Dr. Pradeep Kumar is a Principal Scientist at the Division of Integrated Farming System, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur (India). He completed his PhD studies in Horticulture at the University of Tuscia, Viterbo (Italy), and has been awarded NS-ICAR International Fellow (ICAR, New Delhi), ISVS Fellow (ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi), ISHRD Fellow (ISHRD, Dehradun), Young Scientist Award (Bioved), Young Scientist Associate Award (SADHNA), Best Scientist Award (ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur), Best oral (2) and poster paper (8) awards. He recently led 5 projects as PI and 8 projects as Co-PI. He has published 110 papers in various journals and serves as a Joint Secretary for the Arid Zone Research Association of India (Jodhpur, India). He is an Editor or Editorial member in 5 journals. He delivered over a dozen invited (keynote/ lead) lectures in different national and international conferences/ symposia in India and abroad. He leads Protected cultivation research at ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur (India).