Pongamia for Bio-Energy and Better Environment

M. V. R. Prasad represents the category of scientists, who are not confined exclusively to the narrow walls of their fields of specialization; but have grown to look at agricultural science as the integrated whole of diverse disciplines for sustainable progress of research. With his specialization in Genetics and Plant Breeding, Dr Prasad strived to work with a multidisciplinary approach to achieving solutions to crop production particularly in dryland-land Agriculture.Possessing over fifty years of experience at the national and international levels in the improvement of oilseed crops, grain legumes and tree species, he has contributed to the amelioration of dryland agriculture through development of crop varieties of groundnut, castor, mung bean, moth bean, guar (cluster beans), cashew nut and Pongamia.Among his research contributions, a particular mention may be made of the development and use of aerial pod-bearing attribute, a novel leaf mutant genotype with higher dry matter production and higher oleic acid content, and selection criteria for efficient groundnut breeding in addition tobreeding productive castor genotypes possessing wilt resistance for the first time in the country.At the international level, Dr Prasad has worked as the International Crop Improvement Specialist and Visiting Professor of IICA (OAS) with EMBRAPA in Brazil. He also worked as the International Cashew Specialist and Technical Adviser of Af.D.B. and World Bank Projects on Cashew Development in Africa. He also participated at the FAO Regional Conference at Bangkok in 1991 and International Safflower Conference held in Beijing in 1993. He was the Leader of the Team constituted by the European Commission to assist the Mozambican Cashew Institute in the preparation of the plans for cashew development in 2007.As the Director of the Directorate of Oilseeds Research (Currently Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research), his rich contributions to strengthening of oilseeds research and production are well known. Dr Prasad has trained a number of scientists and post-graduate students ingenetics and breeding of oilseed crops in India and abroad. He possesses over 130 publications on oilseeds, grain legumes, and problems of dryland agriculture.

• Pongam TreeDistributionHabitatClimate and AdaptationTaxonomyPotential Uses of PongamiaDesirable Attributes of Pongam TreeGrowth and DevelopmentFloral BiologyPods and WoodSeed Oil and Its Fuel CharacteristicsPongamia CakeKaranjin and PongamolCytology and Genetic Improvement Including Biotechnological InvestigationsSelection of Elite TreesPlant PhysiologyCarbon Sequestration by PongamiaPhytoremediation of Problem Soils Using PongamiaSymbiotic Nitrogen FixationSoil Amelioration and Root Penetration in Rocky Terrain by PongamiaGreen Coal From PongamiaPropagationProduction Technology for Elite Pongamia Plantation