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Profile of Dr. Banwari Lal

Personal Information

Name : Dr. Banwari Lal
Designation : Senior Scientist & Incharge
Email : Banwari.lal@icar.gov.in; blalsgnr@gmail.com
Telephone (Office) : +91-6350308502
Mobile No. : +91-6350308502
Date of joining ICAR : 28th September 2010
Discipline and specialization : Agronomy, Stress Management, Cropping Systems
Training/advance exposure in the area of work :
  • 21 days training programme on “Fodder management strategy for sustainable livestock production under climate change scenario” attended during September 2–22, 2018, held at SKRAU, Bikaner.
  • Attended 6-week online course training programme on “Conservation agriculture based sustainable intensification” organized by BAU, Bihar, IIT, Kanpur and Commonwealth of Learning, Canada during 22 February to 31 March 2020.
  • Attended three days workshop on “Use of reference manager tools and softwares in research article writing” organized by University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka.

Professional Information

Ongoing Research Projects

  • Exploring Agronomic Interventions for Sustainable Pulses Productivity in Arid region (PI: B. Lal; Co-PIs: L.K. Rolaniya, R.L. Jat, and Priyanka Gautam, ICAR-NRCC, Bikaner).
  • Social vulnerability assessment and adaptation strategies to cope with the impact of climate change in the arid region of Rajasthan (B. Lal, Ashis R. Udgata, Uma Sah).

Activities & Achievements

  • Identification of Suitable Intercropping System in Arid Regions: The pearl millet + cluster bean (PM+CB) intercropping system in a 1:3 row ratio proved to be the most productive, with CB outperforming moth bean (MB) in terms of yield potential. PM+CB (1:3) achieved the highest productivity due to reduced competition and better yield performance.
  • Efficacy of Growth Supplements: Acetic acid (AA), potassium sulphate, and thiourea application significantly improved seed yield, biomass, and pod production in cluster bean and moth bean. AA resulted in 29.6% higher seed yield compared to water spray, due to enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant activity, and better resource partitioning.
  • Acetic Acid as a Low-Cost Antitranspirant: Acetic acid treatment (25 mM) improved drought stress tolerance in cluster bean, moth bean, and moong bean by enhancing leaf water content, chlorophyll levels, and antioxidant activity. AA-treated plants recorded 11-15% higher seed yields over control, irrespective of application time and method.
  • Use of Growth Regulators in Chickpea Under Stress Conditions: Application of acetic acid (AA) and aminolevulinic acid (ALA) improved chickpea yield by 12.3% over control under moisture and heat stress. These treatments reduced unfilled pods by 45.2% and 28.4%, respectively, and enhanced the plant’s resilience to terminal heat and moisture scarcity in arid environments.
  • Identification of Drought-Tolerant Genotypes: Tolerant moth bean genotypes (RMO-40, RMO-2251, and RMB-25) and mung bean genotypes (IPM 410-3, IPM 1103-1, and IPM 312-20) were identified based on better relative water content, membrane stability index, proline accumulation, and drought susceptibility index, contributing to improved adaptability under moisture deficit conditions.
  • Standardization of Heat Stress Tolerance: Critical temperature thresholds for heat tolerance were established, with lethal temperatures of 56°C for mung bean and 54°C for moth bean. Thermotolerant genotypes, such as IPM 2-3 and MH-421 (mung bean) and RMO-225 and RMB-25 (moth bean), were identified for their higher seedling survival rates under heat stress.

Award and Recognition

  • Received Junior Research Fellowship from ICAR for pursuing M.Sc. (Agronomy) (2005–2007).
  • Received Senior Research Fellowship from IARI for pursuing Ph.D. (Agronomy) (2007–2010).
  • Received Best Poster Award (2013 and 2018) of ARRW, Best Poster Award in CSWRI (2020, 2022), Best Hindi Article of Karabh Magazine (NRCC, Bikaner), and Best Research Article (2022) at ICAR-CAZRI.
  • Received ISA Associate Award of Indian Society of Agronomy, New Delhi (2021).
  • Received Young Scientist Award of Bioved Research Society, Allahabad (2015) and Agro Environmental Development Society (AEDS), Uttar Pradesh (2021).
  • Received appreciation and certificate from Agronomy Journal of the American Society of Agronomy, USA, for a research article recognized as a highly cited paper in the last 5 years.
  • Associate Editor of Indian Journal of Agronomy, PLOS ONE, and Scientific Reports.

Publications

  • https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=twsylHcAAAAJ&hl=en

Institute

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