Ganderbal, June 29: Dr. Imtiyaz Khanday from University of California, Davis, USA delivered a lecture, on his work in agricultural biotechnology, at the Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Kashmir (CUK) here on Saturday.

At present, the farmers have to buy high yielding hybrid seeds every year due to the loss of high yielding qualities during the subsequent cultivations. Dr. Imtiyaz’s research may enable farmers to buy these high yielding seeds only once and then use a small portion of the produce as seeds in the future growing seasons, without losing the high yielding capacity. This breakthrough research was published in the “Nature”. His research has been considered pivotal in solving the hunger problem in the developing world.

Welcoming the guest, Prof. Mohammad Afzal Zargar, Dean, School of Life Sciences, described Dr. Imtiyaz a researcher par excellence and the son of soil besides highlighting the significance of the plant biology research in the present context. While describing his credentials and academic achievements, Prof. Zargar emphasized on the role of biotechnological intervention in enhancing the crop yield for the economic upliftment.

Dr. Khanday later interacted with the students and asked them to put in best efforts while pursuing research in Life Sciences. “Hard work and selfless dedication is key to a successful research in the field of life sciences”, Dr. Khanday said.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Abid Hamid Dar, Head, Department of Biotechnology, highlighted the scope and importance of this cutting edge work across various plant species by employing the present model system for the societal impact.

Dr. Rais, Dr. Nissar and Dr. Shabir were among other faculty members who were present during the lecture.