Designation:
Principal Scientist
Division/Section:
Division of Crop Protection
Specialisation:
Nematology
Qualification:
Ph.D
Research Accomplishments:
(During the Period of 2019-2023)
- Developed Integrated nematode management package for guava, tomato, cucumber, brinjal, tuberose and gladiolus
- Deciphered the nematicidal activity of velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens var. utilis) and identified effective rotational crops for managing nematodes in polyhouses
- Identified eco-friendly technology with EPN (Heterorhabditis indica) as an effective component for managing ash weevils of brinjal.
- Identified nematode resistant germplasm/ lines in several horticultural crops
- Commercialized biopesticide technologies to more than 50 industry licensees all over India
Varieties / Technologies Developed:
- Involved in development of liquid and talc based formulation of novel biocontrol agent Bacillus pumilus (IIHR BP-2 ) which is highly effective against Meloidogyne incognita infecting horticultural crops
- Associated in development of nematode resistant/tolerant varieties Arka Keerthana in tuberose and Arka Neelachal Yodha in brinjal
Publications:
(Best 10/High Impact)
- Rao M.S., M. Kamalnath, R. Umamaheswari, R. Rajinikanth, P. Prabu, K. Priti, G.N. Grace, M.K. Chaya, C. Gopalakrishnan. Bacillus subtilis IIHR BS-2 enriched vermicompost controls root knot nematode and soft rot disease complex in carrot. (2017). Scientia Horticulturae 218: 56-62
- Kamalnath M, Rao MS and Umamaheswari R (2019) Rhizosphere engineering with beneficial microbes for growth enhancement and nematode disease complex management in gherkin (Cucumis anguria L.) Scientia Horticulturae 257 (2019) 108681: 1 -10
- Jatav, V., Sadashiva AT., Ravishankar, V. Venugopalan, R. Umamaheswari R. and Rao, M. S. 2019. Identification of new stable resistant sources to Meloidogyne incognita using conventional and marker assisted selection in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Russian Journal of Nematology, 2019, 27 (2), 97 – 106
- Pradeep Kumar Viswakarma, Vasugi, C., Umamaheswari, R., Sriram, S., Nadeesha, P., Sankaran, M. and Shivashankara, K.S. (2023). Screening of Psidium species and their interspecific hybrid progenies for resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. psidii and southern root knot nematode. South African Journal of Botany, 155: 249-260
- Bairwa, A., Venkatasalam, EP, Umamaheswari, R., Sudha R. and Singh B.P. (2017). Effect of cultural practices on potato cyst nematode population dynamics and potato tuber yield. Indian Journal of Horticulture, 74 (1): 91-96.
- Sharma, A., Bhardwaj, V., Dalamu, Kaushik, S.K., Singh, B.P., Sharma, S., Umamaheshwari, R. Baswaraj, R., Kumar V., Gebhardt, C. 2014. Identification of elite potato genotypes possessing multiple disease resistance genes through molecular approaches. Scientia Horticulturae, 179: 204-211
- Umamaheswari R, Rao M. S., Chaya M. K., Sowmyavani M., Navyashree R. K. and Kavya B. M. (2020). Bio-efficacy of liquid formulations of Bacillus subtilis IIHR Bs-2 (1% A.S.) and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens IIHR Ba-2 (1% A.S.) in the management of Meloidogyne incognita infecting tomato. Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems 26(2): 267-273.
- Umamaheswari, R., Rao M.S., Ganga Visalakshy, P. N., Jayanthi Mala, B. R. and Pooja R. 2021. Integrating entomopathogenic nematodes and microbes for eco-friendly management of brinjal ash weevils, Myllocerus subfasciatus Guerin (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems 27(2): 128-131.
- Umamaheswari R, Rao M. S., Chaya M. K., Sowmyavani M., Navyashree R. K. and Kavya B. M. (2022). Effect of Bacillus pumilus IIHR Bp-2 1% A.S. and Pseudomonas putida IIHR Pp-2 1% A.S. in the management of Meloidogyne incognita infecting okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench). Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems 28(1) : 126-132
- Rao, M.S., Umamaheswari, R., Chakravarty, A.K., Grace, G.N., Kamalnath, M. and Prabhu, P. (2015). A frontier area of research on liquid biopesticides: The way forward for sustainable agriculture in India. Current Science, 108 (9):1590-1592.
Book Chapter
- Rao, M.S., Umamaheswari, R., Priti, K., Rajinikanth, R., Grace, G.N., Kamalnath, M., Prabu, P., Kumar, R.M. and Chaya, M.K. (2016). Role of Biopesticides in the Management of Nematodes and Associated Diseases in Horticultural Crops. In Plant, Soil and Microbes. Springer International Publishing, pp. 117-148. ISBN 978-3-319-27453-9 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-27455-3
- Umamaheswari, R. N. R. Prasannakumar, S. Sriram, Sushil K. Sharma, M. S. Rao, and M. K. Chaya. (2020). Biotic Stress Management in Horticultural Crops Using Microbial Intervention. In: Rhizosphere microbes Soil and Plant functions. (Eds) Sushil Kumar Sharma, Udai B. Singh, Pramod Kumar Sahu, Harsh Vardhan Singh, Pawan Kumar Sharma, Springer Nature, Singapore pp: 619-654. ISSN 2512-1901 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9154-9
- Umamaheswari, R., Rao, M.S. and Radha T.K. 2020. Biorational interventions for nematode stress management in horticultural crops. (Eds.) Rameshkumar,S., Sathappan, C.T., Manivannan, K., Arumugam Shakila and Dhanasekaran, D. In: Horticulture in the Vanguard of climate change. Garden Glory Human empowerment Cooperative Limited, Jammu, pp 41-43. ISBN 978-93-5407-228-4
- Umamaheswari R., Rao M. S., Akshay Kumar Chakravarthy, G. Nuthana Grace, M. K. Chaya, and M. V. Nataraja. (2020) Integrated Nematode Management in Protected Cultivation. (Ed) Akshay Kumar Chakravarthy. In: Innovative Pest Management Approaches for the 21st Century: Harnessing Automated Unmanned Technologies. Springer Nature, Singapore, pp 507-519. ISBN 978-981-15-0793-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0794-6
- Umamaheswari R., Pritee Singh, K. Hima Bindu and Tejaswini Prakash (2022). Exploring host plant resistance and developing integrated nematode management strategies in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.). In: Innovative Technologies and its Applications in Higher Education –Agriculture (Eds. S. Rameshkumar et al), Internal Quality Assurance Cell Annamalai University, 443-448 pp; ISBN : 978-93-92042-44-7
Awards & Recognitions:
- Dr. Mrs. Jagdiswari Rao Women Scientist Award – 2020 from Applied Zoologists Research Association, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
- Agricultural Scientist Award – 2021 by Dr. B. Vasantharaj David Foundation for significant contribution in Plant Nematology in Horticultural Crops.
- ‘AZRA Fellowship Award’ from Applied Zoologists Research Association, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
- Chief Guest G.S. Pathak’s Award for the Best Ph.D. student of the University with a gold medal at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
- Dr. A. Abdul Kareem, Late Janab H. Peer Mohammed of Vandavasi and Dr. P. Narayanaswamy Awards for the Best Ph.D. student in Plant Protection Studies with a gold medal at TNAU, Coimbatore
- Hexamar Agricultural Research Foundation Award for the Best Student in Plant Nematology with a gold medal at TNAU, Coimbatore
- All India Best Publication Award 2017 for the paper by Bairwa, A., Venkatasalam, EP, Umamaheswari, R., Sudha R. and Singh B.P. on ‘Effect of cultural practices on potato cyst nematode population dynamics and potato tuber yield’ published in Indian Journal of Horticulture 74(1): 91-96
- Agricultural Achiever Award 2021 by SADHNA (Society for Advancement of Human and Nature), Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Himachal Pradesh
- Recipient of three Best Oral Presentation Awards and two Best Poster Awards in National and International conferences.
Permanent Address:
No.68, 4th street, 3rd extension,
Gokulam Colony, PN Pudur,
Coimbatore - 641041
Address for Communication:
Scientist, Division of Entomology & Nematology, IIHR, Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bangalore 560 089.
Email Address:
uma.maheshwari@icar.gov.in
Telephone #:
080-23086100 Extn 311