Advances in Mushroom Biotechnology

Dr. M.C. Nair, Professor & Head, Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram under the Kerala Agricultural University. He took his doctorate in Plant Pathology from the Tamilnadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore under the guidance of the renowned Plant Pathologist, Late Dr. K. Ramakrishnan. Dr. Nair started his career in 1958 in the Department of Agriculture, Kerala State after graduation in agriculture from the Kerala University. In 1964 he took his M.Sc. (Ag.) in Plant Pathology and from 1972 onwards working as a faculty member of the Kerala Agricultural University. Dr. Nair has got vast field experience in Plant diseases control and also is currently engaged in work on Tropical mushrooms and on mycorrhizae. Author of nearly eighty scientific papers and a number of popular articles, he is the author of two text books also; one on Mycology and another on Crop diseases. His book on ‘Introductory Mycology’ has won the National award of a cash prize of Rs. 10,000 instituted by the University Grants Commission. He has also edited a book entitled “Advances in Mushroom Biotechnology” containing review articles presented in the National Symposium on Mushroom organized during January 1991 at Thiruvananthapuram. He is also the co-author of the book ‘Diseases of Crop plants of Kerala’ published by the Kerala Agricultural University.