Dr Sandeep Singh Sandhu joined PAU as Assistant Professor on 6-3-2003 after completing B.Sc.(Hons) Agriculture in 1999, M.Sc Agronomy in 2001 from Khalsa College, Amritsar. Completed his Ph.D. Agronomy in 2011 from PAU. Presently, working as Principal Agronomist in ‘All India Coordinated Research Scheme on Agrometeorology.’ Developed COTFLY—mobile application (predicts whitefly incidence in cotton). Established climatic requirements for higher productivity of rice, maize, and wheat in Punjab, incorporated in Package of Practices. Developed low-cost mini-heat-tent methodology for heat stress studies. Quantified the impact of reduced sunshine on rice and heat stress on wheat. Prepared Agro-Climatic Atlas, Crop Weather Calendars, Climatic Features of Punjab, Productivity and Management of Cereals Under Projected Climate Change and Punjab Floods 2023–Causes, Impacts and Learnings. Guided 3 M.Sc. and One Ph.D. students. Presently working on agronomy to counter effect of reduced sunlight and heat stress, using modelling to field approach. Served as Executive Member and Vice-President of Association of Agrometeorologists, Anand.

Professional Accomplishments

Research Projects completed

1. Retrieval of leaf area index for agricultural crops over Punjab using field measurements and satellite data. Funded by SAC Ahmedabad, in 2014, as PI. 
2. Forecasting Agriculture Output Using Space, Agrometeorology and Land Based Observations (FASAL). Funded by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt of India in 2010, as CoPI.
3. Optimizing cereal productivity under RCP projected climatic scenarios by mid and end of 21st century in Punjab. Funded by DST, New Delhi, in 2020, as CoPI.
4. Producing export compliant basmati rice through integrated crop solutions under public private partner-ship mode. Funded by Bayer Crop Science (pesticide company), in 2020, as CoPI.
5. Addressing Climate and Disaster Stresses in Agriculture: S&T, Innovations and Extension. Funded by National Institute of Disaster Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India, New Delhi, in 2020 as Course Coordinator.
6. Addressing Climate smart forestry to mitigate climate change: Innovations and Extension. Funded by Punjab State Council for Science & Technology, Chandigarh in 2022, as CoPI.

Research Publications:

• Sandhu S S, Mahal S S, Vashist K K, Buttar G S, Brar A S, Singh Maninder (2012) Crop and water productivity of bed transplanted rice as influenced by various levels of nitrogen and irrigation in northwest India. Agricultural Water Management, 104:32– 39. (NAAS rating 7.6)

• Sandhu S S, Prabhjyot-Kaur, Gill K K and Vashisth B B (2020) The effect of recent climate shifts on optimal sowing windows for wheat in Punjab, India. Journal of Water and Climate Change 11(4): 1177–1190. https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2019.241 (NAAS rating 7.01)

1. Bal S K, Sattar A, Nidhi, Chandran M A S, Subba Rao A V M, Manikandan N, Banerjee S, Choudhary J L, More V G, Singh C B, Sandhu S S and Singh V K (2023) Critical weather limits for paddy rice under diverse ecosystems of India. Front. Plant Sci. 14:1226064. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1226064 (NAAS rating 12.63)
2. Prabhjyot-Kaur, Sandhu S S, Kothiyal S, Kaur J (2023). An assessment of adaptation measures to enhance wheat productivity under climate change during early, mid and end of 21st century in Indian Punjab. The Journal of Agricultural Science. 161 (4): 477 – 487 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859623000436 (NAAS rating 8.60)
3. Vijay Kumar, Sandhu S S, Prabhjyot-Kaur, Simerjeet Kaur, Walia S S and Gill K K (2025) Impact of Heat Stress on Growth and Fodder Yield of C3 (Cowpea) and C4 (Pearl Millet) Crops: Insights From Field and Modelling Experiments. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 211:e70063 1 of 31 https://doi.org/10.1111/jac.70063 (NAAS rating 9.70)

Awards and Recognitions:

1. ICAR Best AICRP Centre Award-2016, awarded by ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad
2. Best poster paper award for the research paper “Climate change / variability analysis in different agroclimatic regions of Punjab state of India” by Prabhjyot-Kaur, Harpreet Singh, S S Sandhu and Navneet Kaur   presented in the poster session of the National Symposium “AGMET 2016” entitled “Climate driven food production systems: Agrometeorological interventions” held at TNAU Coimbatore from 20-22 December, 2016.
3. Best paper award: Prabhjyot-kaur, Sandhu S S and Vijay Kumar (2021) Development of weather based COTFLY expert system for forecasting and management of whitefly in cotton in Punjab. Proceedings of Virtual National Conference On Strategic Reorientation For Climate Smart Agriculture V-AGMET 2021 Volume II (Eds S S Sandhu K K Gill and Prabhjyot Kaur) Organized by Ludhiana Chapter Association of Agrometeorologists Anand & Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, from 17 – 19 March, 2021, pp 302-305 was adjudged the best Oral presentation in Theme 3 of the Scientist category.
4. Received Second best oral paper presentation award for the research paper entitled: Susceptibility of rice (Oryza sativa L.) to low sunshine intensity and its management options. by Sandhu S S, Prabhjyot-Kaur, Gill K K, Singh J, Dhir A and Kaur J. In the National Conference on “Managing Weather and Climate Risks in Agriculture-Adapting Crops to Climate Variability and Uncertainty” held at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir, Srinagar during 24-3-2022 to 26-3-2022.
5. Received Second best oral paper presentation award for the research paper entitled: Role of agromet advisory in strategizing the agronomic practices for managing climate risks in Punjab – A case study. by Prabhjyot-Kaur, Sandhu S S and Dhir A. In the National Conference on “Managing Weather and Climate Risks in Agriculture-Adapting Crops to Climate Variability and Uncertainty” held at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Kashmir during 24-3-2022 to 26-3-2022.