Prof. T Chitdeshwari, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), was conferred the prestigious FAI-IZA Award for his outstanding work on zinc nutrition of crops and its promotional activities.
Chitdeshwari, along with her team members Dr P Stalin and Dr D Muthumanickam from the department of soil science and agricultural chemistry, were given this collaborative award carrying a citation.
It was sponsored by Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) and International Zinc Association (IZA), Belgium. The team worked intensively to delineate zinc status in the soils of Tamil Nadu, monitored its availability in intensively cropped rice-rice and sugarcane-sugarcane systems and developed amelioration strategies for alleviating zinc deficiencies in various agricultural and horticultural crops.
They also evolved technologies through sustained experimentation on zinc fertilisers, formulations and products for enhancing crop yield and efficiency, and conducted frontline demonstrations, interactive meetings and awareness campaigns among farmers.
The award included a cash prize of Rs.200000, a gold medal and a citation. The purpose of the award is to encourage and recognise outstanding research and extension work done by the scientists, extension specialists for promoting use of zinc in Indian agriculture.