BIODATA of Dr.

Muthu Kumar Arunachalam

NAME: Dr. Muthu Kumar A., Scientist – E, Forest Protection Division, Institute of Wood Science
& Technology (IWST), Malleshwaram, Bangalore – 560003, Karnataka, Telephone: 080-
22190168, Mobile: 9900749799, Fax: 080 – 23340529.
E- mail: muthukumar@icfre.org / iwst.muthukumar@gmail.com
DATE of BIRTH: March, 12, 1977
PLACE of BIRTH: Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, India
NATIONALITY: Indian

EDUCATION:
• B.Sc. (Agriculture): Agricultural College & Research Institute, Killikulam, Tuticorin, Tamil
Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (1995-1999).
• M.Sc. (Plant Pathology): Indian Type Culture Collection (ITCC), Division of Mycology and
Plant Pathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), PUSA Campus, New Delhi (2000-
2002).
THESIS – Taxonomic studies of the Genus Pythium. Chairman: Dr. P. N. Chowdhry
• Ph.D. (Plant Pathology): Biological control laboratory, Division of Mycology and Plant
Pathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), PUSA Campus, New Delhi (2002-2007).
THESIS – Studies on morphological and molecular characterization of biocontrol isolates
of Trichoderma Spp., and its teleomorph. Chairman: Dr. Pratibha Sharma

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Microbial diversity, beneficial fungi, integrated disease management, tree and climate change,
decline/dieback of trees, tree health assessment and management.

FIELD EXPERIENCE/PROJECT HANDLED:

1. 2008-2010: Studies on the insect pest and disease problems of sandal under cultivation and
their management (Co-Investigator)
2. 2009-2011: Biodiversity of wood inhabiting fungi in the rainforests of Makutta, Western
Ghats (Principle Investigator)
 3. 2011-2014: Microbial biosynthesis of Poly Hydroxy Alkanoates (PHA) from wood waste
(Principle Investigator)
4. 2013-2014: Investigation on the mortality of trees of Melia dubia Cav. (Hebbevu) at
Sulikere, Karnataka (Co-Investigator)
5. 2013-2015: Assessment of decay of wood in the forests and impact on methane release
contributing towards climate change (Principle Investigator)
6. 2014-2016: Premature dying of trees of Acrocarpus fraxinifolius (Belangi) in parts of
Kodagu district (Principle Investigator)
7. 2015-2019: Assessment of the potential hazard risk of ageing urban trees in and around
Bangalore City (Principle Investigator)
8. 2016-2021: Incidence, forecast and control of emerging and re-emerging disease problems
in nurseries & plantations of sandalwood (Principle Investigator)

SHORT TERM CONSULTANCY SERVICES:

1. Report on “Investigation on death of Carallia brachiata (Andipunar) at Kundapura
Division”, Karnataka (2013)
2. Mortality of Melia dubia at Hariyabbe village, Hiriyur, Karnataka (2014)
3. Mortality of Grevillea robusta Cunn ex. Br (Silver Oak) trees grown in Coffee
Plantations owned by M/ s Badra estates & Industries Ltd., at Chikmagalore district,
Karnataka (2014)
4. Investigation of a peculiar symptom on Teak (Tectona grandis) at 25 ha of SPA -
Teak Plantation, Dandeli, Karnataka (2014)
5. Report on “Identification of hollowness in trees and vulnerable trees with target” at
Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens and Karanji Lake, Mysore (2015)
6. Mortality of aged trees of Dalbergia latifolia (Rosewood/Beete) at Madikeri,
Karnataka (2016)
7. Report on “Assessment on health status of standing trees with target” at Sri
Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens and Karanji Lake, Mysore (2016)
8. Study on girdling of trees at Hadivoni village of Mudigere Taluk, Kalasa Range,
Koppa Forest Division (2016)
 9. Investigation on degradation of wooden monuments, Shreyas resort, Nelmangala
(2016)
10. Investigation on drying of Sandalwood plantation at Kenchanahalli Village,
Mulbagal, taluk, Kolar Dt., Karnataka (2016)
11. Investigation of health status of Grevillea robusta Cunn ex. Br (Silver Oak) at
Malleshwaram, Bangalore (2017)
12. Study on Tree Health Assessment at Jayamahal road, Bangalore (2017)
13. Investigation on the infected trees at Millennium apartment, Bengaluru (2018)
14. Investigation on health status of trees along highway (Ratu to Bijupada), Ranchi,
Jharkhand (2018)
15. Assessment on health status of Red Sanders, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu (2019)
16. Assessment of sandalwood trees for transplantation at drama theatre reservation site,
Nashik (2019)
17. Investigation on health status of trees for translocation at BHEL campus, Bangalore
(2019)
18. Health assessment of trees at U R Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO, Bangalore (2019)

PUBLICATIONS:
BOOK:
Muthu Kumar A and S. C. Joshi (2013). A field guide to Macrofungi of Makutta, Western Ghats.
Publisher: Extension Cell, Institute of Wood Science & Technology, Bangalore.
RESEARCH PAPERS:
Muthu Kumar A and Pratibha Sharma (2011). Molecular and morphological characters: An
appurtenance for antagonism in Trichoderma spp. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 10(22),
pp. 4532-4543.
Muthu Kumar A and Pratibha Sharma (2011). A study on corroboration between DNA markers
(RAPD, ISSR, ITS) and bio-control efficacy of Trichoderma species. Fungal Genomics &
Biology, Volume 1, Issue 1, http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2165-8056.1000103, pp. 2-6.
Muthu Kumar A and Pratibha Sharma (2012). Confrontation assay for Trichoderma as a potential
biocontrol agent against Pythium aphanidermatum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pest
Management in Horticultural Ecosystems, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 74-77.
Muthu Kumar A, Raja Muthukrishnan and Ashish Kumar Pandey (2014). Decline of Melia dubia
(Hebbevu) plantations at South Bangalore, Karnataka, Current Biotica 8(1):82-85.
Muthu Kumar A (2014). Recurrence of sandal spike disease in Karnataka – an alert, Current
Biotica 7(4): 253-255.
Gayatri Mishra, Ashish Kumar Pandey, Muthu Kumar A, Srinivasa Rao (2015). Global Scenario
of Acrocarpus fraxinifolius Wight & Arn. - A future tree of Agro forestry, International Letters of
Natural Sciences; Volume 3: pp. 25-29.
Muthu Kumar A, A. K. Pandey, Gayatri Mishra, Srinivasa Rao (2015). A report on occurrence
of Neofusicoccum sp. in Carallia brachiata (Lour.) Merr. trees from Karnataka, India,
International Letters of Natural Sciences; Volume 4: pp. 22-26.
Ashish Kumar Pandey, Neelava Das, Muthu Kumar A, Srinivasa Rao (2015). Methanogens in
the environment: an insight of methane yield and impact on global climate change, International
Letters of Natural Sciences Volume 37: pp 51-60.
Soundararajan V, G. Ravi Kumar, Muthu Kumar A, and S. Prabakaran (2015). Biostatics and
computational database Information technology in zoological Sector – a perspective, Achieving
Sustainable Development: Our Vision and Mission, School of Entomology, Loyola College,
Chennai, Conference Proceedings Publication, pp. 302-317.
Muthu Kumar A (2016). Occurrence and Distribution of Indigenous Isolates of Pythium Species
in Northern India, "Advances in Plants & Agriculture Research" Volume 4 Issue 4 - 2016.
Muthu Kumar A (2016). Morphological Characterization of Biocontrol Isolates of Trichoderma
to Study the Correlation between Morphological Characters and Biocontrol Efficacy, International
Letters of Natural Sciences, Vol. 55, pp. 57-67, 2016.
Muthu Kumar A (2017). Wood waste - carbon source for Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)
production, International Journal of Forestry and Wood Science Vol.4 (1), pp. 036-040.
Priyanka Pandey, Ashutosh Srivastava, M. Srinivasa Rao, Muthu Kumar. A, Dharmendra Hegde
and Mohan Karnat (2017). Microbes: Tiny engineers at work in Forests – A case study of
Agarwood in Karnataka, My Forest, Vol. 53 (Issue 1-2), pp. 43-52.
SEMINARS:
  Research experience in “Tree health management and tree transplantation” was presented
in a seminar titled “14th National Silviculture Conference, 2018” organized by IWST from
3/12/18 to 5/12/18.
 Research experience in “Urban tree management” was presented in a seminar titled “Green
Cover Retention – The Critical Need, Policy & Practices” organized by IWST on
31/10/2017.
 Research experience in “Impact of climate change on plant disease - an emphasis of
powdery mildew disease on Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album L.)” organised by
IFGTB, Coimbatore on 30/01/2019.
 Research experience in “Association of a foliar blight pathogen Pestalotiopsis guepinii
(Desm.) Steyaert with Indian Sandalwood (Santalum album L.)” organised by SRM
university, Chennai on 25/01/2019.

MEMBERSHIP TO REPUTED ACADEMIC INSTITUTION / ACADEMICS:

 Lifetime member in Indian Academy of Wood Sciences (IAWS), Bangalore, Karnataka.

 Lifetime member in Association for Advance Pest Management in Horticultural
Ecosystem, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore, Karnataka.
 Lifetime member in Indian Phytopathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute
(IARI), New Delhi.
 Lifetime member in International Sub-commission on Trichoderma and Hypocrea
Taxonomy (http://isth.info/member/homepage.php?id=235).