Dr. Anirudh Thakur joined Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) as an Assistant Horticulturist on October 29, 2004, at the PAU Regional Station, Bathinda. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2016 and to Professor in 2019 in the Department of Fruit Science. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Horticulture from Dr Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, and a Ph.D. in Horticulture (Pomology) from PAU, Ludhiana. He has also served as a Post-Doctoral Visiting Academic at Curtin University, Perth, Australia. Dr. Thakur has completed ten advanced training programs, including a month-long course at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, under the MASHAV Fellowship of the Government of Israel. He has contributed to the recommendation of six fruit varieties/rootstocks and 14 production technologies for the benefit of fruit growers. His efforts also led to the Fruit Nursery of the Department of Fruit Science receiving a four-star rating twice. He has been associated with ten externally funded projects in the capacity of Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator. Dr. Thakur has published two books, 66 research papers, three manuals, 22 book chapters, and 55 extension articles. As a mentor, he has guided eight M.Sc. and two Ph.D. students as a major advisor. He has presented 50 research papers at national and international conferences and delivered 50 extension lectures and 23 TV/radio talks to promote fruit cultivation and nursery production among farming communities.

Professional Accomplishments

Projects accomplished:

1. Producing foundation and standard plants for nurseries and progressive fruit growers.
2. Establishment of mother plant nurseries for high pedigree planting material of fruit crops.
3. Producing foundation and standard plants for nurseries and progressive fruit growers.
4. Enhancing of shelf life of fruits using nanocomposite based active packaging.
5. Standardization of in vitro clonal multiplication protocol for nematode resistant Prunus rootstocks.
6. Mapping of Phytophthora resistance in intergeneric rootstock population and development of improved rootstocks in citrus.
7. High resolution mapping and development of root-knot nematode resistant rootstocks in peach.
8. Centre of excellence for utilization of brackish water for fruit and vegetable production in South- Western Punjab.
9. Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions (FIST) Program

Research Publications :

1. Kaur N, Thakur Anirudh, Sharma V, Sharda R, Dhaliwal HS and Rattanpal HS (2024) Fertigation with nitrogen and phosphorus improve plant growth, root growth, and buddability of containerized citrus nursery plants. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 55: 3330-3348 https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2024.2392289 (NAAS rating 7.30).
2. Sahebzada H, Thakur Anirudh, Singh S, Gill PPS, Sharma R and Dhaliwal HS (2023) Effects of different protective coverings on growth and buddability of citrus rootstocks under semi-arid subtropics. Plant Physiol. Rep. 28, 591–606  https://doi.org/10.1007/s40502-023-00760-6 (NAAS rating 7.50).
3. Saini S, Thakur Anirudh, Singh H, Bhatia D. (2022) Variations in the hybrid progeny of low chill white×yellow fleshed peaches. Indian J Hort. 79:402-409. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-0112.2022.00056.1 (NAAS rating 6.10).
4. Singh J, Dhaliwal HS, Thakur Anirudh, Sidhu GS, Chhuneja P, Gmitter FG (2020) Optimizing recovery of hybrid embryos from interspecific citrus crosses of polyembryonic rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.).  Agronomy 10:12 https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10121940 (NAAS rating 9.30).
5. Brar HS, Thakur Anirudh, Singh Harpreet and Kaur Nirmaljit (2020) Photoselective coverings influence plant growth, root development, and buddability of citrus plants in protected nursery. Acta Physiol Plant. 42:18 (NAAS rating 8.40). 

Awards and Recognitions

1. Fellow, Indian Academy of Horticultural Science (IAHS), New Delhi – 2023.
2. Awarded Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) by ICAR, New Delhi, during Ph.D. studies.
3. Recipient of University Gold Medals for academic excellence in both Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes.
4. Honoured with the N.N. Mohan Memorial Gold Medal, Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Gold Medal, and Major J. Sharma Guleri Memorial Gold Medal for outstanding academic performance during undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
5. Awarded Merit Scholarships during Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes.
6. Received the MASHAV Scholarship from the Government of Israel for international training on Bioinformatics and Biotechnology (May–June 2016) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
7. Completed Postdoctoral Research Training (2010–2011) at Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
8. Conferred nine Best Poster Awards at national and international conferences for excellence in research presentation.