Dr. Ashish Saxena, Director , Global maize programme, CIMMYT, Mexico and Dr.H S Jat, Director, ICAR-IIMR , Ludhiana visited Maize

Dr. Ashish Saxena, Director ,Global maize programme , CIMMYT, Mexico and Dr. H. S. Jat, ICAR- IIMR, Ludhiana visited the Maize Research Unit , ARI on 23.03.2026. During the visit, the dignitaries interacted with the scientists and reviewed the ongoing research activities on maize breeding, hybrid development, and climate-resilient maize production technologies. Dr. Y. Chandra Mohan, Director, ARI, briefed the visitors on the research efforts of PJTAU in developing high-yielding and stress-tolerant maize hybrids suitable for different agro-ecological conditions. Dr. D. Bhadru, Principal Scientist (Maize &Millets) highlighted the recently released maize hybrids, namely DHM 182, DHM 206, DHM 211, DHM 213 and DHM 218, and explained the commercialization of maize hybrids developed by the Maize Research Unit, where promising hybrids have been licensed to seed companies for large-scale seed production and distribution to farmers. Dr. R. Susheela, Principal Scientist & Head explained the different agro-technologies developed by the Maize Research Unit for improving maize productivity and sustainability. The visitors appreciated the research initiatives and emphasized strengthening of collaboration between national and international maize research programmes to enhance maize productivity and sustainability. The visit concluded with discussions on future research priorities and opportunities for collaborative work in maize improvement Dr.B.Mallaiah, Principal scientist (Pl.Path), Dr.D.Sravani, Scientist (Pl.Br) and Dr.Ch.Anusha , Scientist (Ento) participated in the visit.