Dr. Harpreet Kaur Cheema joined PAU as Assistant Professor on 7.12.2004 after completing B.Sc. Agriculture (Hons.) in 2001 and M.Sc. Entomology in 2003, both from PAU, Ludhiana. She joined as Senior Entomologist on 1.1.2018 (till date). Her field of specialization is Economic Entomology wherein she has worked on host plant resistance and insect pest management in various pulse crops, vegetables, forage and millet crops, besides working on insect resistance to insecticides. She was associated in 1 research project as CoPI and 6 research projects as collaborator, and is handling one project as PI. She has recommended 15 plant protection technologies and helped in testing for insects in around 50 varieties recommended at state and national level. She has published 48 research papers, 4 book chapters, and presented nearly 25 research findings in national and international conferences. She has guided 4 M.Sc. and 2 Ph.D. students in Entomology. She has delivered 28 extension lectures, 1 TV and 3 radio talks, and published 62 extension articles. She is the Fellow   of   Indian   Society   for   Pulses   Research   and   Development.

Professional Accomplishments Research Projects

1. Susceptibility of maize stalk borer (Chilo partellus) populations to Cry1Ab protein and frequency of Cry 1Ab- resistance alleles in India, funded by Syngenta Biosciences Pvt. Ltd., India (2019- 2021) as CoPI

2. Evaluation and identification of short duration mungbean varieties resistant to mungbean yellow mosaic disease (MYMD) and tolerant to insect-pests (thrips and whitefly), suitable for mechanical harvesting. Funded by AVRDC-USAID-AIP (2015-2016) as Collaborative scientist

3. Popularization of Extra Short-Duration Mungbean Cultivars for Poverty Alleviation and Improved Nutrition in Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, India based on Punjab Model. Funded by AVRDC, Taiwan (3 projects during 2006-2010) as Collaborative scientist

4. Popularization of summer moong and gram for crop diversification in Punjab funded by Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai (2008-2010) as Collaborative scientist

5. Evaluation of bio-efficacy of botanical compositions against major sucking and lepidopteran insect pests of brinjal and tomato funded by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) under DST as PI

Research Publications:

1. Cheema H K, Kang B K, Jindal V, Kaur S and Gupta V K (2019) Biochemical mechanisms and molecular analysis of fenvalerate resistant population of Spodoptera litura (Fabricius). Crop Protection 2020, 104951 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2019.104951. (NAAS Rating 7.92)

2. Cheema H K, Sharma P, Singh R, Taggar G K, Khanna V and Kooner B S (2009) Efficacy and compatibility of insecticides, fungicide and Rhizobium inoculant in combination for seed treatment in chickpea. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 79: 190-94. (NAAS Rating 6.60)

3. Kaur K, Cheema H K, Jindal J, Garg T, Singh G and Atri A (2024) Categorization of resistance against the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) in select maize inbred lines. Crop Protection 178, 106581 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106581 (NAAS Rating: 8.80)

4. Khanna V, Cheema H K and Taggar G K (2009) Evaluation of some microbial and botanical biopesticides against Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) in chickpea. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 79(3): 195-8. (NAAS Rating 6.60)

5. Singh, H, Cheema H K and Singh R (2020) Field evaluation of horticultural mineral oils and botanicals against bean thrips, Megalurothrips distalis (Karny) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), in summer mung bean. Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 30: 124. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-020-00321-1 (NAAS Rating 6.38)

6. Kumar R and Cheema H K (2020) Restricting lepidopteran herbivory through trap cropping and bird perches in Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control. 30:11 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-020-0210-0 (NAAS Rating: 6.38)
   

7. Cheema H K, Jindal J, Aggarwal N, Kumar S and Sharma U (2021) Insecticidal management of Spodoptera frugiperda (JE Smith) on grain and fodder maize in Punjab. Pesticide Research Journal. 33: 72-77. doi.:10.5958/2249- 524X.2021.00022.4 (NAAS Rating 5.49)

8. Cheema H K, Singh H and Kaur S (2024) Comparison of coloured sticky traps against bean flower thrips (Karny) Megalurothrips distalis (Thysanoptera:Thripidae) in summer mung bean. Indian Journal of Ecology. 51(1): 206-210. https://doi.org/10.55362/IJE/2024/4218 (NAAS Rating 5.38)

9. Kumari A, Goyal M, Cheema H K and Singh D P (2023) Modulation of enzymes and metabolites in response to shoot fly infestation in resistant and susceptible sorghum genotypes. Cereal Research Communications https://doi.org/10.1007/s42976-023- 00387-1 (NAAS Rating: 7.24)

10. Taggar G K, Singh R, Cheema H K and Singh P (2019) Relative abundance, population dynamics and damage potential of spotted pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Fabricius) on early pigeonpea in Punjab. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-019-00032-7 (NAAS Rating: 6.66)

Awards and Recognitions:

• Member, Team PAU for Best Centre Award , AICRP Forage and Crop Utilization, 2024

• Member, Team PAU for Best Centre Award, AICRP Kharif Pulses, 2025

• Fellow of Indian Society for Pulses Research and Development, IIPR, Kanpur

• Best Poster award for the paper: Singh R and Cheema H K (2011) Role of sunflower as trap crop on the incidence of gram pod borer Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) in chickpea presented in the 3rd Congress on Insect Science from April 18-20, 2011 at PAU, Ludhiana

• Best Poster award for the paper: Taggar, G K, Singh R and Cheema H K (2014) Field evaluation of pigeonpea genotypes for potential tolerance of Maruca vitrata presented in International Conference on Changing Scenario of Pest Problems in Agri-horti Ecosystem and their Management from Nov 27-29, 2014 at MPUAT, Udaipur Mungbean Team Award, IIPR 2007 for developing short duration varieties of mungbean and their popularization for summer cultivation

• Best Poster award for the paper: Taggar, G K, Singh R and Cheema H K (2015) Avoidable losses due to spotted pod borer,Maruca vitrata Geyer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in pigeonpea presented in the 3rd Congress on Insect Science from April 16-17, 2015 at PAU, Ludhiana

• Merit Certificates and Fellowships during B.Sc. Agri. (Hons) and M.Sc. Entomology