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Dr. P. Rethinam obtained his graduation and post-graduation in agriculture from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. He started his career as Research Assistant in 1963, Assistant Lecturer and Assistant Professor up to 1976 at TNAU, Coimbatore and then joined Agricultural Research Service in ICAR in 1976. He became Project Coordinator, (Palms) in 1982 and was responsible for research coordination and management of palms. He was selected as Assistant Director General (Plantation Crops), ICAR, New Delhi in 1988 and coordinated the research on Plantation Crops, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops and Betel vine. He introduced the concept of irrigated Oil Palm as small holders crop. He was founder Director of the National Research Centre for Oil Palm at Pedavegi, A.P. and developed infrastructural facilities in a short time. Dr Rethinam was selected as the Chairman, Coconut Development Board, Kochi, Ministry of Agriculture, and Government of India in the year 2001. He has published 215 articles, co-edited two volumes of books on Recent Advances in Plantation Crops, edited 37 books and many technical bulletins, APCC Proceedings, COCOTECH Proceedings, Noni Search Proceedings and reports, DVDs, CDs of APCC intellectual database, etc.

Born on November 15, 1936, Dr. K.L. Chadha obtained his Bachelors and Masters degree in Agriculture (Hort) from Punjab University, Chandigarh in 1955 and 1960 respectively. He specialized in viticulture during his doctoral studies at IARI, New Delhi (1960-63). He has been actively associated with teaching, research and development of grapes in his capacity as a Fruit Specialist of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, as a Project Coordinator (Fruits including grapes) at national level, as Director, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore and as ICAR National Professor in Horticulture at IARI, New Delhi. His areas of specialization have been ampelography, training and pruning, nutritioiin and use of growth regulators in grape production. Dr. K.L. Chadha has been Secretary of the “Group on Vitiulture in the Tropics” Gold Medal from Andhra Pradesh Grape Growers’ Association (1994), a silver Plaque from the Maharashtra Research and Development Trust for his outstanding contributioins to grape research and development in the country. He is a Fellow of National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi (1992) and was awarded Doctorate of Science (Honoris causa) by Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur in 1995. Dr. Chadha has won several prestigiouis awards – Borlaugh Award (1984), Om Prakash Bhasin Award (1992), Dayavati Vira Medal (1993), Pisang Raja Award (1996), and Marigowda Memorial Award (1996). He has edited / written 21 books, 7 bulletins and published 146 research and 136 popular articles. Dr. Chadha is sthe Chief Editor of the series “Advances inHorticulture” published in 13 volumes covering 9,410 pages. He has been President of several Horticultural Socieites..