Dr. Fayaz Mohiddin is an Associate Professor in the Section of Plant Pathology, Mountain Research Centre for Field Crops, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir India and has served the Centre as Head of the Section of Plant Pathology. Dr. Mohiddin has mainly contributed in the field of biocontrol of plant diseases caused by fungi (Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Alternaria) and root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) in horticultural and ornamental crops. He has evaluated relative effectiveness of several biocontrol agents against these pathogens. His research has shown greater effectiveness of indigenous isolates of Trichoderma harzianum, T. viride, Pochonia chlamydospooria, Pseudomonas fluroscens and Bacillus subtilis. Dr. Mohiddin has over 90 research articles, 3 books, published in well reputed national and international journals. Dr. Mohiddin has invented a process to produce commercial formulations of biocontrol agents (patented in USA). Using the process, he has produced biopesticides of Trichoderma harzianum, Pohonia chlamydospooria and Pseudomonas fluorescens (patented in India). Dr. Mohiddin has successfully developed powder formulations of biocontrol agents and distributed to numerous farmers in 6 districts of J&K to control wilt, root-rot and root-knot of horticultural crops including apple. Dr. Mohiddin has developed a high efficiency and low cost liquid fermentor protocol using indigenous technology to produce microbial formulations at a large scale. He has disseminated the technology to rural people in his state and held various trainings for the farmers to establish small scale production units of Trichoderma under DBT research project sanctioned to him.

• Management of plant pathogenic fungi and nematodes • impact of climatic change on the crop productivity and disease development • Molecular characterization of efficient isolates of biocontrol agents and development of their biopesticides for the management of plant diseases caused by fungi and nematodes of agricultural crops