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  2. Reju M. Kurian

Reju M. Kurian

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Designation: 
Principal Scientist
Division/Section: 
Division of Fruit Crops
Research Accomplishments: 

 

  1. Major  research contributions:
  1. Institute Research Projects:
  • Nucellar seedlings of ‘Vellaikulumban’ and ‘Olour’ mango varieties identified as potential rootstocks for intensive cultivation of Alphonso mango.
  • Major nutrient requirements of ‘Alphonso’ and ‘Totapuri’ mango under rain-fed conditions worked out.
  • Unravelled basic factors governing tree vigour in mango.
  • Paclobutrazol application standardized to regulate vegetative vigour, enhance flowering, and hasten harvest and to get early and higher fruit yields in ‘Alphonso’ mango.
  • Shoot polymorphism, shoot-tip abscission and sylleptic branching pattern in Zizyphus mauritiana and Z. oenoplia and their roles in canopy development and productivity of ber elucidated.
  • Two successful models for HDP of ‘Alphonso’ at 1000 trees per hectare (4.0m x 2.5m) on ‘Olour’ rootstock with annual paclobutrazol application @ 0.125 g / tree / year of age from fourth year and stabilized by 10th year for fivefold increase; and at 500 trees per hectare (5m x 4m) on ‘Vellaikulamban’ rootstock without use of paclobutrazol for 3.5 times increase in productivity during the initial fifteen orchard years over the conventional planting at 100 trees per hectare on random rootstock has been developed and demonstrated for rain-fed situations.
  • High density planting of fig varieties Poona and Deanna at 1000 plants per hectare (4.0m X 2.5m) with initial training of trees to open centre and annual pruning of all previous season’s shoots to the basal six nodes during August recommended for enhancement in fruit productivity by 2.5 times and twice respectively over planting density of 500 trees per hectare during the initial six orchard years
  • Canopy management of Arka Sahan annona trees by pruning all the previous season’s shoots to half their length during first week of November is recommended for getting higher fruit yield and quality through synchronization of its flowering with sufficient leaf area development to support fruit growth with that of Balanagar variety, the pollen source for assisted pollination, keeping tree size under check for easy hand pollination and other orchard operations and for early fruit harvest by July.
  • For Arka Sahan hybrid of Annona, application of 75% fertilizer dose + biofertilizer consortium + 10 kg FYM is recommended for higher fruit yield (22.4 kg per tree) with saving of 25% chemical fertilizers.
  1.  Involvement in external projects:  
  • ICAR ad-hoc scheme on ‘Orchard efficiency analysis in mango’ (1993 to 1997)
  • NATP Project: Improvement of Productivity of Existing Mango Orchards (2000 –2004)
  • Two Paid-Up Trials (1995-96), (2006 – 2007)
  • AICRP’s on Sub-Tropical Fruits (1992 to 2012); Arid Zone Fruits (2015 to 2020) and Fruits (2014 to 2023)
  1. Teaching:
  • PG teaching as course leader / course associate and handling Ph. D. classes
  • Seminar leader for credit seminars of Ph. D. scholars
  • Guidance to 5 Ph. D. students as Chairman of advisory committee
  1. Extension and training:
  • Resource person for more than 120 theory and practical trainings
  • Guidance to farmers on the scientific cultivation of fruit crops through personal interviews at Institute, field visits and through correspondences
Publications: 
    1. Kurian RM, Murti GSR and Iyer CPA (1991), Abscissic acid levels in shoot apices in relation to tree vigour in mango. Gartenbauwissenschaft (Germany), 56(2): 84-86.
    2. Kurian RM and Iyer CPA (1992), Stem anatomical characters in relation to tree vigour in mango, Scientia Horticulturae (The Netherlands), 50: 245-253.
    3. Kurian RM, Murti GSR and Iyer CPA (1992), Changes in cytokinins levels in mango leaf extracts following soil drenches with paclobutrazol. Gartenbauwissenschaft (Germany), 57(2): 84-87.
    4. Kurian RM and Iyer CPA (1993), Chemical regulation of tree size in mango cv. Alphonso. I. Effects of growth retardants on vegetative growth and tree vigour. Journal of Horticultural Science (UK), 68 (3): 349-354.
    5. Kurian RM and Iyer CPA (1993), Chemical regulation of tree size in mango cv. Alphonso. II. Effects of growth retardants on flowering and fruit set. Journal of Horticultural Science (UK), 68 (3): 355-360.
    6. Kurian RM and Iyer CPA (1993), Chemical regulation of tree size in mango cv. Alphonso. III. Effects of growth retardants on yield and quality of fruits. Journal of Horticultural Science (UK), 68 (3): 361-364.
    7. Kurian RM, Iyer CPA and Murti GSR (1994), Total phenols of stem apical bud in relation to tree vigour in mango. Gartenbauwissenschaft (Germany), 59(6): 268-270.
    8. Kurian RM, Reddy VVP and Reddy YTN  (1996), Growth, yield, fruit quality and leaf nutrient status of thirteen-year-old ‘Alphonso’ mango on eight rootstocks. Journal of Horticultural Science (UK), 71(2): 181-186.
    9. Kurian RM and Iyer CPA (1997), Contribution of morphological growth components towards canopy development in mango. Gartenbauwissenschaft (Germany), 62(5): 202-206.
    10. Kurian RM and Reddy YN (1999), Pattern of shoot growth in Zizyphus mauritiana and Z. oenoplia. Annals of Botany (UK), 84: 289-295.

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=91b5YhYAAAAJ&hl=en 

Patents: 
 Government of Karnataka “State Award” for securing first rank in M.Sc. (Hort.) degree programme.  Recipient of ICAR Junior Fellowship for M.Sc. (Hort.).  Recipient of ICAR Senior Fellowship for Ph.D. Programme.  University of Agricultural Sciences Go
Awards & Recognitions: 
  1. National Merit Certificate for high position secured in S.S.L.C. examination.
  2. Kerala Agricultural University Merit Scholarship for B.Sc. (Hort.).
  3. First Rank holder for B.Sc. (Hort.) degree.
  4. Aspee Gold Medal for securing highest Overall Grade Point Average in plant protection subjects (Entomology and Pathology) in B.Sc. (Hort.) degree programme.
  5. University of Agricultural Sciences Gold Medal for completing M.Sc. (Hort.) degree programme “with distinction”.
Address for Communication: 

Principal Scientist, Division of Fruit Crops, IIHR, Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bengaluru 560 089.

Email Address: 
rejum.kurian@icar.gov.in
Telephone #: 
080-23086100 Extn 291