Brief Introduction

Dr. Ajmer Singh Dhatt is a distinguished expert in Vegetable Science, with an extensive career at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. A recipient of the university merit scholarship and an accomplished athlete, he began his professional journey at PAU as an Assistant Seed Production Specialist in 1992. He progressed to the position of Vegetable Breeder in 2001, Senior Vegetable Breeder in 2009, and later headed the Department of Vegetable Science in 2015. His leadership roles continued as Additional Director of Research (Horticulture and Food Science) in 2019 and Director of Research in 2023.

The remarkable work of Dr. Dhatt in vegetable breeding has resulted in the development and release of 28 new varieties and hybrids, with 11 gained national identification under All India Coordinated Research Project. His pioneer contributions include development of alloplasmic male sterile lines in onion and brinjal; virus-resistant and hull-less seeded varieties in pumpkin; parthenocarpic, bacterial wilt and nematode resistant lines in brinjal and a new salad crop variety ‘Punjab Tarwanga-1’. Additionally, he has created and standardized 32 production technologies and machines for vegetable cultivation, initiated potato breeding program, and established a memorandum of agreement (MoA) process to improve the visibility of university-developed varieties and hybrids.

As a Principal Investigator, Dr. Dhatt has led 20 research projects funded by prestigious institutions including ICAR, DBT, DST, CSIR, SRTT, and various state organizations. His prolific output includes 331 research, teaching, and extension articles in renowned international and national journals, bulletins, and magazines. As a mentor, Dr. Dhatt has guided 31 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, many of whom have won distinguished awards such as the ICAR-Jawahar Lal Nehru Award, the IAHS-Dr. BR Barwale Award, the IAUA-Horticulture Science Award, and the ISVS-Dawarika Das Memorial Best Ph.D. Thesis Awards. Additionally, his students have secured highly competitive fellowships including the DST-Prime Minister Fellowship, ICAR-International Fellowship, and DST-INSPIRE Fellowship.

Dr. Dhatt’s expertise extends internationally, having served as a Visiting Research Scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA and visiting The Netherlands, Japan, Turkey, China and Israel. His remarkable vegetable breeding work has garnered numerous national accolades including the Dr. Kirti Singh Life Time Achievement Award, Dr. Biswajit Memorial Award, NHRDF Award, Dr. Kirti Singh Gold Medal, Dr. Harbhajan Singh Medal, and other honours. PAU has recognized his achievements with the Best Researcher Award, Sh. Hans Raj Pahwa Award, Smt. Harpal Kaur Memorial Awards and many appreciation certificates. He has also secured Best Centre Awards for PAU from AICRP (Vegetable Crops) and AINRP (Onion and Garlic) as Principal Investigator. Dr. Dhatt is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences, and the Indian Society of Vegetable Science.