Prof. Balram Marathi
Director of Research
dr@pjtau.edu.in
Prof. Balram Marathi completed his B.Sc. (Ag) and M.Sc. (Ag) in Genetics and Plant Breeding from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad. He earned his Ph.D. from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, and pursued post-doctoral research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. He has over 34 years of experience in teaching, research, and extension.
He has developed one cotton hybrid, five rice varieties, and two hybrid rice parental lines with an outcrossing potential of 60–75%. He has mapped chromosomal regions associated with important traits such as yield, grain quality, floral characteristics, and resistance to brown planthopper (BPH), blast, and sheath blight in rice. He also contributed to the development of the groundnut variety Kadiri 6 (K6), which possesses high oleic acid content and resistance to late leaf spot and rust, using marker-assisted breeding
Prof. Balram has successfully managed the implementation of externally funded research projects worth ₹6.26 crores from various funding agencies. He has collaborated with IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, and the University of Tokyo, Japan, on high-throughput field phenotyping of rice and maize using drone imaging. Through this collaboration, he developed a technology for differentiating filled and unfilled grains using thermal imaging and filed a patent for it in India.
He has published 60 research articles, 2 books, and 14 book chapters in national and international journals. In addition, he has presented 33 research papers at national and international conferences, published 33 popular articles, and delivered 15 radio and television programmes. Prof. Balram has guided 23 students at the master’s, doctoral, and post-doctoral levels.
He has served as Editor for Frontiers in Genetics and MDPI Plants, and as an editorial board member for the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Journal of Research PJTSAU, and Rice Research Open Access Journal. He also acts as a reviewer for several reputed scientific journals. Furthermore, he has contributed to shaping the policy framework for Genetically Modified (GM) crops in Telangana State.
His post-doctoral research at IRRI, Philippines, titled “Increasing Hybrid Seed Production through Higher Out-Crossing Rate in Cytoplasmic Male Sterile Rice and Related Materials and Methods”, led to patents being granted in the United States of America (USA), India, and the Philippines.
Prof. Balram has received several prestigious academic recognitions, including:
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, London
- Fellow of the Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding
- Telangana State Best Teacher Award
- Jawaharlal Nehru National Award (ICAR)
- Assam Government Gold Medal, IARI, New Delhi