Dr. Srinivasan Samineni

Dr. Srinivasan Samineni joined ICBA in January 2023 as Plant Breeder for Halophytes Germplasm Enhancement. Before joining ICBA, he had worked as Senior Scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), India, as Lead Chickpea Breeder.

Over his 10-year scientific career, his major focus has been on developing innovative approaches and methods that improve the efficiency of chickpea breeding targeting high productivity, stress tolerance, labor-saving traits, and biofortification. He has significantly contributed to the development and release of over 50 chickpea varieties globally since 2011. These varieties were released in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Tanzania. Several lines are in pipeline for release in South Asia and eastern and southern Africa.

His main interests include the development of diverse breeding/mapping populations; high-performing varieties using genomic tools and technologies; rapid generation advancement (RGA) methods; mutation breeding; multi-location testing; capacity development of farmers, NARES, etc.

He has led and developed RGA technology in chickpea for enhancing genetic gain. He handled more than 10 national and international projects as Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator. He has published over 50 international peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 book chapters, and 15 conference papers. He has trained four post-docs, three Ph.D. students, and more than 15 interns.

He holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology (Genetics and Plant Breeding) from the University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia, and an M.Sc. from PJTSAU, Hyderabad, India.