Research Interests :
My main research activities are in the field of Allelopathy and Allelochemicals i.e. interactions of plants mediated by chemical signals transmitted through root exudates, leaf leachates and even fruit pulp is a fascinating aspect of Ecology. Allelochemicals in the synthesis of the biopesticides and growth promoters is emerging as an important area in agriculture. Plant allelopathy is one of the modes of interaction between receptor and donor plants and may exert either positive effects (e.g., for agricultural management, such as weed control, crop protection, or crop re-establishment) or negative effects (e.g., autotoxicity, soil sickness, or biological invasion). To ensure sustainable agricultural development, it is important to exploit cultivation systems that take advantage of the stimulatory/inhibitory influence of allelopathic plants to regulate plant growth and development and to avoid allelopathicautotoxicity. Allelochemicals can potentially be used as growth regulators, herbicides, insecticides, and antimicrobial crop protection products.
Contamination of natural resources is the major concern of the today’s environmental problem. Rapid industrialization and extraction of large quantity of natural resources is the main cause of environmental contamination and pollution which leads to scarcity of clean water and loss of soil fertility. These pollutants belong to two main classes: inorganic and organic. Phytoremediation is emerging as an invaluable tool for environmental cleanup. Plants execute the remediation process by releasing signaling compounds that convert the contaminants into being less harmful or accumulating those near the root zone or in the stems, leaves, etc. or by stimulating the soil microbial growth that break down the contaminants into other nonpolluting compounds. Mitigating waste lands by weed species provide some added advantage as they are non-edible they cannot enter into the food chain. Moreover, weed did not need any special care and nutrients. They can tolerate and take-up large amounts of inorganic contaminants to increase the efficiency of phytoremediation.
Plant-insect interactions: Galls are abnormal growths that occur on leaves, twigs, roots, or flowers of many plants. Living organisms face a variety of internal and external stresses to which they must respond in order to maintain ecological equilibrium. The resistance of plants to disease as a result of host-pathogen interaction involves morphological and biochemical changes depending upon the plants’ response to infection. Plants have both evolved complex biochemical mechanisms to ensure their existence. Gall Biology will provide us the inner knowledge about the plasticity of plant tissues stimulated by biotic factors. Insects first contact with the cuticular layer of the plant which play a vital role in chemical recognition and potentially involved in plant-pathogen interactions and communication with nature and invade through it.
