Dr Gurupkar Singh Sidhu joined as Assistant professor (Horticulture) on 31.03.2008 at KVK Langroya. He was transfer to School of Agricultural Biotechnology, PAU on 1.11.2011. He completed his B.Sc. Agriulture (Hons) from GNDU, Amritsar in 2002, M.Sc. Horticulture in 2004 and Ph.D. Horticulture in 2008 from PAU. His field of specialization is commercial plant tissue culture , mutation Breeding and molecular fruit breeding. He has completed three research projects as PI and one project as CoPI funded by DBT, UGC and DST. He has guided 8 M.Sc. and 4 Ph. D. students as Major Advisor and taught 14 different courses since 2011.He is looking after Commercial Plant tissue culture facility to cater the farmer’s and seed farm demand.

Professional Accomplishments

Education: B.Sc., GNDU, Amritsar (2002); M.Sc., PAU, Ludhiana (2004); Ph.D.(Horticulture), PAU, Ludhiana (2008)

Positions held: Senior Fruit Biotechnologist, PAU Ludhiana (2020 till date)

Research Interests:

1. Development of new fruit cultivars using rapid breeding techniques.
2. Application of tissue culture techniques for fruit crop improvement.
3. Mapping important genes(s) /QTL(s) in fruit crops and their use in Marker Assisted Selection

Research Projects (Ongoing) :

1. UGC Funded Project Rapid production of virus free Daisy tangerine on Carizzo rootstock by in vitro shoot tip grafting (PI) 
2. UGC Funded Project Standardization of in vitro clonal multiplication protocol for nematode resistant prunus rootstock ‘Flordaguard’ (CoPI) 
3. DST Funded Project Assessment of existing potential and identification of required interventions for strengthening of plant tissue culture industry in Punjab.(PI) 
4. DBT Funded Mapping of phytophthora resistance in intergeneric rootstock population and development of improved rootstocks in citrus (PI) 

Research Publications:

1. Sidhu GS, Malhotra PK and Menon R (2019) Rapid and mass multiplication of three peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) collections through in vitro propagation. Agricultural Research Journal 56(1):33-39. (NAAS 4.71) 
2. Singh G, Aulakh PS, Sarao NK, Rattanpal HS and Sidhu GS ( 2018) Molecular verification of putative zygotic seedlings in different intra-specific crosses in mandarins (Citrus reticulata) by SSR markers. Agricultural Research.doi.org/10.1007/s40003-018-03551.1. (NAAS 5.9) 
3. Arora S, Mohanpuria P and Sidhu GS (2018) Citrus limonoids: mechanism, function and its metabolic engineering for human health. Fruits 73(3): 158-173.(NAAS 6.63) 
4. Singh J, Dhaliwal H S, Thakur A, Chhuneja P, Sidhu G S and Singh R (2017) Morphological and genetic diversity in citrus genotypes to substantiate breeding for root rot resistance .Indian J Hort.74(3):326-333. (NAAS 6.13) 
5. Rattanpal HS and Sidhu GS (2015) Development of low seeded kinnow through mutation breeding. Agric Res J. 52(2):198-199. (NAAS 3.01) 
6. Kaur M, Dhaliwal HS, Thakur A, Singh G and Kaur M (2015) In vitro plantlet formation in Carrizo citrange: A promising citrus rootstock. Indian J Hort.72(1):1-6. (NAAS 6.11) 

Awards/Honours/Distinctions: 

1. S. Gurcharan Singh Nihal Singhwala memorial Fellowship during M.Sc. University Merit Fellowship during Ph.D.
2. “Dr Darshan Singh Brar Young Scientist Award-2025” from Dr Gurdev Singh Khush Foundation for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.