Two scientists – Dr Poonam Sharma, principal microbiologist-cum-in-charge (pulses) and Dr Gaurav Kumar Taggar, principal entomologist (pulses), from the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) – bagged prestigious awards for ‘crop production’ at the recently concluded international conference on Pulses: Smart Crops for Agricultural Sustainability and Nutritional Security. The conference was held from February 10 to 12 at NASC Complex, New Delhi. The ISPRD Excellence Award is given to eminent Indian scientists for their outstanding contributions to pulses research and development.

Dr Sharma was awarded for her contribution through education, research and extension in pulse microbiology. She joined the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Pulses in 1989 and has so far contributed to the release of 22 varieties of different pulse crops and also developed six commercial rhizobium/consortium biofertilizers. She has guided 26 postgraduate and 10 Ph.D. students, and has 133 peer-reviewed research publications and 19 book chapters.

Dr Taggar, a gold medalist during his graduation and post graduation, has been actively associated with pulses for several years and has made significant contributions to the areas of economic entomology and integrated pest management. His research focuses on host plant resistance against major insect-pests of pulses, as a tool for interpreting the ecological interactions between plants and herbivores and its exploitation in pest management. He has to his credit more than 60 full-length research publications in peer-reviewed journals, six book chapters and several conferences papers. Dr Taggar is currently on the editorial board of many peer-reviewed national/international research journals and also the PI (Entomology), AICRP on MULLaRP.

The three-day conference was organised to commemorate the auspicious occasion of World Pulses Day by the Indian Society of Pulses Research and Development (ISPRD) along with the Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).