Tenure as Director: 09.02.2009 to 31.01.2014

Dr. Amrik Singh Sidhu was born on January 6, 1952. A distinguished vegetable breeder who served as Director of ICAR-IIHR, Bangalore, from February 2009 to January 2014. Over 33 years of research, he developed 23 high-yielding vegetable varieties and 3 F1 hybrids across 13 crops that are widely grown across India.

Qualifications

• B.Sc. (Agriculture) — Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana
• M.Sc. (Horticulture) — Punjab Agricultural University
• Ph.D. — Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (1988)

Career History

• Research Associate, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (1976)
• Assistant Vegetable Breeder, PAU, Ludhiana (1980)
• Vegetable Breeder, PAU (1988)
• Senior Vegetable Breeder, PAU (1992)
• Associate Director of Research, PAU Regional Research Station, Faridkot (1999)
• Head, Department of Vegetable Crops, PAU, Ludhiana (2003)
• Head, Division of Vegetable Science, IARI, New Delhi (2006)
• Director, IIHR, Bangalore (February 2009 – January 2014)

Varieties Developed

• Punjab Naroya, PRO-6 (Onion)
• Punjab Sada Bahar Baingan, Punjab Barsati, BH-1, BH-2 (Brinjal)
• 23 additional high-yielding varieties and 3 F1 hybrids across 13 vegetable crops

Publications & Research

• Over 220 research papers in national and international journals
• 129 popular articles
• Principal Investigator: 5 projects; Co-PI: 4 projects; Coordinator: 2 projects
• Guided 9 postgraduate students

Awards & Recognition

• Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Memorial Prize (1995)
• Shrimati Harpal Kaur Memorial Award (1995)
• Shri Hans Raj Pahwa Memorial Award (1997)
• Punjab Sarkar Parman Patra (2001)
• Gold Medal in Vegetable Science (2004)
• Shri L.C. Sikka Award (2009)
• Fellow, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
• Fellow, Horticultural Society of India
• Fellow, Indian Society of Vegetable Science
• President, Society for Promotion of Horticulture