc. (Agri.) in plant breeding and genetics from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. He is also the Research Director - Cotton of Rasi Seeds Pvt. Ltd.

Contents

Famous varieties

Suvin cotton

Suvin is the Jewel in the Indian cotton crown. The king of cotton and India's pride. “Suvin” variety was released in 1979 by cross breeding Sujatha (Indian cotton variety) with St. Vincent (Sea-Island cotton variety). Suvin is the finest cotton being produced in India and has no parallel and alternative in the world today. It is the only commercially available fiber in the world with spinnability up to 240s count. The highest production of Suvin was 36,000 bales (170 kg), achieved in the year 1989-90. However, the production of Suvin has depleted steadily over the years and currently stands at 300 MT i.e. around 1250 bales. [2]

Other varieties

Other varieties include b [3] [4]

Hybrids developed in the private sector

3. 20 Bt cotton hybrids are at advanced stages of testing, while 6 Bt hybrids are awaiting approval for commercial release. During 2007, 9 Bt hybrids were proposed for RGGM trial all over the country.

Awards and accolades

Publications

He has published over 35 research papers in journals of high repute.

Related Research Articles

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India. It reports to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture. The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as its president. It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world.

Bt cotton is a genetically modified pest resistant plant cotton variety, which produces an insecticide to combat bollworm.

Chandrakant T. Patel, was a cotton scientist, who developed the first commercial cotton hybrid, known as Hybrid-4 (Sankar-4), in 1970, which was later cultivated commercially in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Bhimareddy Hanumareddy Katarki is an Indian agricultural scientist specializing in cotton. During the 1970s, he was inspired by the success of Hybrid-4, Cotton by Dr. C. T. Patel, of Surat Research Station. Dr. Katarki also made a groundbreaking discovery of Varalaxmi, and DCH-32 Cotton varieties, at the Dharwad Agricultural University (Karnataka).

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Guduru Venkatachalam

G. V. Chalam, also known as Guduru Venkata Chalam (1909–1967), was an Indian activist and agricultural scientist who received the Padma Shri in 1967.

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Rajeev Kumar Varshney

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P. Ananda Kumar is an Indian plant molecular biologist and biotechnologist.

Regional Agricultural Research Station, Pattambi is a research Station under the Central Zone of Kerala Agricultural University at Pattambi in Palakkad district of Kerala, India.

Indian Institute of Horticultural Research Research institute in Karataka, India

The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) is an autonomous organization acting as a nodal agency for basic, strategic, anticipatory and applied research on various aspects of horticulture such as fruits, vegetable, ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plants and mushrooms in India. The institute has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India and is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture, India.

Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research

The Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research is an autonomous institute of higher learning, under the umbrella of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India for advanced research in sugar cane agriculture. The Institute is located on Raibareli Road, Dilkusha in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. While, The Central Sugarcane Research Institute established in 1912 is located in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. It works also under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Ebrahimali Abubacker Siddiq is an Indian agricultural scientist, whose research in genetics and plant breeding is reported to have assisted in the development of various high-yielding rice varieties such as dwarf basmati and hybrid rice. The government of India honoured Siddiq in 2011 with the fourth-highest civilian award of Padma Shri.

Krishnaswamy Ramiah, was an Indian agricultural scientist, geneticist, parliamentarian and the founder director of Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), Cuttack, credited with introducing systematic hybridisation programmes in rice breeding in India. The Government of India honoured him in 1957, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation and followed it up with the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1970.

Mangina Venkateswara Rao was an Indian agricultural scientist, plant breeder, geneticist and the chairman of the Agri Biotech Foundation. He was a former Vice Chancellor of the Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University and a former Deputy Director of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Rao, a recipient of the Norman Borlaug Award, was awarded the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri, by the Government of India, in 1999.

Kaderbad Ravindranath

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Neelamraju Ganga Prasada Rao was an Indian geneticist and plant breeder, known for his efforts in developing hybrid varieties of sorghum, which earned him the moniker, the Father of Hybrid Sorghum. He was the vice chancellor of Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Agricultural University and chaired the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. He was a recipient of several national honors including Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award and the VASVIK Industrial Research Award. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1966, for his contributions to biological sciences.

DMH-11 Mustard

Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, otherwise known as DMH - 11, is a genetically modified hybrid variety of the mustard species Brassica juncea. It was developed by Professor Deepak Pental from the University of Delhi, with the aim of reducing India's demand for edible oil imports. DMH - 11 was created through transgenic technology, primarily involving the Bar, Barnase and Barstar gene system. The Barnase gene confers male sterility, while the Barstar gene restores DMH - 11's ability to produce fertile seeds. The insertion of the third gene Bar, enables DMH - 11 to produce phosphinothricin-N- acetyl-transferase, the enzyme responsible for Glufosinate resistance. This hybrid mustard variety has come under intense public scrutiny, mainly due to concerns regarding DMH - 11's potential to adversely affect the environment as well as consumer health. DMH - 11 was found not to pose any food allergy risks, and has demonstrated increased yields over existing mustard varieties. Conflicting details and results regarding the field trials and safety evaluations conducted on DMH - 11 have delayed its approval for commercial cropping.

References

  1. "Campaign against Bt cotton is motivated, says research scientist". The Hindu . April 16, 2007. Archived from the original on May 25, 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  2. Speciality Cotton (Organic, Suvin and ELS) (PDF). Ministry of Textile - Government of India. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  3. Bureau (April 13, 2007). "Public-private partnership may help reach seed tech to farmers". Coimbatore: Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  4. "Cultivating ryot amiability". biospectrumindia.com. July 11, 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2010.