Dr. Mageshwaran Vellaichamy

Name: Dr. Mageshwaran Vellaichamy

Designation: Principal Scientist (Agricultural Microbiology)

Professional experience:

Joined Agricultural Research Service on 04-11-2009 at National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad.
Scientist at ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CIRCOT), Mumbai from 15-03-2010 to 03-11-2018.
Senior Scientist at ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai from 04-11-2028 to 24-12-2019 and ICAR-NBAIM, Mau from 25-12-2019 to 03-11-2024.
Principal Scientist at ICAR- NBAIM, Mau from 04-11-2024 to till date

Research interest:

1. Anti-microbial resistance in soil bacteria

2. Bacterial endophytes for biotic stress management

3. Organic matter recycling

4. Lignocellulosic biomass utilization

5. Solid state fermentation

6. Gossypol detoxification

7. Cotton by-products utilization

8. Rapid composting of agricultural residues (paddy straw, cotton stalks etc.)

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=DKEnS-8AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

Contact details:

Office Address: ICAR-NBAIM, Kushmaur, Mau, Uttar Pradesh, India, Pin-275103

Email:mageshbioiari@gmail.com; mageshwaran.v@icar.org.in

Significant recognition (Awards/Fellowships/Technologies transferred/Patents etc.):

1. Technologies:

i.Endophytic Bacillus subtilis for biocontrol of wilt complex in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Adoption of technology on “Rapid Composting of Agro-residues” among the farmers of Eastern Uttar Pradesh

iii.Solid state fermentation for gossypol reduction and nutritive quality improvement in cottonseed cake

iv.Accelerated process for preparation of bioenriched compost from cotton plant stalks

v.Popularized the technologies on preparation of bio-enriched compost and oyster mushroom cultivation using cotton stalks among the cotton growers of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra

vi.Eco-friendly enzymatic process for preparation of absorbent cotton from non-spinnable short staple cotton

2. Patents:

i.A complete patent (1477/MUM/2014 dated 28-04-14) was filed on “A novel process for gossypol reduction and nutritive quality improvement in cottonseed cake for its use in non-ruminants feed” at Mumbai, India.

CIRCOT eco-friendly, efficient and rapid burning crematorium

3. Awards:

i. Best Research Paper Award 2014 for the paper titled “Gossypol detoxification in various cottonseed extractions by fungal cultures during solid state fermentation” by Indian Society for Cotton Improvement, Mumbai

ii. Best Employee Award 2017 by ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai

iii. DD Sahayadhri Krushi Sanman Team Award 2019” for the work on better utilization practices of cotton stalks for welfare of cotton growers.

iv. ISAE 54^th team award 2019 for the work on better utilization practices of cotton stalks for the welfare of cotton growers.

v. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Award for Scientific Excellence – 2020” conferred by Marina Labs Research and Development, Chennai

vi. Fellow award – 2024” conferred by Society of Plant Research & Springer Nature (FSPR)

vii.YSRK Sarma Memorial award-2023 conferred by Springer Nature

viii. Best oral presentation award conferred at the conference held at SKUAST-K, Srinagar, Kashmir

ix. Best Scientist Award in Microbiology conferred at the Recent Advances in Agricultural, Biological & Applied Sciences for Eco - Friendly Development (RAABASED 2025) held at Maya Devi University, Dehradun, India

x. Secured 1st position in oral presentation on the topic “Evaluation of different delivery system of bacterial endophytes for biocontrol of collar rot in chickpea in a national conference organized by IPS at ICAR-NBAIM, Mau during 28-29 January, 2026.

xi. Best Microbiological Research Award conferred at the International conference on Environment, Agriculture, Horticulture and Life Sciences (ICEAHLS) held at TNAU, Madurai during 27-28 August 2026.

xii.Young Scientist Award in the field of Microbiology conferred by Scientific Laurels on 23rd September 2026.

4. Fellowships:

i. Indian Agricultural Research Institute Scholarship for PhD program (Aug 2006 – Dec 2007)

ii. Jawaharlal Nehru Scholarship for doctoral studies (Jan 2008 –Dec 2009)

iii. Recognized by Mumbai University as a teacher for the M.Sc. degree (By Research) in Microbiology.

iv. Fellowship for international training on “Fermentation Technology” at University of North Carolina at Pembroke, USA during Sep 02 to Nov 30, 2013. The program was sponsored by Component-I of NAIP, ICAR

Membership of Societies:

1. Life member in Indian Society of Cotton Improvement (ISCI)

2. Life member of Indian Fibre Society (IFS)

3. Life member of Society for Plant Research (SPR)

4. Life member of Agro-Environmental Development Society (AEDS)

5. Life member of Association of Conservation of Microbes and Application (ACMA)

Projects:

On-going Projects:

Sr. No.	Project Title	Funding Agency	PI/Co-PI	Year
1.	Influence of pesticides on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in soil bacteria: Studies on mechanism and population dynamics	Institute (ICAR-NBAIM, Mau)	PI	2025-2028
2.	Microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) for efficient production of Hydrogen gas from cotton biomass	Inter-Institute (ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai and ICAR- NBAIM, Mau)	CCPI	2024-2027
3.	Evaluation of bio-enriched compost on reduction of chemical fertilizers in rice-wheat cropping system Evaluation of microbial treatment on enhanced seed germination in hard seeded mung bean	Inter-Institute (ICAR-NISST, Mau and ICAR- NBAIM, Mau)	CCPI	2025-2028
4.	Indian Soil Microbiome Project: Diversity analysis of culturable and un-culturable microbes in soil samples of Himachal Pradesh and Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu	Institute (ICAR-NBAIM)	PI	-

Completed Projects:

Sr. No.	Project Title	Funding Agency	PI/Co-PI	Year
1.	Identification of effective bacterial endophytes for sustainable management of soil borne fungal pathogens in chickpea	Institute (ICAR-NBAIM)	PI	2020-2025
2.	Microbe-mediated dormancy breaking and enhanced germination in seeds of oil palm	Inter-Institute (ICAR- NBAIM, Mau and IIOPR, Pedagevi, A.P.)	CCPI	2020-2024
3.	Establishment of Biotech-KISAN Hub at ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms, Kushmaur, Mau	DBT, Govt. of India	PI	2020-2021
4.	Expansion of activities of Biotech-KISAN Hub in two aspirational districts (Balrampur and Sravasti)	DBT, Govt. of India	PI	2021-2022
5.	Scale-up of a microbial process for degossypolization and nutritive quality improvement in cottonseed cake	Institute (ICAR-CIRCOT)	PI	2018-2020
6.	Popularization of CIRCOT technologies on compost and oyster mushroom production using cotton stalks among the cotton growing farmers of Vidarbha region	Institute (ICAR-CIRCOT)	PI	2016-2018
7.	Eco-friendly method of preparing absorbent/surgical cotton from non-spinnable cotton	Consortium Research project on Natural Fibres, ICAR	Co-PI	2015-2020
8.	Utilisation of Ligno-Cellulosic Fibre Based Biomass as Renewable Energy for Rural and Industrial Applications	Consortium Research project on Natural Fibres, ICAR	Co-PI	2015-2020
9.	Development of Gossypol-free Lysine-rich Cottonseed cake by Solid State Fermentation	National Agricultural Science Fund (NASF), ICAR	PI	2012-2014
10.	An accelerated process for preparation of bioenriched compost from cotton plant residues	Institute (ICAR-CIRCOT)	PI	2011-2014
11.	Microbial detoxification of gossypol in cottonseed meal	Institute (ICAR-CIRCOT)	PI	2010-2012

Publications:

Research/Review Articles:	72
National:	50
International:	22
Book Chapters:	11
Books:	03
Popular Articles:	7
Bulletin:	11
Training Manual:	7
Others (Leaflets):	11

List of publications (Best 10 publications) with NAAS Rating:

1. Kumar, M., Potkule, J., Patil, S., Saxena, S.,. Patil, P.G., Mageshwaran,V., Punia S., Varghese, E., Mahapatra, A., Ashtaputre, N., D.’ Souza, C., Kennedy, J.F. (2020). Extraction of ultra-low gossypol protein from cottonseed: Characterization based on antioxidant activity, structural morphology and functional group analysis, LWT – Food Science & Technology 140, 110692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.110692 (NAAS: 10.0)

2. Jagajanantha, P., Morey, M., Satankar, V and Mageshwaran, V. (2021). Bio-scouring of non-spinnable cotton by a crude enzyme of a new fungal strain Aspergillus sp. VM-1, isolated from banana pseudostem waste. Waste and Biomass Valorization. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-021-01621-9. (NAAS: 9.7)

3. Velmourougane, K., Manikandan, A., Blaise, D and Vellaichamy, M. (2022). Cotton stalk compost as a substitution to farmyard manure along with mineral fertilizers and microbials enhanced Bt cotton productivity and fibre quality in rainfed vertisols. Waste and Biomass Valoriztion. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-022-01689-x. (NAAS: 9.7)

4. Pandirwar, A.P., Khadatkar, A., Mehta, C.R., Majumdar, G., Idapuganti, R., Mageshwaran, V and Shirale, A.O. (2022). Technological Advancement in Harvesting of Cotton Stalks to Establish Sustainable Raw Material Supply Chain for Industrial Applications: a Review, BioEnergy Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-022-10520-3. (NAAS: 8.8)

5. Mageshwaran V, Gupta R, Singh S, Sahu PK, Singh UB, Chakdar H, Bagul SY, Paul S and Singh HV. (2022). Endophytic Bacillus subtilis antagonize soil-borne fungal pathogens and suppress wilt complex disease in chickpea plants (Cicer arietinum L.). Front. Microbiol. 13:994847. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.994847. (NAAS: 11.6)

6. Mageshwaran, V., Satankar, V and Paul, S. (2024). Solid state fermentation for gossypol detoxification and nutritive enrichmen of cottonseed cake: A scale-up of batch fermentation process. BioResources. 19(1): 1107-1118. DOI. 10.15376/biores 19.1.1107-1118. (NAAS: 7.5)

7. Mageshwaran V., Tripathi P., Vishvakarma, A.K and Yadav A. (2024). Comparative efficacy evaluation of microbial consortia for rapid composting of paddy straw. Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology. doi: 10.22207/JPAM.18.4.34. (NAAS: 6.8)

8. Mageshwaran, V., Padmaja, G. and Nagaraju, Y. (2025). Biocontrol Activity of Endophytic Bacillus subtilis Strains against Wilt Complex in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under Sick Plot and Field Conditions. Legume Research. 1-6. doi: 10.18805/LR-5535. (NAAS: 6.8)

9. Vellaichamy Mageshwaran, Rohit Mishra, Shikha Singh, Pramod Kumar Sahu, Kuldip Jayaswall, Harsh Vardan Singh, Alok Kumar Srivastava. (2026) Characterization of biocontrol mechanism of endophytic Bacillus subtilis against collar and root rot in chickpea. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 144 103219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmpp.2026.103219 (NAAS: 9.3)

10.Murugesan M, Thankappan S, Mageshwaran V, Ramasamy R and Singaram A (2026) Decoding the functional diversity of plant growth-promoting bacterial communities in the soils of Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Front. Microbiol. 17:1865342. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1865342 (NAAS: 10.5)

Dr. Mageshwaran Vellaichamy

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