Dr. Joseph Rajkumar A. Principal Scientist Email :entojoe2003@yahoo.co.in Phone No:0471-2343301 Mobile No. :9447978662
Qualification	Ph.D, DBT
Specialization	Insect Physiology and Pest Management
Area of interest	Molecular biology of insect vectors and luminal proteases in insects
Total publications	78
Selected publications	10
Awards	1) ICAR Lal Bahadur Shastri Young Scientist Award (2001-2002), New Delhi 2) AZRA, Young Scientist Award, AZRA, CRRI, Cuttack (2002)3) ICAR Jawaharlal Nehru Award (1999), New Delhi 4) TNAU David Memorial prize, Aspee Gold medal & Chacko medal (1991), Coimbatore
Significant achievements	1) A new native entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema sp. was isolated from Marthandam, Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu and established synergistic interaction of imidacloprid and Heterorhabditis indicus inducing 91.7% mortality of cardamom root grub 2) Studied ecdysteroid-induced modulation in lysosomal enzymes and alteration in DNA synthesis of Helicoverpa armigera3) Developed a bold capsuled vazhukka cardamom variety (PV-2) suitable for Cardamom Hill Reserve4) Developed management strategies for black pepper mussel scale, cardamom root grub and Phytophthora foot rot disease in black pepper nursery.5) Characterized the luminal proteases from Conogethes punctiferalis and trypsin-like protease from cardamom. 6) Reported the occurrence of an invasive Asian grey weevil, Myllocerus undatus on coconut in Kerala and palm aphid, Cerataphis brasiliensis on Kalparaksha coconut cultivar. 7) Studied the digestive proteianses from Rhynchophorus ferrugineus and Opisina arenosella. 8) Standardized DNA extraction from insect vectors of coconut root (wilt) disease.
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