User:Manasom/sandbox

P.N. Ravindran (born April 10, 1942) (Full name: PN Ravindran Nair) is one among the best-known spice scientists whose experience in the research field of spices spans more than three decades. He was educated in the Universities of Kerala and Calicut (Kerala, India). After a short stint at the University of Calicut, he joined the Indian Agricultural Research Service (IARS),  under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). There he worked in various capacities as Assistant Botanist, Scientist, Senior Scientist, Principal Scientist, Head of the Division of Crop Improvement and Biotechnology, Director, and as the National Coordinator for Spices Research.

At IISR, Dr Ravindran established world’s largest genetic resources collection of spices in the world. The largest germplasm collection of spices in the world at the Indian Institute of Spices Research at Calicut was established under his leadership. As the coordinator of the All India Coordinated Project on Spices, he monitored and guided the research programs that are being carried out in over 22 centers spread across the whole of India. Dr Ravindran was also involved in the crop improvement work of ginger and turmeric and has developed in collaboration with his colleagues some of the best varieties in these very important spices. He and his group also established the cryo-gene bank for spices at the IISR.

Dr Ravindran’s signal contribution is the first ever scientific encyclopedia on herbs and spices, titled: Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices (2-volume set), published by CABI, UK, in 2017. Dr Ravindran also authored more than 300 research and review papers and edited the world class monographs. He is also the author of the much-acclaimed books Lotus -The Cosmic Flower  and Nandanom -The Garden of Gods. He founded the Indian Society for Spices (ISS) and functioned as the founder secretary, and then as the President.

Early life
Dr Ravindran was born in Adoor, Kerala on April 10th, 1942. He is the son of Panthapilavil Narayanan Nair and Kamalakshy. He studied at and graduated with a from. He did his post graduation (M.Sc Agriculture) at and was awarded his Ph.D from University of Calicut(Kerala, India).

Career
Dr Ravindran started his career as an arecanut (Areca catechu) and cocoa Theobroma cacao) breeder at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI). There, he initiated the crop breeding programs in cocoa using inter-varietal crossings (Forastero x Scavino, Trinitario and Criollo ) and also started the Tall x Dwarf hybridisation program in the perennial arecanut palm, which later led to the development of certain high yielding varieties and dwarf arecanut varieties. He also initiated programs on vanilla and outlined the interesting chromosome behavior in the germinating pollen grains of the vanilla plant. He carried out extensive work on the pollen biology of cocoa, vanilla and black pepper. He developed an easy method for selecting healthy seeds for better seedling establishment and performance based on seed specific gravity in cashew and cocoa. In 1979, he moved to the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute Regional Station at Calicut, which later became the Indian Institute of Spices research (IISR), where he started his association with Spices.

At IISR, Dr Ravindran established world’s largest genetic resources collection of spices in the world. As the Head of the Crop Improvement and Biotechnology wing of IISR, he provided the necessary leadership in the building up of the tissue culture and biotechnology facility and in vitro gene bank, and for initiating the biotechnological work on spices and herbs.

He provided the leadership for the research programs on germplasm collection, conservation, evaluation and documentation of spices and developed the germplasm conservatories with the help of his colleagues. He has given the leadership in the areas of crop improvement of the major spice crops such as black pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric and tree spices. He headed the division of Crop Improvement and Biotechnology for about 15 years. The largest germplasm collection of spices in the world at the Indian Institute of Spices Research at Calicut was established under his leadership. He has described three new taxa in the genus Piper. Dr Ravindran has done extensive study on the botany and interrelationships of Piper taxa in the Western Ghats of South India. From his biosystematics studies he hypothesized that the cultivated black pepper (Piper nigrum L.)  originated in the Western Ghats, as a hybrid between the high elevation Piper wightii Miq. and the mid-elevation species, Piper trichostachyon (Miq ,) C.DC. He has also outlined the possible evolution of the cultivated black pepper varieties and their interrelationships. Dr Ravindran has initiated extensive inter-varietal hybridisation, varietal selection as well as clonal selection work in pepper and his work led to the development of some of the earliest selections and hybrids in black pepper. He has also carried out many basic botanical studies on the genus Piper.

Dr Ravindran was also involved in the crop improvement work of ginger and turmeric and has developed in collaboration with his colleagues some of the best varieties in these very important spices. These varieties are currently popular with the farmers, and are also some of the best available in the country. Ravindran also carried out basic studies in these crops such as the developmental anatomy of ginger and turmeric.

The group led by Dr Ravindran was responsible for developing tissue culture protocols for most of the Indian spices and also in developing synseed technology for many spices. He and his group established the cryo-gene bank for spices at the Indian Institute of Spices Research at Calicut. The strong research group led by him had won accolades and also the national award for group research. As the coordinator of the All India Coordinated Project on Spices, he monitored and guided the research programs that are being carried out in over 22 centers spread across the whole of India. Dr Ravindran retired from ICAR service in 2002.

Post Retirement work
Soon after retirement, he joined the Centre for Medicinal Plants Research (CMPR) at Kottakkal, as its first Director. There he built up a strong research team to work on various aspects of medicinal plants; he established a genetic resources conservation garden, a tissue culture and biotechnology facility, taxonomy, pharmacognosy and phytochemistry faculties and labs, and equipped the Centre as a national-level institute for medicinal plant research. From 2006 to 2013 he was the Research Advisor for the Tata Tea / Tata Global Beverages (TGB), where he provided technical advice in the formulation of spices and herbs-based nutraceutical and wellness-tea formulations. He left the TGB when CABI based on a global search entrusted him with the responsibility of the preparation of the first scientific encyclopedia on herbs and spices. Dr Ravindran also functioned as an IAEA expert for some time.

Dr Ravindran’s signal contribution is the first ever scientific encyclopedia on herbs and spices, titled: Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices (2-volume set), published by CABI, UK, in 2017. This 2-volume set consists of an elaborate introduction followed by 240 chapters, providing detailed up-to-date discussions on 272 spices and herbs used in the world cuisine, across the continents.

Dr Ravindran also authored more than 300 research and review papers and edited the world class monographs on Black pepper (Harwood Academic, 2000; now CRC Press), Cardamom - the genus Elettaria (Taylor & Francis, 2002), Cinnamon and Cassia - the genus Cinnamomum (CRC Press, 2004), Ginger – the genus Zingiber (CRC Press, 2005) and Turmeric – the genus Curcuma (CRC Press, 2007). He compiled, edited and published the large volume entitled Advances in Spices Research: History and Achievements in Spices Research in India since Independence (2006, Agrobios, India), a very valuable document and database on the history and achievements of spices research in India. This volume still remains as the single source for tracing the history of spices research in India since 1947).

Dr Ravindran founded the Indian Society for Spices (ISS) to provide a common platform for all the spices workers to come together for interaction and for providing mutual help. He functioned as the founder secretary of ISS, and then as the President. Ravindran was the founder editor and later chief editor of journal, ‘Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops’. He was the driving force for almost a decade for organizing the annual National Seminars on Spices and Aromatic Crops. Such seminars became a vibrant platform to the spices’ research workers in India. The seeds that he had sown have grown significantly, acquiring the status of a major professional society and also a major professional journal in the field of spices research in the world.

Apart from herbs and spices and science, Dr Ravindran became interested in the study of plant heritage of India. He has published the much-acclaimed book, Lotus - The Cosmic Flower (and also its Malayalam translation), that provides a holistic treatment on the lotus flower and its pervasive impacts on religion, culture, literature, art and architecture. His book, Nandanom - The Garden of Gods, is a narrative odyssey on the sacred plants of India. A second revised edition of this book with a changed title, ‘Sacred and Ritual Plants of India’ came out in 2020. This is a unique book presenting a narrative on all the sacred and ritual plants used in the South Asian region. Dr. Ravindran is also a freelance consultant on herbs and spices and provides advice to many agencies, especially in the developing countries.

Marriage and children
Dr Ravindran is married to Dr Shylaja, a botanist and former Head of the Department of Botany at Providence Women’s College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India. They have two daughters. Dr Ravindran lives at Kozhikode (Calicut), a coastal city in the southern state of Kerala in India, known for its spice trade since ancient times and near to Kappad, the historical landing spot of Vasco da Gama in 1498.

Published works
Books on Herbs and Spices:

PN Ravindran (2017) The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Spices (2-volume set). CABI, UK.

PN Ravindran, Nirmal Babu K. and Sivaraman, K. (2007)  Turmeric- The genus Curcuma. CRC Press, USA.

PN Ravindran and K. Nirmal Babu (2005) Ginger- the genus Zingiber. CRC Press, USA.

PN Ravindran., Nirmal Babu K. and Shylaja, M. (2004) Cinnamon & Cassia- the genus Cinnamomum. CRC Press, USA.

PN Ravindran and KJ Madhusudanan (2002) Cardamom- The genus Elettaria. Taylor & Francis, LKondon, UK.

PN Ravindran (2000) Black pepper (Piper nigrum) Harwood Academic (Currently CRC Press).

PN Ravindran, Nirmal Babu, K., Shiva, K.N. and Kallupurackal, J.A (2006) Advances in Spices Research: History and Achievements in Spices Research in India since Independence. Agrobios,  (India).

Chaddha, K.L., Ravindran, P.N. and Shajiram, L. ((1998) Biotechnology of Horticultural and Plantation Crops, Malhotra Pub., New Delhi.

Other Publications:

PN Ravindran (2017) Lotus- The Cosmic Flower. Blue Rose, New Delhi.

PN Ravindran (2018) Nandanom-The Garden of Gods. Notion Press, Chennai.

PN Ravindran (2020) Sacred and Ritual Plants of India. Notion Press, Chennai.

PN Ravindran (2021) Thamara- Enna Viswapushpam (Malayalam), Insight Publica, Calicut.

Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions
Awards

1. National Group Research Award (Leader), ICAR,  Government of India.

2. Sugandhabharati Lifetime Achievement Award for Spices Research and Development.

3. JS Pruthi Award for Best Research Paper on Spices - 3 times consecutively.

Membership / Fellowship of Professional Societies:

Indian Society for Spices

Indian Society of Plantation Crops

Indian Society for Genetics

National Academy of Sciences of India

Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources.