3 PAU acarologists felicitated at national level

Three acarologists from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) were felicitated during the National Symposium in Acarology 2025 on “Challenges and Sustainable Management of Mites in Agriculture, Horticulture and Sericulture” held at Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, recently.

Dr Manjit Singh Dhooria, Senior Entomologist (Retd) from the Department of Entomology was felicitated for his life-time achievements in the field of agricultural acarology.

Being an expert in agricultural acarology, he has over 150 publications in journals of national and international repute, guided six postgraduate students and penned two books, ‘Dictionary of Entomology’ and ‘Fundamentals of Applied Acarology,’ both published by Springer Nature. He has attended more than 40 national and international conferences and is a life member of various professional societies.

Arshpreet Singh, an MSc Entomology student at the Department of Entomology, PAU, has won the “best poster award” for his work on the “Distribution and diversity of tetranychid mites infesting sugarcane in Punjab” during the National Symposium in Acarology 2025. He worked under the guidance of Dr Manmeet Brar Bhullar, Principal Acarologist-cum-Head, Department of Entomology, PAU.

Dr MB Bhullar also delivered a lead lecture on ‘eco-friendly management of mite pests of crops’ at the symposium and was felicitated on this occasion for her outstanding contributions to the discipline.

Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, appreciated the commendable work done by Dr Dhooria, Dr Bhullar and Arshpreet.