10th Asian PGPR Society India Chapter National Conference concluded
The three-day 10th Asian PGPR Society India Chapter National Conference on “Fostering
PGPRs for Secondary Green Revolution towards Soil and Crop Health Management”
concluded today with a grand valedictory function at the Auditorium of CSIR–Indian
Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Canal Road, Jammu. The event was jointly
organized by Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu
(SKUAST-Jammu), the Asian PGPR Society and its India Chapter.
In his presidential remarks, Prof. B.N. Tripathi, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-Jammu
and Chief Patron of the Conference said that regenerative agriculture, including organic and
natural farming is the buzzword of the future. He emphasized the need to initiate research on
the combined use of chemical fertilizers and PGPR to explore synergies, and called for
intensive interdisciplinary research to address emerging challenges. Prof. Tripathi further
suggested that PGPRs should be integrated into soil health cards and included in the Holistic
Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) to promote soil sustainability. He also
encouraged researchers to make effective use of nanotechnology and frontier research tools in
PGPR studies.
Chief Guest, Prof. Manoj Kumar Dhar, Director, Academy of Scientific and Innovative
Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, highlighted the central role of microbes in driving the
secondary green revolution. He stressed that the focus must be on producing quality food
through approaches rooted in biology, ecology and sustainability with biological intelligence
at the core. He described PGPRs as a paradigm shift contributing significantly to agricultural
sustainability and emphasized that PGPR research can be aligned with all 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) particularly SDG 2: Zero Hunger. He underscored that soil
health, food quality, resilience, and sustainability are the cornerstones of the next green
revolution.
The Guest of Honour, Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR–IIIM Jammu, commended the
collaborative efforts of scientists, industry leaders and farmers during the conference and
underlined the importance of translating PGPR-based research into field-level applications
for the benefit of farming communities. He also announced that IIIM is ready to sign an MoU
with the PGPR Society to strengthen collaborative research and emphasized that the doors of
IIIM are open for all researchers working in allied domains.
At the beginning of the programme, Dr. Brijeshwar Singh, Professor & Head, Division of
Microbiology, SKUAST-Jammu and Organizing Secretary gave a brief overview aboput the
conference. Dr. Manmohan Sharma, Professor of Biotechnology, SKUAST-Jammu, presented
the conference report summarizing the highlights of technical sessions, keynote lectures, oral
and poster presentations.
The technical sessions across three days included keynote lectures, invited talks, oral and
poster presentations and panel discussions by eminent scientists from India and abroad.
Experts deliberated on themes such as microbiomes for crop health, nitrogen use efficiency,
epigenetic regulation of plant defense, bioprotectants for sustainable wheat management,
functional footprints of the plant microbiome, and development of multi-trait PGPR strains
for rice. Awards were also distributed among the winners of the presentations.
Delegates from states including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Assam, and New Delhi, along with international experts from USA, UK, and Hungary,
attended the conference. All the statutory officers of SKUAST-Jammu, officers of CSIR-
IIIM, heads of divisions of SKUAST-Jammu, faculty, and delegates from various universities
at national and international levels attended the valedictory function adding to the academic
vibrancy of the event.
Prof. S.K. Gupta, Director Research, SKUAST-Jammu and Convener of PGPR-2025 and Dr.
Brajeshwar Singh, Professor & Head, Division of Microbiology, SKUAST-Jammu and
Organizing Secretary coordinated the valedictory function. The valedictory session concluded
with a formal vote of thanks delivered by Dr. Brajeshwar Singh, Organizing Secretary of the
conference.
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