Hisar 6 March:- Senior scientist of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University and former Head of the Oilseeds Section Dr. Ram Avtar has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding research work in oilseed crops. Assistant scientist Dr. Vinod Goyal received a gold medal, while technology assistant Dr. Rajbir was awarded the second prize for outstanding performance in Front Line Demonstrations.
These honors were conferred during the National Oilseed Conference held in Delhi, organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The awards were presented by former Director General Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra. On this occasion, Deputy Director General (FSL) Dr. D.K. Yadav, Deputy Director General (Horticulture) Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Assistant Commissioner (Oilseeds and Pulses) Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, and several directors and former directors of oilseed institutes including Dr. Dheeraj Singh were also present.
Vice-Chancellor of the University Prof. Baldev Raj Kamboj congratulated the scientists on this achievement and said that they will continue to perform excellent work in the future as well. According to experts, Dr. Ram Avtar has been conducting research work on oilseed crops for the past 15-16 years. The university has developed six new mustard varieties during the last 6-7 years. These include RH 725, ARH 761, ARH 1424, RH 1706 and ARH 1975.
It was informed that RH 725 is widely cultivated in the country and has become very popular among farmers in states like Rajasthan. This variety has bold grains and produces more siliquae. Similarly, ARH 1706 is known for producing high-quality oil, as the erucic acid content in it is less than 2 percent. RH 1975 is gaining popularity among farmers due to its short duration, higher yield potential, longer siliquae and resistance characteristics. These developments have significantly increased mustard production in Haryana, which is a matter of pride for the university.
Director of Research Dr. Rajbir Garg informed that the university has so far developed 25 mustard varieties. In the last 12 years, this team has also received the Best Centre Excellence Award four times for its outstanding work. He stated that in Haryana during 1972-73 the average yield was 464 kilograms per hectare, which has now increased to 2201 kilograms per hectare. This is a major achievement and the result of continuous efforts by scientists and farmers.
On this occasion, Dean of the College of Agriculture Dr. Ramesh Goyal and Dr. S.K. Pahuja were also present.