Three professors of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) were conferred the prestigious FAI-IZA Award for their outstanding work on zinc nutrition of crops and its promotional activities.

Dr T Chitdeshwari, Dr P Stalin and Dr D Muthumanickam from the department of soil science and agricultural chemistry were given this collaborative award carrying a citation and sponsored by Fertiliser Association of India and International Zinc Association (IZA), Belgium, at the recently held FAI annual seminar at Delhi, a TNAU statement said today. Team leader Chitdehswari received the award.

The team worked intensively to delineate zinc status in the soils of Tamil Nadu, monitored its availability in intensively cropped rice-rice and sugarcane-sugarcane systems and developed amelioration strategies for alleviating zinc deficiencies in various agricultural and horticultural crops, it said.

They also evolved technologies through sustained experimentation on zinc fertilisers/ formulations/products for enhancing crop yield and its use efficiency and conducted frontline demonstrations, interaction meetings and awareness campaigns among farmers.