New Director Assumes Charge

New Director assumes charge at Sugarcane Breeding Institute

Dr.Bakshi Ram, a distinguished Plant Breeder, assumed charge as the Director of Sugarcane Breeding Institute (SBI), Coimbatore on 28.10.2014. He was serving as the Director of Uttar Pradesh Council of Sugarcane Research (UPCSR), prior to this assignment.

Dr.Bakshi Ram graduated from CCS Haryana Agricultural University in 1981 and went on to obtain his Post graduation and doctorate from the same University.

Belonging to the 1985 batch of ARS (Agricultural Research Service), he started his career as a scientist at SBI, and subsequently served as Head of SBI-Research Centre in Karnal, Haryana and as Director of UPCSR, Shahjahanpur, UP. He has also served as the member secretary of Uttar Pradesh State Varietal Release Committee.

 With over 30 years of experience in Plant Breeding, Dr.Bakshi Ram has so far developed 12 sugarcane varieties, one wheat variety and has registered four sugarcane genetic stocks. Among these, the cane varieties viz., Co 98014, Co 0118, Co 0238, Co 0239 and Co 05011 are popular in sub-tropical India. Variety Co 0238 in particular, occupies over 2-lakh hectares in the North-Indian states.

Specialized in Sugarcane germplasm evaluation & utilization and in development of varieties for various abiotic stresses, Dr Bakshi Ram is a recipient of several National – level awards and has over 200 scientific publications to his credit.