Suresh L. M
West Lands
Summary
An agriscience leader responsible for driving seed-trait and crop-protection innovation from discovery to commercialization. Architected and scaled high-throughput precision phenotyping and disease-resistance platforms; identified and developed trait donors; integrated molecular breeding, marker deployment, and gene-editing pipelines; and led multi-partner validation and efficacy trials. Worked in robust data base system, which can track the pipeline advancement and germplasm status. Embedded AI-enabled risk management, digital traceability, and phytosanitary governance across seed systems—translating advanced science into resilient, compliant, market-ready products at scale through disciplined public–private partnerships and regulatory leadership.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
Work History
MAIZE PATHOLOGY LEAD – SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
CONSULTATIVE GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (CGIAR) - INTERNATIONAL MAIZE AND WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER (CIMMYT)
05.2015 - Current
- Responsible for architecting and leading integrated, continent-scale platforms for maize disease resistance, precision phenotyping, and genetic innovation across Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Built and scaled high-throughput screening systems, MLN surveillance networks, and regulatory-compliant germplasm exchange pipelines; identified and developed elite disease-resistance trait donors; and integrated molecular breeding, doubled haploids, genomic tools, and gene-editing platforms into breeding and product-development pipelines.
- Worked on various data tools and data base to track the pipeline advancement and germplasm tracking.
- Led multi-country, multi-partner validation of markers, resistant lines, and gene-edited products through structured efficacy trials, while providing enterprise-level scientific governance, phytosanitary oversight, and strategic backstopping to ensure resilient, scalable, compliant, and market-ready delivery across breeding systems, seed systems, and national agricultural ecosystems.
LEAD – PLANT HEALTH APPLICATIONS INDIA
MONSANTO HOLDINGS PVT. LTD.
04.2011 - 10.2014
- Providing active scientific leadership role in India, Asia R&D management, and global plant health management in developing strategies, implementation, leading various scientific trait initiatives across research organizations including pathology research, vegetable breeding technology.
- Providing technical leadership for disease management, training, scientific education outreach initiatives, knowledge management series platform, clean seed project through Phytosanitation, mentoring internships for postgraduates.
- Led the design and implementation of disease screening and surveillance systems for major vegetable crops in India, directly supporting variety development and hybrid pipelines across tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucurbits, brassicas, onion, and okra.
- Built and managed integrated pathology research platforms (fungal, bacterial, viral) with molecular, ELISA, tissue culture, greenhouse, and field facilities, enabling both discovery and applied research in vegetable breeding.
- Identified, validated, and deployed disease-resistance trait donors across multiple vegetable crops, strengthening breeding pipelines for viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases and supporting robust product claims.
- Partnered closely with breeders and technology teams to support hybrid development, efficacy trials, disease-claim validation, and commercial deployment across key vegetable crops.
- Established and managed multi-location research infrastructure in India and Thailand, while collaborating with global R&D teams across NAFTA, EMEA, and Asia, overseeing budgets, projects, and teams aligned with business and market needs.
PLANT HEALTH LEAD - ASIA
MONSANTO HOLDINGS PVT. LTD.
01.2009 - 10.2011
- Providing active scientific leadership role in Asia R&D management and global plant health management in developing strategies, implementation, leading various scientific initiatives across research organizations, aligning pathology research programs, develop and implement training modules in India and Asia.
- Provided scientific and technology leadership for Asia R&D and global plant health programs, developing and executing integrated strategies across disease diagnostics, resistance discovery, line development, disease management, and capacity building in India, Thailand, China, and South Korea.
- Led and coordinated short-, medium-, and long-term plant health initiatives, covering isolate management, exploratory research, resistance source identification, line advancement, and structured training programs across multi-country teams.
- Established high-throughput disease screening platforms, including a drip-inoculation bacterial wilt screening system for tomato, enabling resistance validation, marker confirmation, and efficacy trials.
- Drove strategic trait initiatives integrating yield and disease resistance and collaborated with breeders and molecular teams to deploy marker-assisted resistance in leafy and brassica crops (downy mildew, black rot), contributing to improved market performance.
- Built and scaled high-performance R&D organizations, delivering a 5-year plant health strategy, reorganizing pathology teams, launching the Gurukul training program, implementing global scientific data platforms, and planning large-scale breeding and research infrastructure aligned with global crop strategies.
PLANT PATHOLOGY LEAD – WEST ASIA
SEMINIS VEGETABLE SEEDS
01.2001 - 12.2009
- Responsible for developing and establish plant pathology program, disease diagnosis and management, training module.
- Provide a technical support for seed production, product development.
- Established and led vegetable pathology programs and teams in India, integrating disease resistance development and micro-propagation technologies (including cauliflower) to strengthen breeding pipelines.
- Partnered with breeding and product development teams across the USA and Asia to accelerate germplasm evaluation and deliver commercial vegetable varieties with higher yield, quality, and disease resistance.
- Worked closely with sales, research, and technical development teams to improve cross-functional efficiency and alignment across the product development and commercialization process.
- Authored and contributed to seed health and disease management publications and technical guides for tomato, pepper, eggplant, brassicas, cucurbits, and onion, supporting consistent product stewardship and field deployment.
PLANT PATHOLOGIST
NUNHEMS PRO-AGRO SEEDS (Formerly SUNSEEDS; Currently: BASF HODINGS)
08.1997 - 12.2000
- Responsible for establishing plant pathology programs with good disease screening protocol.
- Provide continued support for product development and seed production.
- Collaborate with international breeding program for effective disease screening nursery.
- Developed and implemented disease screening systems for major vegetable crops, supporting tomato, pepper, cucumber, melon, eggplant, and okra breeding programs across key fungal, bacterial, viral, and nematode diseases.
- Built and upgraded specialized pathology screening facilities for bacterial wilt, Tomato Leaf Curl Virus, downy mildew, and viral diseases, strengthening early-stage selection and product validation.
- Gained hands-on experience in melon breeding, covering germplasm collection, line development, test crosses, seed multiplication, and product introduction.
- Collaborated with international breeding programs (Netherlands, Turkey, USA) to conduct disease screening and advance elite populations within global pipelines.
- Contributed significantly to the development and long-term market success of tomato hybrid ‘Lakshmi’, achieving 35–40% market share for over a decade, while supporting continuous pipeline delivery of new tomato hybrids through close coordination with breeding, seed production, and product development teams.
Asst. MANAGER CROP PROTECTION
INDO-AMERICAN HYBRID SEEDS INDIA PVT. LTD
09.1995 - 07.1996
- Responsible for developing and establishing plant pathology program, provide crop protection support for large scale pepper seed production in green house.
- Support product development and seed production for effective crop production.
- Developed and standardized disease screening protocols for tomato, pepper, and cucumber to support breeding and seed production programs.
- Designed and implemented disease management modules for export-oriented, disease-free capsicum production.
- Prepared crop production and cultural practice guidelines for multiple vegetable varieties to support field performance and quality.
- Collaborated closely with seed production and product development teams to deliver timely disease management support and targeted training.
Education
Ph.D. - plant pathology
kuvempu university /iari
01.2013
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT - undefined
CORNEL UNIVERSITY
01.2017
MBA - undefined
IGNOU
01.2009
M.Sc.(agri.) - AGRIL.MICROBIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF AGRIL.SCIENCES(UAS)
01.1995
B.Sc.(AGRI) - PLANT PATHOLOGY/AGRIL. MICROBIOLOGY
UAS
01.1982
Skills
- Strategic leadership
- Organizational development
- Crop breeding
- Genetics
- Hybrid development
- Genetic resources
- Germplasm exchange
- Trait development
- Molecular genomics
- Markers
- Gene technologies
- Disease resistance
- Surveillance
- Management systems
- Seed health
- Phyto-quarantine
- Phytosanitary governance
- Research infrastructure
- Innovation platforms
- Project management
- Portfolio management
- Financial management
- PVP/IP protection
- Regulatory systems
- Stakeholder partnerships
- Scientific collaboration
- Capacity building
- Team leadership
- Statistical analysis
- Data systems
Affiliations
- American Phytopathological Society (APS)
- British Society of Plant Pathology (BSPP)
- Kenya National Science Academy
- ISMPP (Indian Society of Mycology and Plant Pathology)
- Mycological Society of India (MSI)
- Indian Virological Society (IVS)
- Indian Phytopathological Society (IPS)
- National Academy of Biological Sciences
- World Virological Society (WVS)
- Asian – PGPR Society
Courses Trainings
- Genetic Resources Policies for CGIAR scientists, 2021-07-01
- Proposal Development course by CIMMYT, 2018-01-01
- Statistical Analysis of Genetic and Phenotypic Data for Breeders, 2017-08-28
- Project Management for Development Professionals, 2017-01-01
- CIMMYT Gender Capacity strengthening program, 2017-01-01
Awards Recognitions
- Africa Region Food Security Leadership Award, 2026
- CIMMYT’s long service recognition Award, 2025
- Fellow – Indian Phytopathological Society (IPS), 2024
- Fellow – Indian Virological Society, 2023
- Fellow – Indian Society of Mycology and Plant Pathology, 2023
- Prof. J.F. Dastur Memorial Award from IPS, 2023
- Lifetime Achievement Award from the Foundation of Advanced Training in Plant Breeding Research, 2022
- UKRI International Development Peer College Appreciation award, 2022
- Prof. M.J. Narasimhan Award for Best Research Paper, 2013
- Monsanto Research Excellency Award, 2012
Personal Information
Marital Status: Married
Publications
- Identification of gray leaf spot resistant donor lines in tropical maize germplasm and their agronomic performance under artificial inoculation, Frontier Plant Science, 2025
- Fusarium species associated with preharvest maize ear rot cause stalk rot disease in Ethiopia, Plant Disease, 2025
- First report of Bipolaris yamadae and Exserohilum rostratum associated with leaf spots of maize in Zambia, Plant Disease, 2024
- Edited eukaryotic translation initiation factors confer resistance against maize lethal necrosis, Plant Biotechnology Journal, 2024
- Transmission, localization, and infectivity of seedborne maize chlorotic mottle virus, PLoS ONE, 2023
Timeline
MAIZE PATHOLOGY LEAD – SUB SAHARAN AFRICA
CONSULTATIVE GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH (CGIAR) - INTERNATIONAL MAIZE AND WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER (CIMMYT)
05.2015 - Current
LEAD – PLANT HEALTH APPLICATIONS INDIA
MONSANTO HOLDINGS PVT. LTD.
04.2011 - 10.2014
PLANT HEALTH LEAD - ASIA
MONSANTO HOLDINGS PVT. LTD.
01.2009 - 10.2011
PLANT PATHOLOGY LEAD – WEST ASIA
SEMINIS VEGETABLE SEEDS
01.2001 - 12.2009
PLANT PATHOLOGIST
NUNHEMS PRO-AGRO SEEDS (Formerly SUNSEEDS; Currently: BASF HODINGS)
08.1997 - 12.2000
Asst. MANAGER CROP PROTECTION
INDO-AMERICAN HYBRID SEEDS INDIA PVT. LTD
09.1995 - 07.1996
Ph.D. - plant pathology
kuvempu university /iari
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT - undefined
CORNEL UNIVERSITY
MBA - undefined
IGNOU
M.Sc.(agri.) - AGRIL.MICROBIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF AGRIL.SCIENCES(UAS)
B.Sc.(AGRI) - PLANT PATHOLOGY/AGRIL. MICROBIOLOGY
UAS