Dr Ovais Peerzada currently serves as the Manager of the Seed Laboratory within the Genebank at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, India. Dr Ovais earned his Ph.D in Seed Science & Technology from CCS Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) in Hisar, Haryana, India. With approximately six years of experience, he has specialized in the preservation of plant genetic resources, with a primary focus on conserving the seed germplasm of eleven dryland millets and legumes. These include sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, little millet, chickpea, pigeonpea, and groundnut. Dr Ovais's primary responsibilities involve the planning and coordination of seed quality testing and the processing of germplasm for inclusion in the active and base collections for storage. Dr Ovais is also deeply involved in research related to seed conservation and the management of seed quality within the collections held by the ICRISAT genebank. Dr Ovais's key tasks include germplasm acquisition, safeguarding it through conservation practices, distributing it to researchers, safety duplication, conducting viability tests on the germplasm, and monitoring its overall condition and preservation. Dr Ovais has over 25 publications including research papers, reviews, and book chapters. He has also provided guidance to several interns, sharing his expertise and knowledge in the area of seed germplasm conservation.
Expertise in: Seed Science & Technology, seed research, seed storability, seed quality testing, seed physiology, Plant genetic resources