PAU Vegetable Scientist Dr Manisha Dubey wins prestigious best poster award at national conference

Ludhiana, January 7, 2025: Dr Manisha Dubey, DST Senior Scientist from the Department of Vegetable Science, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, has brought laurels to the university by securing 1st position in the Best Poster Award at the National Conference on Plant-Microbe Interaction for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, held at Rani Laxmi Bai Central Agricultural University (RLBCAU), Jhansi, on January 3-4, 2025. The conference was organized by the Indian Phytopathological Society, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi, in collaboration with RLBCAU.

The award was presented for her research on "Appraisal of Cherry Tomato Genotypes Against Leaf Curl Virus and Root-Knot Nematode Under Simulated Epiphytotic Conditions," co-authored with Dr Salesh Kumar Jindal, Dr Sayeed A. H. Patel, Dr Abhishek Sharma, and Dr Sukhjeet Kaur.

Dr. Dubey is also the Principal Investigator of a prestigious DST-sponsored project worth ₹1.06 crore, focused on gene pyramiding for resistance to ToLCV Begomovirus spp. and RKN Meloidogyne spp. diseases in cherry tomatoes through marker-assisted selection (MAS). The project, spanning five years, includes Dr. S.K. Jindal as the Co-Principal Investigator.

With over 15 years of research experience, Dr. Dubey has an impressive portfolio of 48 publications, including 15 research papers in national and international journals, 17 research abstracts, and two book chapters. She received two Best Research Paper Awards and preserved 13 disease-resistant tomato lines in ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi. Additionally, she has registered four Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to promote vegetable cultivation and improve nutritional and livelihood security for small and marginal farmers under earlier DST projects.

Recognizing her achievement, PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, along with Dr A.S. Dhatt, Director of Research, Dr M.I.S. Gill, Dean of Postgraduate Studies, and Dr T.S. Dhillon, Head of the Department of Vegetable Science, congratulated Dr Dubey and her team for their outstanding contribution to agricultural research and development.