Dr. Harmeet Singh Saralch is a Professor of Forestry at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, with over 25 years of academic, research, and field experience in Silviculture and Tree Improvement. He completed his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Forestry from the College of Forestry, UHF-Solan (Himachal Pradesh), securing first rank in his Ph.D. program. He began his professional journey as Assistant Professor at KVK, Gurdaspur (1996–1997) and has served in key academic roles at PAU since 1997, progressing to Professor in 2011.Dr. Saralch specializes in the development of nursery technologies, and the introduction and evaluation of new tree species suitable for agroforestry and farm forestry. He has led and contributed to research projects including an ICAR-funded survey on the industrial use of paddy straw. His scholarly output includes research papers in reputed journals like Indian Forester, Range Management and Agroforestry, and Indian Journal of Ecology. Dr. Saralch continues to mentor students and promote sustainable forestry practices through research, teaching, and extension.

Research Interests: 

1. Nursery production
2. Silviculture and Agroforestry

Projects accomplished: Survey of use of paddy straw in paper and pulp board industries in the state of Punjab (ICAR)

Ongoing Projects: NIL

Selected Research Publications (maximum up to 5):

1. Patil YB, Saralch HS, Chauhan SK and Dhillon GPS (2017) Effect of growth harmones (IBA and NAA) on rooting and sprouting behaviour of Gmelina arborea. Indian Forester 143(2): 81-85.(NAAS rating: 4.27)
2. Chauhan SK, Saini KS, Saralch HS, Rani S and Verma A (2016) Wheat and barley crop performance under different sowing methods under poplar based agroforestry system. Indian Journal of Ecology 42 (2):528-530. (NAAS rating: 4.47)
3. Anwar R, Saralch HS and Kumar A (2015) Human – Wildlife Conflict: Issues versus Mitigation. Indian Forester 141(12): 1305-1314. (NAAS rating: 4.27)
4. Chauhan SK, Singh A, Sikka SS, Tiwana US, Chauhan R and Saralch HS (2014) Yield and quality assessment of annual and perrenial intercrops in Leucaena alley farming system. Range Management and Agroforestry 3 (2): 230-235. (NAAS rating: 6.17)
5. Verma A, Saralch HS, Chauhan SK, Suresh NV, Sankunur M and Srivastava V (2013) Growth behaviour of poplar clones under farm forestry. Indian Forester 139(12): 1079-1083. (NAAS rating: 4.27)

Awards/Honours/Distinctions: 

• Qualified NET (ICAR) in 1997 in the discipline of Forestry
• 1st position in College of Forestry in Ph.D.
• Awarded SRF in Ph.D. by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI, New Delhi