TRF Alumni

Started his career in the Entomology Division of UPASI Tea Research Institute in 1983. He served as Advisory Officer and Senior Advisory Officer in the Regional Centres in Wayanad and Munnar. He also served as Assistant Director (Advisory Services) in the Regional Centre, Coonoor. He has a Masters Degree in Entomology from University of Madras. He is the first Ph.D from UPASI Tea Research Foundation affiliated to the Bharathiar University. He has over 28 years of research and advisory experience in UPASI Tea Research Institute. He has published more than 100 research papers in National and International journals. He is a member of the editorial board of Indian Society for Plantation Crops. Specialised in Entomology, his areas of research are organic farming, sustainable agriculture and IPM. He has been instrumental in getting GI certification for Nilgiri Orthodox tea.

Joined the TRF in May 2006 and before assuming the office of Director he served as Director (since June 2008), Joint Director and Additional Director of the institute. After his Post Graduate Degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Kerala University, he obtained Ph.D (Ag.) from Bose Institute, Kolkata University and specialized in Plant Biotechnology. He worked as a Scientist in Tropical Botanic Garden, Trivandrum for two years and then joined the R&D unit of M/s TATA Tea Limited in Munnar, Kerala where he worked for over 20 years both in their south and North Indian units. He served as a member of Board of studies for the Biotechnology Department in the Kerala University (1995-98) and in the Research Advisory Council of Rain Forest Research Institute, Jorhat, Assam (2004-06). Currently he is a member of board of studies in the Botany division of Bharathiar University, Coimbatore and Biotechnology Division of KSR College, Thiruchencode. He is also a member of different committees of Tea Board. He has been conferred the fellow of the Indian Society of Plantation Crops for his outstanding research work in plantation crop. His field of interest is Agronomy, breeding and biotechnology of plantation crops. He has over 35 publications to his credit and co-guided two Ph.D students. He has been recognized by Bharathiar University, Coimbatore as a Research Guide leading to Doctoral Degree.

Served as Director of the institute from 1997-2008. He joined the institute in 1980 after six years of service as Scientist in the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. He obtained his Ph.D from the Entomology Research Institute, Loyola College, affiliated to Madras University in 1976 under the able guidance of the world renowned Entomologist Prof. T. N. Ananthakrishnan Before becoming the Adviser (2008 – 2011) of the institute, he has served the TRI in different capacities such as Director, Joint Director, Assistant Director, and Head of the Division of Entomology. His pioneering work on shot hole borer management is a landmark in plant protection in tea. His studies on IPM further contributed to the reduction of pesticide load in tea in south India. Many of his findings and recommendations are widely adopted by the tea industry. He has successfully guided eight students for Ph. D. He has more than 200 publications and a couple of books to his credit. His monograph on “Pest management in tea” is an important source of reference on pests of tea in South India. He is member of different committees of Tea Board, Coffee Research Advisory Council and Bureau of Indian Standards. He is a Fellow of the Indian society for Plantation crops.

Joined the Institute as Director in 1995 and worked for a brief period of one year. He left the services to take over the prestigious post of Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore in 1996.

Served as Director of the institute during 1991-1995. He joined the institute in 1972 as Head of Botany Division and was later promoted to Deputy Director and Joint Director. He had done extensive work on clonal selection, harvesting, bringing up of young tea, nursery grafting and weed control. He retired from the services of UPASI in 1995.

Served as Director of the institute from 1988 to 1991. His contributions to the understanding of tea diseases are well known. He had also worked as Mycologist at the Tocklai Experimental Station, Jorhat and as Technical Advisor to Rallis Agrochemicals Research Station, Bangalore. In 1991 he retired from the services of UPASI.

Joined as Director of the institute in 1984, after serving as Agronomist, Soil Scientist and Dean of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. He left the services of the Institute in 1988.

A well renowned scientist and Director of UPASI Scientific Department joined the organization in 1958 as Plant Pathologist. He served in various capacities in the Department and he was Director of the Institute from 1974 to 1982. His most significant contribution is the development of control measures against blister blight, which was threatening the very existence of the tea industry in south India.

Joined the UPASI as a Botanist in 1948. He pioneered the work on tea clonal selection and vegetative propagation. His significant contribution to the tea industry is a set of outstanding tea clones combining high yields with quality, and resistant to drought and diseases. Many of these clones are extensively planted in south India. He was appointed as Chief Scientific Officer, later re-designated as Director of Research in 1965 and was principally responsible for the organization and development of the Research Station at Cinchona during its years of infancy.

Took over from Mr. Peter de Jong as the first Indian Chief Scientific Officer in 1957, to implement the expansion programme. As the first Entomologist in the Department from 1931, he saved the tea industry in south India from being completely swept out by the tea mosquito bug by introducing effective field control measures against this pest in the mid forties.

Joined as Chief Scientific Officer when the blister blight epidemic posed a serious threat to the tea industry. With great dynamism and farsightedness Mr. de Jong directed field trials for the economic control of the disease, also fostered laboratory investigation on copper fungicide formulations for comparative efficiency against the blister blight pathogen. His significant contribution was the publication on “Manuring of Tea in India compiling the essence of the departmental findings on potassium and other major elements in tea nutrition. Mr. de Jong did much ground work for the expansion of the Scientific Department.

Served as Chief Scientific Officer of the Department during the Second World War. As a scientist of unusual percipience, with thoughts as clear as a mountain brook, his monumental work on coffee leaf rust races is a household word among plant pathologists.

Appointed as Chief Scientific Officer in 1938 and served the Association with distinction during his tenure, with a break of five years when he was on active service. With his prime interest in agronomy he roused consciousness among the planters on the need to conserve and rehabilitate soils. As an agriculturist, he was the first to initiate a number of long-term field experiments on pruning, manuring and plant protection. He also published a number of helpful advisory circulars on various aspects of tea culture, clarified ambiguities and incorporated new working procedures.

The first Tea Scientific Officer of UPASI. He did pioneering work on tea chemistry with particular stress on tea tannins and adulteration of tea; on the latter subject, he published two excellent papers. Much ahead of his time and with very modest resources, he produced instant tea on bench scale. His work on tea waste as a manure was also an important contribution falling in line with the overwhelmingly manifest preference for organic manures.