Okra: Status, Challenges and Opportunities

Dr. Surinder Kumar Tikoo is the cofounder of Tierra Agrotech Ltd, Pune, and currently Director, Foundation for Advanced Training in Plant Breeding Research (ATPBR). He has over five decades of experience as a successful vegetable breeder, teacher, and research and development manager. He has held global leadership positions over long periods in three MNC's in the seed sector, as well as spent 20 years with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) as a vegetable breeder, teacher, and research guide. He has developed several nationally and internationally released varieties and hybrids of tomato and okra, some of which are market leaders in their respective segments. He has served on several advisory committees of the Government of India and various professional bodies. Dr. Tikoo, a PhD from Bangalore University, has published over 60 research and review papers. He has been conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Translational Research, jointly by the Society of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology and Springer among other awards. He is an elected Fellow of the Society for Promotion of Horticulture, IIHR, Bangalore.

Dr. Sharan Angadi is a plant geneticist and breeder who worked for 17 years in India, first with UAS, Bangalore, and then with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), contributing significantly to the genetic improvement of oilseed crops and horticultural crops. He then devoted 22 years to Pro Agro, India, and Nunhems Seeds, Netherlands, where he served as Head of Breeding for Asia Pacific and Global Coordinator for peppers, spanning several countries in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He has experience in applying emerging technologies to viable commercial plant breeding. Dr. Angadi has a Ph.D. from IARI, New Delhi; and obtained M.Sc. (Agri.) in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore; after his B.Sc. (Agri.) from UAS, Bangalore. After superannuating from active service with the private sector, he continues to provide expert R&D advice to seed companies in India and abroad, besides serving on various expert bodies. The Asia and Pacific Seed Association (APSA) has honoured him with the "Most Influential Plant Breeding Researcher for Horticultural Crops Award" for the year 2021.Dr. Aparna Tiwari is cofounder and Chief Executive Officer at the Foundation for Advanced Training in Plant Breeding (ATPBR), where she leads professional training, technology liaising, awareness sessions, and other capacity building activities. She also serves as a conference secretary and coordinates 5F Farming national conferences annually. She has worked previously in various positions with the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), Monsanto India Pvt. Ltd., and ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). She obtained her MSc and PhD from Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and her Bachelor's (BSc) from Banaras Hindu University. She has authored a book and published several research papers in peer-reviewed international journals and conferences.

Dr. Ramesh Kumar Yadav is working as a Professor and Principal Scientist at the Division of Vegetable Science, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He completed his graduation and post-graduation from GB Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar. He has been working on okra, tomato, and leafy vegetable improvement and has developed 15 vegetable varieties/hybrids, namely tomato varieties Maniliema Pusa Shakti (heat tolerant) and tomato hybrid Pusa Rakshit (for Protected condition), YVMV resistant okra variety Pusa Bhindi-5 and Pusa Okra Hybrid-1, nutritionally important bathua variety Pusa Green, spinach variety Pusa Vilayati Palak and okra variety Pusa Lal Bhindi-1. As chairman, he has guided 4 Ph.D. and 7 M.Sc. students at IARI, New Delhi. He has published more than 95 research papers in national and international journals. He received the Young Scientist Award in the year 2009 by Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. He is a Fellow-Indian Society of Vegetable Science, a Fellow-Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of- The Society for Horticultural Research and Development.

Dr. B S Tomar is the Head of Division of Vegetable Science, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. He also worked as Joint Director (Extn.) as an additional charge from 2021 to 2023. He has developed 35 vegetable crop varieties/hybrids and guided 25 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in Seed Science Technology and Vegetable Science. He has published 125 research papers comprising of 100 research papers with more than 6 NAAS rating in 12 reputed international journals. He has also published 12 bulletins, 2 practical manuals, 250 popular articles and edited 5 books. He is a recipient of the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for outstanding contribution to PhD Research-1995, IARI Best Teacher Award 2014, Dr. Gautam Kalloo Award for Excellence in Horticulture Research-2017, Lifetime Achievement Award in R&D in Horticulture-2023 of SHRD and 7th NHRDF award-2021 for contribution in onion research and seed production. He has also served as a TCDC consultant in FAO in Uzbekistan in 2009.

Dr. Aderibigbe Helen Adeniyi is a research agronomist and was an Assistant Director of Research, and Head of Farming Systems Programme at the National Horticultural Research Institute, Idi-Ishin, Ibadan, Nigeria. Due to her resilient research activities and academic prowess, Adeniyi Helen was appointed as the Honorable Commissioner (junior Minister) for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State, Nigeria (March 2024). She hails from Ekinrin-Adde, Kogi State in the North-Central part of Nigeria, from where she had her early education (Primary and Secondary). She graduated with B. Agric (Crop Production) from University of Ilorin, MSc (Agronomy) from University of Ibadan and Ph.D. (Agronomy) also from University of Ilorin, all in Nigeria. She has participated and attended many workshops and conferences both locally and internationally including 1st Global Okra Round Table (GORT I) October 10-12, 2022, ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi with many publications in both local and international journals and proceedings. She facilitated the hosting of GORT 2 (October 2-4, 2024) in Nigeria at National Horticultural Research Institute, Idi-Ishin, Ibadan. Her major research areas are in Horticulture, Farming Systems, Organic Agriculture, Innovation and Technology.