Research interests include plant breeding and genetics with emphasis on crop improvement through conventional and modern biotechnological approaches. Areas of interest encompass molecular breeding, genetic diversity analysis, molecular marker studies, plant tissue culture, polyploidy breeding, genomics-assisted breeding, and sustainable approaches for improving crop productivity, quality, and stress resistance. Special interest is focused on mulberry improvement and sericulture research for enhanced productivity and sustainability.

Education

Professional Journey

1. Sonu, Nandakumar S, Singh VJ, Pandey R, Gopala Krishnan S, Bhowmick PK, Harshitha BS, Vinod KK (2024). Implications of tolerance to iron toxicity on root system architecture changes in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1334487.
2. Harshitha BS, Singh VJ, Nandakumar S, Shekhawat S, Dixit BK, Ragi S, Bhowmick PK (2024). Uncovering QTLs for uppermost internode length and panicle exsertion in rice. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8, 1470871.
3. Nandakumar S, Singh VJ, Vinod KK, Krishnan SG, Dixit BK, Harshitha BS, Bhowmick PK (2024). Genetic mapping for flag leaf shape in new plant type based recombinant inbred lines in rice. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 84(1), 52-62.
4. Harisha R, Balakrishnan AP, Manjunath KK, Bhavya B, Singhal S, Shivakumar HB, Harshitha BS, Singh AM (2025). Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in wheat: a systematic review on bioactivity, inheritance, functionality. Cereal Research Communications, 53(2), 659-671.
5. Harisha R, Ahlawat AK, Balakrishnan AP, Bhavya B, Singhal S, Manjunath KK, Harshitha BS, Singh VJ (2025). Exploring the interplay between physico-chemical & biochemical properties of grain in determining chapati quality. Applied Food Research, 5(1), 100956.
6. Ragi S, Singh VJ, Nandakumar S, Krishnan SG, Bollinedi H, Ellur RK, Harshitha BS, Bhowmick PK (2026). Integrating marker-assisted identification and multi-environment trait stability models to select superior rice restorer lines. Frontiers in Plant Science, 17, 1781490.
7. Nandakumar S, Singh VJ, Vinod KK, Harshitha BS, Krishnan SG, Dixit BK, Bhowmick PK (2026). Mapping novel QTLs associated with grain number and primary branching in rice using new plant type derived RILs. BMC Plant Biology.
8. Nagaraju Y, Kikon S, Reshma R, Harshitha BS, Pradeep SD, Gowdar SB (2025). Bioscouring of mealybug wax using fungal enzymes for sustainable management of mealybugs in mulberry. Discover Agriculture, 3(1), 1-16.
9. Nagaraju Y, Sana T, Pradeep SD, Harshitha BS, Suresh K, Deepika KU, Reshma R (2025). Appraisal of Shannon Diversity Index of mycorrhizae in mulberry crop: a preliminary study. Vegetos, 1-7.
10. Bhargavi HA, Harshitha BS, Yadav S, Karthik KM, Mehta BK, Gore PG, Keerthi MC (2024). Allele Mining for Crop Genome Designing in Cowpea. CRC Press, pp. 71-86.