Scientist Profile

Dr Pooja

Dr Pooja

Senior Scientist
Email: poojadhansu@gmail.com ICAR- Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Regional Centre, Karnal – 132001, Haryana Contact details: +91-8708827608

Research interests

  • Abiotic stress (drought salinity and waterlogging) physiology of sugarcane crop and nutrient management. The research focuses on understanding physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms by which sugarcane responds and adapts to these stresses. The aim is to identify key adaptive traits and stress-resilient genotypes that can sustain productivity under changing climatic conditions.

Current Research Focus:

  • Screening and physiological characterization of sugarcane germplasm and commercial cultivars for multi-stress (drought, salinity and waterlogging) tolerance.
  • Use of physiological markers for rapid screening under field and controlled conditions.
  • To identify optimal water-saving agro-techniques for sugarcane by evaluating irrigation water needs and usage.
  • Developing physiological and agronomic strategies for climate-resilient sugarcane cultivation.
  • Society for Sugarcane Research and Development
  • Indian Society of Plant Physiology
  •  Title: Identification of salt tolerant sugarcane clones for commercial cultivation in Haryana

Agency: RKVY Raftar, Haryana

Amount: Rs. 242 Lakhs

  • Young Researcher Award from Society for Sugarcane Research and Development, ICAR- SBI, Coimbatore, 2024
  • Young Scientist Award from Society for Sugarcane Research and Development, ICAR- SBI, Coimbatore, 2022
  • Associate Editor of Plant Physiology Reports
  • Editorial Board Member in ARCC Journals (Bharatiya Krishi Anusandhan Patrika)
  • Member in Editorial board of International Journal of Agriculture and Plant Science
  • Kumar, R., Meena, M. R., Dhansu, P., Chhabra, M. L., Appunu, C., Sreenivasa, V., Durai, A.A., Mahadeva Swamy, H.K., & Amaresh. (2025). Disclosure of productive and stable sugarcane genotypes for cane yield and quality traits using various stability statistics. Tropical Plant Biology, 18(1), 11.
  • Chinnaswamy, A., Sakthivel, S. K., Channappa, M., Ramanathan, V., Shivalingamurthy, S.G., Peter, S.C., Kumar, R., Kumar, R.A., Dhansu, P., Meena, M.R., & Muthukrishnan, A. (2024). Overexpression of an NF-YB gene family member, EaNF-YB2, enhances drought tolerance in sugarcane (Saccharum Hybrid). BMC Plant Biology, 24(1), 1246.
  • Preet, K., Dhansu, P., Sehrawat, N., Kumar, R., Appunu, C., Vengavasi, K., Arunkumar, R., Rana, R., Kumar, S., & Joon, V. (2024). Morpho-physiological analysis of salinity tolerance in sugarcane genotypes. Plant Physiology Reports, 29(2), 356-366.
  • Kumar, R. A., Vasantha, S., Gomathi, R., Hemaprabha, G., Alarmelu, S., Srinivasa, V., Vengavasi, K., Alagupalamuthirsolai, M., Hari, K., Palaniswami, C., Dhansu, P., & Meena, M. R. (2023). Rapid and non-destructive methodology for measuring canopy coverage at an early stage and its correlation with physiological and morphological traits and yield in sugarcane. Agriculture, 13(8), 1481.
  • Kumar, A., Sheoran, P., Devi, S., Kumar, N., Malik, K., Rani, M., Kumar, A., Dhansu, P., Kaushik, S., Bhardwaj, A.K., & Yadav, R. K. (2024). Strategic Switching from Conventional Urea to Nano-Urea for Sustaining the Rice–Wheat Cropping System. Plants, 13(24), 3523.
  • Sharma, A., Kumar, A., Chahal, S., Dhansu, P., Kumar, R., Kaushik, S., Battan, B., Sheoran, P., & Choudhary, P. (2024). Role of Dalbergia sissoo as host species in physiological and molecular adaptation of sandalwood under individual and interactive salinity and water deficit stress. Plant Stress, 14, 100679.
  • Mahadevaiah, C., Vignesh, P., Appunu, C., Valarmathi, R., Dhansu, P., Kumar, A., Dharshini, S., Padmanabhan, T.S.S., Narayan, J.A., Selvamuthu, K., & Kumar, R. (2023). Physiological characterization of Tripidium arundinaceum and sugarcane (Saccharum) germplasm for salinity stress tolerance at the formative stage. Sustainability, 15(8), 6962.
  • Dhansu, P., Ram, B., Singh, A. K., Tomar, S. K., Karuppaiyan, R., Kumar, R., Chhabra, M.L., Singh, A., Raja, A.K., Kaushik, P., & Pandey, S. K. (2023). Different treatments for sugarcane juice preservation. Foods, 12(2), 311.
  • Kumar, R., Dhansu, P., Kulshreshtha, N., Meena, M. R., Kumaraswamy, M. H., Appunu, C., Chhabra, M.L., & Pandey, S.K. (2023). Identification of salinity tolerant stable sugarcane cultivars using AMMI, GGE and some other stability parameters under multi environments of salinity stress. Sustainability, 15(2), 1119.
  • Murugan, N., Kumar, R., Pandey, S. K., Dhansu, P., Chennappa, M., Nallusamy, S., Govindakurup, H., & Chinnaswamy, A. (2023). In silico dissection of regulatory regions of PHT genes from saccharum spp. hybrid and sorghum bicolor and expression analysis of PHT promoters under osmotic stress conditions in tobacco. Sustainability, 15(2), 1048.
  • Kumar, A., Sheoran, P., Mann, A., Yadav, D., Kumar, A., Devi, S., Kumar, N., Dhansu, P., & Sharma, D.K. (2023). Deciphering trait associated morpho-physiological responses in pearlmillet hybrids and inbred lines under salt stress. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1121805.
  • Dhansu, P., Kumar, R., Kumar, A., Vengavasi, K., Raja, A.K., Vasantha, S., Meena, M.R., Kulshreshtha, N., & Pandey, S.K. (2022). Differential physiological traits, ion homeostasis and cane yield of sub-tropical sugarcane varieties in response to long-term salinity stress. Sustainability, 14(20), 13246.
  • Kumar, R., Meena, M.R., Dhansu, P., Karuppaiyan, R., Appunu, C., Kulshreshtha, N., Kaushik, P., & Ram, B. (2022). Winter tolerance potential of genetically diverse sugarcane clones under subtropical climate of Northern India. Sustainability, 14(18), 11757.
  • Dhansu, P., Nandwal, A. S., Kumar, S., Chand, M., Rani, B., & Kulshreshtha, N. (2022). Comparative evaluation of growth, yield and yield attributing traits in sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) under different soil moisture regimes. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 92(8), 14-18.
  • Dhansu, P., Kulshreshtha, N., Kumar, R., Raja, A. K., Pandey, S. K., Goel, V., & Ram, B. (2021). Identification of drought-tolerant co-canes based on physiological traits, yield attributes and drought tolerance indices. Sugar Tech, 23(4), 747-761.
  • Pooja, Nandwal, A.S., Chand, M., Pal, A., Kumari, A., Rani, B., Goel, V., & Kulshreshtha, N. (2020). Soil moisture deficit induced changes in antioxidative defense mechanism of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) varieties differing in maturity. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 90(3), 507-12.
  • Pooja, Nandwal, A.S., Chand, M., Singh, K., Mishra, A., Kumar, A., Kumari, A., & Rani, B. (2019). Varietal variation in physiological and biochemical attributes of sugarcane varieties under different soil moisture regimes. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 57(10), 721-732.
  • Lata, C., Soni, S., Kumar, N., Kumar, A., Pooja, Mann, A., & Rani, S. (2019). Adaptive mechanism of stress tolerance in Urochondra (grass halophyte) using roots study. The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 89(6), 1050-1053.
  • Pooja, Nandwal, A.S., Chand, M., Kumari, A., Rani, B., Goel, V., & Singh, S. (2019). Genotypic differences in growth behavior and quality parameters of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) varieties under moisture stress conditions. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 89(1), 65-72.
  • Rani, B., Madan, S., Sharma, K.D., Pooja, & Kumar, A. (2018). Influence of arbuscular mycorrhiza on antioxidative system of wheat (Triticum aestivum) under drought stress. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 88(2), 289-295.
  • Rani, B., Madan, S., Pooja, Sharma, K.D., Kumari, N., & Kumar, A. (2018). Mitigating the effect of drought stress on yield in wheat using arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 88(12), 1903-1908.
  • Lata, C., Kumar, A., Sharma, S.K., Singh, J., Sheokand, S., Pooja, Mann, A., & Rani, B. (2017). Tolerance to combined boron and salt stress in wheat varieties: Biochemical and molecular characterization. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology, 55, 321-328.
  • Kumar, A., Goyal, S.C., Sharma, N., Pooja, Singh, A., Lata, C., Parshad, J., Rajkumar, & Ekta. (2017). Changes in biochemical constituents, enzyme activities and protein profiles during root-shoot differentiation in callus culture of Dioscorea alata. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 87(1), 107-114.
  • Kumar, A., Goyal, S.C., Pooja, Sheoran, P., Kumar, A., Ekta, Parshad, J., & Singh, A. (2015). Detection of Specific Polypeptide(s) Synthesized during the Sequential Stages of Differentiation in Dioscorea Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 58(5), 667-675.
  • Karuppaiyan, R., Ram, B., Pooja, Ali, M., Kumar, S., Annaduri, A., & Kumar, R. (2015). Sugarcane sunburn-An emerging abiotic disorder in subtropical India. Sugar Tech, 17(3), 283–290.
  • Pooja, Sharma, K.D., & Kumar, A. (2012). Improvement in plant water relation and photosynthetic activity of mungbean (Vigna radiata) in response to salicylic acid under salinity stress. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology, 17(3/4), 268-274.
  • Pooja, & Sharma, K.D. (2010). Salicylic acid induced amelioration in growth, biochemical metabolites and yield of mungbean (Vigna radiata) under salinity stress. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology, 15(3), 219-225.
  • Krishnapriya, V., Raja, A.K., Vasantha, S., Hari, K., Arumuganathan, T., Suresha, G.S., Anna Durai, A., Chandran, K., Nisha, M., & Dhansu, P. (2022). Multipronged phenotyping approaches to characterize sugarcane root systems. JoVE Journal.
  • Yadav, S., Sharma, S., Sharma, K. D., Dhansu, P., Devi, S., Preet, K., Ahlawat, P., Kamboj, P., Rani, P., Rani, B., & Kumar, A. (2023). Selenium mediated alterations in physiology of wheat under different soil moisture levels. Sustainability, 15(3), 1771.
  • Rani, B., Jatttan, M., Dhansu, P., Madan, S., Kumari, N., Sharma, K. D., Parshad, J., & Kumar, A. (2023). Mycorrhizal symbiosis improved drought resistance in wheat using physiological traits. Cereal Research Communications, 51(1), 115-124.

Books

  • Kumar, A., Dhansu, P., & Mann, A. (Eds.). (2023). Salinity and Drought Tolerance in Plants: Physiological Perspectives. Springer Nature. Pp. 602.
  • Dhansu, P., Kumar, A., Mann, A., Kumar, N., Devi, S., Kaur, G., Munjal, R., Chhabra, M.L., & Pandey, S.K. (2022). Inter-Disciplinary Research Strategies for Climate Resilient Agriculture, Abstract, (Eds.) ISPP North Zonal Seminar-2022 organized by Indian Society for Plant Physiology (North Zone) on 25th June 2022, at ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Regional Center, Karnal, pp. 148.
  • Pooja, & Sharma, K.D. (2016). Salicylic acid induced amelioration of salinity stress. Published by: Scholar`s Press, Omni Scriptum GmbH & Co. KG, Germany. ISBN no. 978-3-639-86488-5. (Page no 99)
  • Rani, B., Jain, V., & Pooja. (2020). Effect of high temperature induced oxidative stress in Indian mustard. Scholar`s Press, ISBN no. 978-613-8-93951-1. (Page no 100)

Book chapters

  • Dhansu P, Arun Kumar Raja, Krishnapriya Vengavasi, Ravinder Kumar, Adhini S. Pazhany, Ashwani Kumar, Naresh Kumar, Anita Mann and Shashi Kant Pandey. (2022). Physiological and Molecular Adaptation of Sugarcane under Drought Vis-a-Vis Root System Traits. Drought – Impacts and Management. IntechOpen. doi:10.5772/intechopen.103795.
  • Meena MR, Akhtar T, Appunu C, Raja AK, Vasantha S, Pooja, Kumar R and Pandey SK. (2023). Impact of Salinity Stress on Sugarcane Yield and Quality: Management Approaches for Higher Cane Sugar Productivity. In: Verma, K.K., Song, XP., Rajput, V.D., Solomon, S., Li, YR., Rao, G.P. (eds) Agro-industrial Perspectives on Sugarcane Production under Environmental Stress. Springer, Singapore. pp. 39-56. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3955-6_3
  • Kesh H, Devi S, Kumar N, Ashwani Kumar, Kumar A, Dhansu P, Sheoran P and Mann A (2022) Insights into physiological, biochemical and molecular responses in wheat under salt stress. In: Wheat (eds: Ansari M R). IntechOpen. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102740
  • Pooja, Kumar A, Mann A, Kumar R, Meena BL, Sheoran P, Parameswari B, Kulshreshtha N (2017) Insights into biotechnological interventions for sugarcane improvement. In: Biotechnology to Enhance Sugarcane Productivity and Stress Tolerance. CRC Press. pp 131-152. (ISBN no. 978-131-51-5277-6).
  • Raja AK, Vasantha A, Pooja, Appunu C and Krishnapriya V (2020) Temperature extremes in sugarcane – An overview. In: Management of Abiotic stress in Crop plants (Eds: Gurumurthy S and Senjum JS), Innovative publication. P. 127-138.
  • Devi S, Kumar N, Kumar A, Dhansu P, Pazhany AS, Mann A, Bhardwaj AK and Sheoran P. (2023). Potential Use of Nanofertilizers in Alleviating Stresses in Plants. In: Kumar, A., Dhansu, P., Mann, A. (eds) Salinity and Drought Tolerance in Plants. Springer, Singapore. pp. 521-535. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4669-3_26
  • Kumari A, Ahlawat P, Kiran, Rani B, Goyal A, Pooja, Pazhany AS, Kumar A, Devi S, Kumari N, Madaan S and Jattan M. (2023). An Overview of Phytohormones Mediated Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Plants. In: Kumar, A., Dhansu, P., Mann, A. (eds) Salinity and Drought Tolerance in Plants. Springer, Singapore. pp. 387-417. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4669-3_20
  • Pooja, Kumar, A., Mann, A., Kumar, R., Meena, B.L., Sheoran, P., Parameswari, B., Kulshreshtha, N. (2017). Insights into biotechnological interventions for sugarcane improvement. In: Biotechnology to Enhance Sugarcane Productivity and Stress Tolerance. CRC Press. pp 131-152. (ISBN no. 978-131-51-5277-6).
  • Kumar, N., Lamba, S., Kumar, A., Kumar, P., Mann, A., Devi, S., Pooja, Kumari, A., & Rani, B. (2019). Antioxidant Defence in Halophytes under High Salinity. In: Halophytes and Climate Change: Adaptive Mechanisms and Potential Uses (Eds: M. Hasanuzzaman, S. Shabala and M. Fujita), CAB International. P. 196-208. (ISBN no. 978-17-863-9433-0).
  • Mann, A., Singh, S., Gurpreet, Kumar, A., Pooja, Kumar, S., & Kumar, B. (2018). Plant Ionomics: An important component of functional biology. In: Metabolic adaptations in plants during abiotic stress. (Eds. Ramakrishna A and Gill SS), P. 147-154. CRC Press.

Technical/extension bulletin

  • jfoUæ dqekj] ,e-vkj- ehuk] iwtk] ,e-,y- NkcM+k ,oa ,l-ds- ik.Ms; (2023). vfèkdre ,ao fujarj iSnkokj gsrq lesfdr xUuk [ksrh. izf’k{k.k iqfLrdk, l-ch- vkÃ-vkj-lh- djuky, 115.
  • ,l-ds- ik.Ms;] ,e-,y- NkcM+k] jfoUæ dqekj] ,e-vkj- ehuk] iwtk ¼2022½ xUuk çtuu laLFkku {ks=h; dsaæ& djuky ,d ifjp;- çlkj lkfgR; la[;k% ,l-ch- vkÃ- vkj-lh- djuky@08@2022 i`”B 4-
  • jfoUæ dqekj] ,e-vkj- ehuk] iwtk] ,e-,y- NkcM+k ,oa ,l-ds- ik.Ms; ¼2022½ xUuk fdLe dks- 15023 dh çeq[k lL; fØ;k,¡- çlkj lkfgR; la[;k% ,l-ch- vkÃ-vkj-lh- djuky@04@2022 i`”B 4-
  • iwtk] jfoUæ dqekj] ,e-,y- NkcM+k ,oa ,l-ds- ik.Ms; ¼2022½ xUuk Qly esa iks”kd rRoksa dk çcaèku ,oa e`nk ifj{k.k dk egÙo çlkj lkfgR; la[;k% ,l-ch- vkÃ-vkj-lh- djuky@07@2022 i`”B 4-
  • jfoUæ dqekj] ,e-vkj- ehuk] iwtk] ,e-,y- NkcM+k ,oa ,l-ds- ik.Ms; ¼2022½ vfèkdre xUuk mit çkIr djus gsrw xUuk ikSèk jksi.k rduhd- çlkj lkfgR; la[;k% ,l-ch- vkÃ-vkj-lh- djuky@06@2022 i`”B 6-
  • K. Pandey, M. L. Chhabra, M.R. Meena, Ravinder Kumar, Pooja. (2021). Training Manual: Orientation Program for the newly recruited Sugarcane Development Officials (Guru Nanak Dev Research and Development Institute, Kalnaur, Punjab). ICAR-SBI-RC, Karnal. P56.
  • ,e- vkj- ehuk] iwtk] jfoUnz dqekj] ,oa ,e- ,y- NkcM+k ¼2024½ mUur xUuk mRiknu rduhfd;k¡] Qjojh 5&10] 2024 Hkk-Ñ-vuq-i-& xUuk iztuu laLFkku] {ks=h; dsUnz] djuky 132001 ¼gfj;k.kk½ i`”B 103-
  • uhjt dqyJs”B] iwtk] jÇonj dqekj] ,e- vkj- eh.kk ,oa fo’kky xks;y ¼2020½ ,dh—r xUuk Qly çcaèku- çf’k{k.k iqfLrdk] Hkk- —- vuq- i- & xUuk çtuu laLFkku] {ks=h; dsaæ] djuky & 132001 ¼gfj;k.kk½] i`”B 88-

Technical/ popular Articles

  • jfoUæ dqekj] ,e-vkj- ehuk] iwtk ,oa lh- vIiquq ¼2022½- uà xUuk fdLe dks- 15023 dh vfèkdre iSnkokj çkIr djus gsrw vko’;d ns[kjs[k fØ;k,¡ bu% xUuk çdk’k% jktHkk”kk if=dk o”kZ 7]flrEcj 2022 i`”B la[;k 87&89-
  • iwtk] jfoUæ dqekj] dqekj izhr ,ao jksfgr jk.kk ¼2024½ e`nk ijh{k.k ds fy, egRo vkSj i}frA izf’k{k.k iqfLrdk% ^mUur xUuk mRiknu rduhfd;k¡^ Qjojh 5&10] 2024 Hkk-Ñ-vuq-i-& xUuk iztuu laLFkku] {ks=h; dsUnz] djuky 132001 ¼gfj;k.kk½ i`”B 52&54-
  • iwtk] jfoUæ dqekj] dqekj izhr ,ao jksfgr jk.kk ¼2024½ xUuk Qly ds fy, iks”kd rRoksa dk egRo] deh ds y{k.k o funkuA izf’k{k.k iqfLrdk% ^mUur xUuk mRiknu rduhfd;k¡^ Qjojh 5&10] 2024 Hkk-Ñ-vuq-i-& xUuk iztuu laLFkku] {ks=h; dsUnz] djuky 132001 ¼gfj;k.kk½ i`”B 52&54-
  • lqfurk nsoh] ujs’k dqekj] v’ouh dqekj] ch- ,y- eh.kk] vfurk eku] iwtk] jfoanz dqekj ,oa ijosaæ ‘;ksjk.k ¼2021½ e`nk ,oa ikSèkksa ds fodkl gsrw çk—frd vkSj la’ysf”kr moZjdksa dk egRoA d`f”k fdj.k] 76-79-
  • v’ouh dqekj] vfurk eku] iwtk] lqfurk nsoh] vjfoan dqekj] ujs’k dqekj] ijosaæ ‘;ksjk.k] jfoanz dqekj ,oa vt; dqekj Hkkj}kt ¼2022½ uSuks&moZjd & —f”k esa c<+rh laHkkouk,¡A d`f”k fdj.k] 50&53-
  • iwtk] jfoanj dqekj] esgj pan] v’ouh dqekj ,oa uhjt dqyJs”B (2016-17) xUus dh Qly vkSj lw[kk ruko & çHkko rFkk cpko gsrq rduhfd;k¡A —f”k fdj.k: 65-69.
  • iwtk] v’ouh dqekj] Ckkcw yky eh.kk] fo’kky xks;y] vuhrk eku ,oa uhjt dqyJs”B (2017-18) k xzLr e`nkvksa esa xUus dh lQy [ksrhA —f”k fdj.k: 72-76.
  • iwtk] fo’kky xks;y ,oa ,l- ds- ik.Ms; (2020) xUus ds jl dhkoRrk rFkk Qk;nsaA xUuk çdk’k] 5(5): 76-78.
  • iwtk] uhjt dqyJs”B] fo’kky xks;y ,oa ,e- vkjkk (2019) xUus dh [ksrh esa ikni QkbVksgkeksZu dh HkwfedkA xUuk çdk’k] 4(4): 49-51.
  • iwtk] v’ouh dqekj] çosUæ ‘;ksjk.k] vjfoUn dqekj] vuhrk eku ,oa tksxsUæ flag ¼2015½- lQy xUuk mRiknu esa lw{e iks”kd rRoksa dh vko’;drkA —f”k fdj.k( 7] 56&59-