Dr Wasakha Singh Dhillon has made significant contributions in the field of education, research, extension and research management in horticultural sciences. He did his graduation in agriculture, masters and doctorate in horticulture from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, Punjab, India. His professional carrier started as Assistant Professor and rose to the position of Professor in Fruit Science at PAU. He worked on various research management positions as Director, PAU-Fruit Research Station, Gangian; Director, Punjab Horticultural Post-harvest Technology Centre, PAU-campus, Ludhiana; Assistant Director General Horticulture, ICAR, New Delhi; and after retirement, presently working as Consultant, NHB, GOI. His keen interest in horticulture education is reflected from that he taught about 160 credit hours at B Sc, M Sc and Ph D levels, and guided 12 M Sc and 7 Ph D students. For the benefit of students and researchers, he has published 7 books namely Plantation Crops in India; Fruit Production in India; Fruit Tree Physiology; Impact of Climate Change on Fruit Crops; Doubling Farmers Income through Horticulture; Horticulture for Food and Environment Security; Viticulture in Nort- West India; 5 practical manuals for UG and PG students, and edited 4 full proceedings. Dr Dhillon’s significant contributions in the field of crop improvement, plant propagation, agro-horti-techniques, plant protection measures and post-harvest technology research in horticultural crops have been widely acknowledged that led to the development of 10 varieties, 1 root-stock and 38 recommendations. These are included in the Package of Practices for fruit crops; and vegetable crops of PAU. He handled 5 competitive adhoc research projects as Principal Investigator. Dr Dhillon published 152 original research papers in national and international journals of repute, 20 book chapters, 4 review papers, 20 full proceeding papers, 60 technical articles, and 1 technical bulletin. He has organized 3 national level seminars as Organizing Secretary, conducted 21 days Summer School as Course Director; 21 days Winter School as Course Co-director, 10 days Training Course as Coordinator, and also attended more than 60 national and international seminars. He was nominated as member QRT of Directorate of Cropping Systems, Modipuram, Meerut; Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur by ICAR. He was also member of Research Advisory Committee; and Institutional Management Committee of 12 ICAR institutes. He was member of Peer ReviewTeams for accreditation of BSKKV, Agricultural University, Dapoli, and State Agricultural University of Jharkhand, Ranchi. He was also nominated as chairman and member of many national, ICAR, state and university level decision taking committees. In recognition of his immense contribution in the field of horticultural sciences, he was awarded with prestigious Fellowships by Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences (IAHS); Confederation of Horticulture Association of India (CHAI), and Society for Horticultural Research and Development, and Life Time Achievement Award-2024 by CHAI; and Life Time Achievement Award in Sports by PAU. He was also awarded with Dr JC Anand Gold Medal, and Shri GL Chadha Memorial Gold Medal by IAHS; Meritorious Teacher Award, S GS Nihalsingwala Award, Letter of Appreciation for Agriculture Development by PAU; Distinguished Scientist Award by High-tech Horticultural Society. Apart from research, academics and management, Dr Dhillon was also an outstanding athlete of PAU during his student days. He was best athlete of the College of Agriculture, University and Ludhiana district, and won numerous medals like Gold, Silver and Bronze at College, University, District, State, and Open National level competitions. For recognition of achievements in sports he was honored with College and University colors.
