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Profile of Dr. Sumit Kumar Aggarwal

Personal Information

Name : Dr. Sumit Kumar Aggarwal
Designation : Scientist (Sr. Scale)
Email : sumit.aggarwal009@gmail.com; sumit.aggarwal@icar.org.in
Telephone (Office) :
Mobile No. : +91- 8968763661
Date of joining ICAR : July 2, 2018
Discipline and specialization : Plant Pathology - Mycology, Plant Disease management and evaluation of crop plants against different diseases, Molecular Plant Pathology
Training/advance exposure in the area of work :
  • Attended eight days hands-on training on “Diversity analysis and molecular marker development for identification and characterization of plant pathogens” from March 15–22, 2021 at ICAR-IIWBR, Karnal.
  • Attended six Annual Maize workshops since 2019 and got exposure to various plant pathological activities across the country; also coordinated in all plant pathological aspects.
  • MOOC on “Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture” (March 1–31, 2024).
  • Attended Winter School training on “Organic Farming Practices in Agriculture for Climate Resilience and Mitigation” from 19 Feb 2025 to 11 Mar 2025 at SKRAU Bikaner.
  • Attended DBT-sponsored training on “Biosecurity and Biosafety: Policies, Diagnostics, Phytosanitary Treatments and Issues” during August 2–11, 2022, organized by ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi (Online).
  • Attended ICAR and DoT-hosted ITU/FAO Workshop on “Cultivating Tomorrow: Advancing Digital Agriculture through IoT and AI” during March 18–19, 2024 at NASC Complex, New Delhi, followed by a day-long workshop on Digital Agriculture by ICAR on March 20, 2024, for internal discussion and deliberation.

Professional Information

Activities & Achievements

  • Contributed in development of eight hybrids (six field corn: IMH 224, IMH 227, IMH 228, IMH 229, IMH 230, IMH 23) and two baby corn: IBCH 401 and IBCH 402. These hybrids are notified by CVRC/SVRC.
  • New pathogen report co-associated with Turcicum leaf blight symptoms in maize (Exserohilum rostratum, 2025).
  • Contributed in development of chemical module for management of maydis leaf blight of maize.
  • Contributed in the development of Institute Bharati Makka App: special contribution in plant pathology aspects regarding major diseases of maize and their management (both Hindi and English).
  • A total of 43 sequences of microbial strains (seven sequences of nitrogen-fixing microbial strains; six sequences of cellulolytic strains; thirty sequences of Exserohilum/Bipolaris species) have been submitted to NCBI and released.
  • Contributed in development of Mobile APP under ICAR-NASF Project.

Current area of research

Prevalence, distribution and management for major fungal diseases of kharif pulses in arid region

Publications

  • Aggarwal, S.K., Ahanger, M.A., Singh, A., Gupta, M., Harlapur, S.I., Shinde, V., Mallikarjuna, N., Kaur, H., Kumar, P., Kaur, R., Goyal, P., and Jat H.S. 2025. First Report of Exserohilum rostratum Causing Leaf Blight on Maize (Zea mays L.) in India. Plant Disease, (ja). (NAAS-10.40)
  • Kumar, B., Kumar, S., Kumar, P., Singh, R., Yankanchi, S., Sarkar, D., Nath, C., Jat, B.S., Bagaria, P.K., Aggarwal, S.K. and Piyal, P. 2025. Understanding the genetic basis of resistance to maydis leaf blight and maturity-related traits in corn. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16, p.1551940. (NAAS-10.10)
  • Neelam, K., Aggarwal, S.K., Kumari, S., Kumar, K., Kaur, A., Babbar, A., Lore, J.S., Kaur, R., Khanna, R., Vikal, Y. and Singh, K., 2024. Molecular Mapping and Transfer of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for Sheath Blight Resistance from Wild Rice Oryza nivara to Cultivated Rice (Oryza sativa L.). Genes, 15(7), p.919. (NAAS-8.80) (Equal authorship)
  • Aggarwal, S.K., Hooda, K.S., Kaur, H., Gogoi, R., Chauhan, P., Bagaria, P.K., Kumar, P., Choudhary, M., Tiwari, R.K. and Lal, M.K., 2024. Comparative evaluation of management modules against Maydis leaf blight disease in maize (Zea mays). European Journal of Plant Pathology, 168(3), pp.485-495. (NAAS-7.70)
  • Aggarwal, S.K., Malik, P., Neelam, K., Kumar, K., Kaur, R., Lore, J.S. and Singh, K., 2022. Genome-wide association mapping for identification of sheath blight resistance loci from wild rice Oryza rufipogon. Euphytica, 218(10), p.144. (NAAS-7.60)

Awards and Fellowships

  • Awarded with “University Gold Medal” in Ph.D. (Plant Pathology) from PAU, Ludhiana
  • Awarded with “University Gold Medal” in M.Sc. (Agri.) Plant Pathology program at RCA, MPUAT, Udaipur
  • Awarded with “University Gold Medal” in B.Sc. (Agri.) from University of Agricultural Science (UAS), Bangalore
  • Best Scientist Award (ICA-IIMR, Ludhiana) during year 2023
  • ICAR-NTS award (UAS Bangalore)
  • Recipient of “Merit Scholarship” in M.Sc. (Agriculture) Plant Pathology at RCA, MPUAT, Udaipur
  • As an editorial member of Annual Report committee ICAR-Indian Institute of Maize Research received Best Annual Report Award for its publication Annual Report 2019 (year 2021)
  • Best Oral Presentation award for “Adoption of modules for Management of Banded Leaf & Sheath Blight of Maize in India” in the IPS National e-Conference 2021 (March 25-March 27, 2021)
  • Best Oral Presentation award for “Development and adoption of modules for management of maydis blight of maize” in India in 8th International Conference (Hybrid mode) on Plant Pathology: Retrospect and Prospectus IPSCONF 2022 held at SKNAU, Jobner-Jaipur, Rajasthan, India from March 23-26, 2022 (attended and delivered online)

Institute

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