• Disease screening: Extensive experience in Screening for various diseases, caused by Fungi, Bacteria, Nematodes and Viruses, of Vegetables like Tomato, Eggplant, Hot & Sweet Pepper, Okra, Cucumber, Musk Melon, Watermelon, Cabbage and Cauliflower and Field crops like Maize, Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Sunflower, Brassica (mustard), Rice, etc. Has been instrumental in development of disease resistant varieties in all these crops, by way of developing most practical screening techniques.
• Disease Diagnosis and Management: Very good at disease diagnosis and management of diseases of various crops. Has reported a few new diseases hitherto unreported. Has developed disease management strategies for various crops and practically implemented in the field.
• Seed Health Testing: Being a Seed Pathologist by training, well aware of Seed Health Test Methods for Fungi, Bacteria and Viruses.
• Crop breeding knowledge experience: Having worked with renowned breeders for more than a decade and handled Melon breeding independently, knowledge and experience of commercial crop breeding is extensive. This combination of Pathology and Breeding is unique and the best for the industry.
• Extension and Education: Extremely good at oral and written communication. Is a speaker of choice to speak to all categories of audience, starting from Scientists to the lay farmers, on the selected subject aided by the best collection of slides.

Check the link to know about Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimakapura published in Star of Mysore news paper https://starofmysore.com/tag/dr-vasanth-kumar-thimakapura/

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” – Albert Einstein.

• Has developed an organic plant tonic ‘Phyton-T’ which is being widely used in tobacco cultivation and has tremendously increased productivity and quality of FCV tobacco.
• As a Research Pathologist, has developed and improved several disease screening techniques for the following diseases:
  • Early blight of Tomato: Improved technique to induce sporulation of Alternaria solani.
  • Bacterial spot of Pepper: Improved inoculation technique to identify different resistant genes.
  • Root Knot Nematode: Simple technique to multiply and inoculate Meloidogyne incognita.
  • Downy mildew of Corn: A new simple technique for DM of corn.
  • Antracnose of Chillies: A new simple technique for inoculation of chillies with Colletotrichum sps. and several others.
• Has developed very effective seed treatments and soil drenhing combinations for the control of seed-and-soil-borne diseases in important vegetable crops and TOBACCO.
• Has developed melon hybrids with Fusarium wilt resistance for Indian market.
• Dr. Vasanth has formulated an organic Plant tonic branded as PHYTON-T, based on seaweed extract, which significantly increases both yield and quality. PHYTON-T is India’s first plant tonic to be tested and recommended by Central Tobacco Research Institute, Rajahmundry, on tobacco.
  Research in potato using PHYTON-T has been adjudged as best research in Asian Congress of Plant Pathology and Mycology.

“Creativity begins with thinking different and progresses with acting different and giving unique results.”

• Dr. Vasanth Kumar is a committed social worker. He is doing a yeomen service to society through Lions Club and other social service organizations.
• He joined Lionism in 1988 and for the past 22 years he has been actively involved in social service.
• He has served as Club Secretary and President in the Lions Club of Hebbal and at District Level as Zone Chairman for Several years.
• Currently serving as President of Lions Club of Mysore North (2011-12).

“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money and that is sincerity and integrity.”

International Conferences Attended

• Third International Symposium on Plant Pathology at New Delhi, Dec. 14-18, 1981.
• International Bacterial Wilt Symposium held at AVRDC, kaohsiug, Taiwan, ROC, Oct 28-31, 1992.
• 6th International Congress of Plant Pathology, Montreal, Canada, July 28 – Aug 06, 1993.
• Global Conference on ‘Advances in Research on Plant Diseases and their Management’ held at Agriculture College, Udaipur, Feb.12-17, 1995.
• 87th Annual Meeting of American Phythpathological Society, held at Pittsburgh, USA, Aug. 12-16, 1995.
• IX international conference on Phytopathogenic Bacteria, Centre for Advanced Studies in Botany, university of Madras, Madras, 26th – 29th August 1996.
• 2nd International Bacterial Wilt Symposium at INRA, Guadeloupe, French West Indies, from 22-27th June, 1997.
• 89th Annual meeting of American Phytopathological Society, held at Rochester, NY, USA, Aug., 9-13, 1997.
• Joint annual meeting of American Phytopathological Society and Canadian Phytopathological Society, held at Montreal, Canada, from 7th Aug. to 11th Aug. 1999.
• 3rd international Seed Health Symposium held at lowa State university, Ames, USA, from 16th Aug. to 19th Aug. 1999.
• 5th International conference of ‘Plant Pathology in Globalized Era’, New Delhi. Nov 10-13, 2009.
• AKKA Conference, New Jersy, USA, 3rd-5th Sept. 2010.
• “AKKA” Sammelana at New Jersey and Atlanta, USA in 2010 and 2012.
• World Food Prize event in 2014 at Des Moins, Iowa, USA.
• International Pepper Community Annual Conference, Mysore, Nov. 2015.
• 6th International Conference on “Plant, Pathogens and People” New Delhi, Feb.2016.
• Global Pepper Conference, Chikmagalur, Nov. 2016

“Learning is the raising of character by the broadening of vision and the deepening of feeling.”

Universities/Institutes Visited Abroad

• Cornell University, at Ithaca and Geneva, New York, USA.
• University of Florida, at Gainesville and Bradenton, Florida. USA.
• North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
• Iowa State University at Ames, USA.
• Tuskegee University at Tuskegee, Alabama. USA.
• University of California, at Davis, and Salinas, USA.
• USDA, Beltsville, Maryland, USA.
• McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
• INRA, Montfavet, France.
• INRA, Guadeloupe, French West Indies.
• Asian vegetable Research and Development Centre, Tainan, Taiwan.
• University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
• University of Alabama, Auburn, Alabama, USA.
• University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
• Kennesaw University, Atlanta, USA.
• And most of the Research station of pioneer Hi-bred International, Sunseeds, Monsanto and Nunhemns around the world.

“Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.”

“A positive attitude is a person’s passport to a better tomorrow.”