DR.B.SASIKUMAR: EVOLVING A NATIONALLY APRECIATED VARIETY OF GINGER
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| Dr.Sasikumar, Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Kozhikode |
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The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Kozhikode, finds it sometimes difficult to meet the national demand from farmers for the highly productive ginger variety Varada. And this has won all-round appreciation for Dr.Sasikumar, Senior Scientist at the institute, who played a key role in developing it.
Dr.Sasikumar, who took Ph.D in Plant Breeding from Gujarat Agricultural University, Anand, has been working on ginger, turmeric and black pepper breeding at the institute. The team under him has developed 2 other varieties of ginger, Mahima and Rejatha, which too are becoming popular.
His other contributions are 3 black pepper varieties which have recently been approved for release.
A recipient of ICAR Team Award in Horticulture, as a team member, during 1994-1996, he also won the Dr.J.S.Pruthi Award in 1997. His group’s research papers have appeared in prestigious journals like 'British Food Journal' and 'Food Biotechnology'.
A native of Sooranadu, Kollam, Dr.Sasikumar had earlier worked in Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam and ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Tripura. He is also trained in plant molecular biology at Madurai Kamaraj University and Plant Biotechnology Institute, Canada. A recognized research guide of Calicut, Nagarjuna and Mangalore Universities, he heads externally funded projects also. Says he: “Research involves patience, hard work and the ability to withstand disappointment.”
Besides his research on spices, Dr.Sasikumar is also engaged in popularizing science through mass circulated periodicals. His forays to explode the myths about ‘magical properties’ of black turmeric are well known.
Courtesy:
R.Madhavan Nair, The Hindu, August 15, 2005
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