Innovative Approaches in Diagnosis and Management of Crop Diseases

Rakesh Kumar Singh, PhD, is Head, Plant Pathology at Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (RVSKVV), College of Agriculture, Indore, M.P., India. He is esteemed member of national and international research societies and a fellow of the Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development. He has been honored with four awards from national societies. Dr. Singh has guided 25 MSc (Ag) and 3 PhD students on modern integrated areas in biology and has published over 65 research papers along with book chapters, instructional manuals, and popular articles. He has experience in teaching, research, and extension work in agriculture in various capacities for over 20 years. He was PI of a project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), ICAR, and evaluated several newly evolved agrochemical companies. He is actively working in the detection of plant pathogens and the identification of sources of resistance in chickpea and mungbean. Dr. Singh has developed a molecular plant pathology laboratory for wilt sick plot for chickpea and mushroom cultivation and a value addition laboratory at RVSKVV. Gopala, PhD, is affiliated with Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya (RVSKVV), College of Agriculture, Indore, M.P., India. He earned his MSc and PhD degrees in Plant Pathology from IARI, New Delhi, India. He has cleared his exams such as ICAR PGS-JRF and had a IARI merit scholarship for his PhD. He also cleared ICAR NET in 2014. He has received three awards from national societies. During his MSc work, he has developed a new screening technique and rating scale for stalk rot of maize caused by Macrophomina phaseolina. During his PhD work, he has reported new phytoplasma diseases in Cucurbita pepo, bougainvillea, dianthus, petunia, and ornamental kale along with its associated vectors. He has submitted more than 50 sequences to the National Center for Biotechnology Information and received accession numbers. Dr. Gopala has published more than 15 research papers in journals of national and international repute.