ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research celebrated its 48th foundation day on 3rd July 2023. Dr. R Dinesh, Director, ICAR-IISR welcomed the gathering and envisaged on the changing priority of the research and allied activities of ICAR in general and IISR in particular. Dr. Sudhakar Pandey, Assistant Director General (Horticultural Sciences), ICAR presided over the function. He emphasized regarding the futuristic strategy of the institute to achieve better heights. Institute honored its employees for their contributions for the cause of spices. This year’s award of excellence were awarded to Dr. Priya George & Mrs. N Prasannakumari (Technical officer Category); Mrs. Shajina O (Techician Category), Mrs. Seema M (Administrative category) and Mr. Vijesh V (Skilled supporting staff Category). The best research paper award for the year was bagged by Mrs. Sreena C P for the paper entiled “Soil polluted with nano ZnO reveals unstable bacterial communities and decoupling of taxonomic and functional diversities”. As a part of Foundation Day celebrations, ICAR-IISR recognized the farmers and entrepreneurs for adopting and popularizing technologies developed by the institute. The Awards included certificate and a citation with their contributions in spice farming and development. Based on the recommendations of the selection committee, four awardees were selected for the year 2022-23 Viz. The Eco Development Committee, Pooppara (For their earnest efforts for enhancing farm income through intensified spice farming in tribal regions ); Mr. Martin P Alex, Perinchallur house, Thalayad, Kozhikode (For promoting modern black pepper varieties through planting material production); Mr Shankarrao Dinkar Khot, Satara, Maharashtra (For his innovative intercroping practices in ginger and turmeric); Mr Numan Adil (For his tireless efforts in promoting sustainable farming practices among black pepper farmers in Karnataka). Dr Sandhyarani, Professor & Dean, Research & Consultancy, NIT Calicut delivered foundation day lecture on “harnessing the potential of advanced materials for a greener future”. She emphasized on the potential use of Nano materials for energy production storage and agriculture. Former directors of ICAR-IISR Dr. V A Prthasarathy, Dr. Nirmal Babu, Dr. Santhosh J Eapen, Dr. Devasahayam and Dr. T J Zachariah delivered their felicitation address. Dr. Anees K, Organizing secretary delivered vote of thanks.
