Turning the spotlight on our 2025 Agriculture Research Grant awardee who is tackling a pressing challenge in India’s farmlands — protecting chickpea crops from the twin threats of drought and dry root rot disease. Across South India, these combined stresses are causing devastating losses for small and marginal farmers. Dr. Senthil-Kumar Muthappa is addressing this by turning to nature itself — using a carefully designed community of beneficial microbes, including mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria, to strengthen chickpea roots.
<p class="bodytext" style="text-align: justify;">India is rapidly transforming into a dynamic hub of intellectual innovation and discovery. To support the science and technology ecosystem in the country, the Sree Padmavathi Venkateswara Foundation has created peer- reviewed funding programs that recognize exceptional researchers with the potential to achieve ground-breaking results in areas of critical national
importance. Our foundation provides these researchers with generous funding and empowering mentorship to generate knowledge and develop sustainable solutions of the highest quality, particularly in the fields of biomedical and agricultural research. We also work on projects to deploy advanced knowledge and improve the income of small and marginal farmers. We believe that by working together, we can create sustainable solutions that will benefit not only India but also the world.</p>
India is rapidly transforming into a dynamic hub of intellectual innovation and discovery. To support the science and technology ecosystem in the country, the Sree Padmavathi Venkateswara Foundation has created peer- reviewed funding programs that recognize exceptional researchers with the potential to achieve ground-breaking results in areas of critical national
importance. Our foundation provides these researchers with generous funding and empowering mentorship to generate knowledge and develop sustainable solutions of the highest quality, particularly in the fields of biomedical and agricultural research. We also work on projects to deploy advanced knowledge and improve the income of small and marginal farmers. We believe that by working together, we can create sustainable solutions that will benefit not only India but also the world.
sreepvfkrishna@gmail.com 
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