From: August 17, 2026
To: August 18, 2026
August 17–18, 2026 · ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode
First Meeting of the XIth Research Advisory Committee of ICAR-IISR
The first meeting of the XIth Research Advisory Committee (RAC) of ICAR – Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, was held at the institute on August 17 and 18, 2026, under the chairmanship of Dr. BMC Reddy, Former Vice Chancellor, Dr. YSR Horticulture University, Andhra Pradesh. The meeting reviewed the institute's ongoing research programmes, achievements, technology development and transfer activities, and provided recommendations for further strengthening its research mandate.
As part of the meeting, ICAR-IISR signed an MoU with Bio Mountain Farmers Producer Company Limited, Kannur, to strengthen collaboration for the dissemination of improved spice production technologies. The MoU was signed by Dr. R. Dinesh, Director, ICAR-IISR, and Rev. Sibi Palakuzhy, Chairman, Bio Mountain Farmers Producer Company Limited. Licence agreements were also transferred to Botagnix Private Limited, Jalna, for the commercial production of a novel granular formulation of Lecanicillium psalliotae for cardamom, and two new licences for the black pepper variety IISR Chandra were issued.
PiperDx, an AI-powered digital platform for early detection of black pepper viral diseases and nutrient deficiencies, was launched at the event. Developed by ICAR-IISR in collaboration with NIT Calicut under a Department of Biotechnology, Government of India-sponsored project, PiperDx integrates image-based diagnosis with deep-learning-based genome classification of major black pepper viruses including PYMoV, CMV and BPVF.
The NGS Toolkit developed by the BIG (Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics) Facility at ICAR-IISR — designed to facilitate analysis of high-throughput sequencing data — was also unveiled, along with the Research Highlights publication. On the second day, RAC members visited the IISR Experimental Farm, Peruvannamuzhy.