Citrus Production

Dr. Sajjad Hussain is working as an Associate Professor of Horticulture in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences & Technology at Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan. He earned his Ph.D. in 2011 at the University of Corsica Pascale Paoli, France, working with Dr. Rapahel Morillon and Dr. Francois Luro on the physiological and molecular determinants of salt stress in citrus. Apart from teaching various graduate and post-graduate horticultural courses, his primary areas of research are plant physiology under abiotic stresses, physiological responses of plants under mycorrhizal colonization, management of nutrient uptake of horticultural crops, and plant adaptation under climate uncertainty. The overall aim of his research is to understand the underlining mechanisms for the management of abiotic stresses (salt, drought, temperature, waterlogging, etc.) by combining physiological, eco-physiological, molecular, and biogeochemical approaches. He has been working in the field of citriculture for the last 15 years. Currently, he is working on polyploidy rootstock manipulation for better adaptation to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Furthermore, he is also working on developing new rootstocks and scions for better fruit yield and quality. He is actively collaborating with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) in Montpellier, France, as well as the French National Research Institute for Agriculture (INRAE). He has published over 70 peer-reviewed publications, over 35 book chapters, and several conference papers. He has successfully supervised three Ph.D. students and 25 M.Phil. students. He has been involved as principal and co-principal investigator in various research grants worth around 25 million PKR from different funding agencies. He is also actively working as a reviewer for different Impact factor journals.

Dr. Muhammad Fasih Khalid is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, Doha. In 2021 he earned his Ph.D. in Horticulture/Citriculture from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan. During his Ph.D. he also had a chance to work as a Researcher at Citrus Research and Education Center, University of Florida, United States. His research focuses on how plants responded to their physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels against various environmental stresses. Being an early-career scientist he published 16 research articles in well-reputed peer-reviewed journals, 9 book chapters, and presented his work in 11 international conferences on important aspects of plant stress physiology.

Dr. Muhammad Arif Ali is Associate Professor of Soil Science at Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan. He qualified his Ph.D. in Soil Microbial Ecology and Ecosystem Functioning from the SupAgro, Montpellier France on a scholarship funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. He has completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship on Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich Switzerland. Later, He has completed another Post-Doctoral Fellowship on Fulbright Scholar Award from University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA. Dr. Ali has vast experience in the field of Soil Sciences with reference to Soil-Plant-Microbial interactions He has published over 70 research articles in peer reviewed journals and 28 book chapters with reputed publishers. Several research projects are being supervised by him as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator funded by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Ministry of Science & Technology, Pakistan, and Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. He has supervised two Ph.D. students and around twenty-seven M.Phil. Students for their research dissertations. Apart from this Dr. Ali is actively involved in peer reviewing of several research journal and technical and professional forums.

Dr. Niaz Ahmed is working as Associate Professor in the Department of Soil Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. He completed his Ph.D. from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Previously, he had been working in research wing of Agriculture Department of Punjab, Pakistan for more than 25 years. He has published 72 research papers in impact factor journal and 25 book chapters with reputed publishers. Dr. Ahmed has a vast experience of working in the fields while he was working in Agriculture Department of Punjab, Pakistan. His main expertise is in the field of plant nutrition and his focused area of research is to explore role of micronutrients for better yield and quality of produce from arable and horticultural crops. Currently, he is working to address the problems of decline in citrus and mango orchards through balanced nutrition. Moreover, he has won a grant from Higher Education Commission of Pakistan entitled "Improving Citrus Productivity and Fruit Quality by Integrated Plant Nutrition, including Micronutrients".

Dr. Mirza Hasanuzzaman is Professor of Agronomy at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in Dhaka. He received his Ph.D. on "Plant Stress Physiology and Antioxidant Metabolism" from Ehime University, Japan, with a scholarship from the Japanese government (MEXT). Later, he completed his postdoctoral research at the Center of Molecular Biosciences, University of the Ryukyus, Japan, as a recipient of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) postdoctoral fellowship. He was also the recipient of the Australian Government Endeavour Research Fellowship for postdoctoral research as an Adjunct Senior Researcher at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Dr. Hasanuzzaman's current work is focused on the physiological and molecular mechanisms of environmental stress tolerance. Dr. Hasanuzzaman has published over 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He has edited 10 books and written over 40 book chapters on important aspects of plant physiology, plant stress tolerance, and crop production. According to Scopus (R), Dr. Hasanuzzaman's publications have received over 11000 citations with an h-index of 53. He has been named as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate. He is an editor and reviewer for more than 50 peer-reviewed international journals and was a recipient of the "Publons Peer Review Award" 2017, 2018, and 2019. He has been honored by different authorities for his outstanding performance in different fields like research and education, and he has received the World Academy of Science Young Scientist Award (2014) and University Grants Commission (UGC) Award 2018 and GNOBB Award 2021. He is a fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (BAS) and Royal Society of Biology.

Dr. Shakeel Ahmad is Professor of Agronomy at the Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (FAST), Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan, Pakistan. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Agriculture (UAF), Faisalabad, Pakistan, during 2006. Then, he completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship with Prof. Gerrit Hoogenboom from the University of Georgia, USA, with financial support from Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad. He joined Bahauddin Zakariya University in October 2002 as a Lecturer, and promoted to Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor in August 2007, August 2011, and July 2016, respectively. He has vast experience of working with a team of International Scientists as a team member/Co-Principal Investigator of Agricultural Modeling Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) during Phases-I and II funded by UKaid through USDA and University of Columbia, USA. He won the Research Productivity Award (RPA) continuously for five years from the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) through the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad. He also worked as Principal Investigator (PI) in many national projects. Currently, he serves as a PI as well as Co-PI in NRPU research grants from Higher Education Commission (HEC), Islamabad. Prof. Ahmad is a dedicated teacher and researcher in the field of agronomy, with major focus on crop modeling, climate change impact assessment, and adaptation strategies of crops. Prof. Ahmad has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and books. He has written over 150 book chapters on important aspects of plant physiology, plant stress responses, and climate change impact assessment and adaptation strategies. These book chapters were published by internationally renowned publishers (Springer, Elsevier, CRC Press, Wiley, etc.). His publications received over 5000 citations with an h-index of 32 (according to Scopus). Prof. Ahmad is also a research supervisor of undergraduate and postgraduate students and supervised 40 M.Phil. and 09 Ph.D. students so far. He is Associate Editor of Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences, member editorial board of International Journal of Plant Production, and reviewer of many peer-reviewed international journals. He is life member of professional societies like Pakistan Society of Agronomy (PSA), Pakistan Society of Botany, and Weed Science of Pakistan. He has attended and presented papers and posters in national and international conferences in different countries (USA, UK, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tanzania, China, Turkey, Kenya, etc.).