Botany Research Scholars Bring Laurels to the University of Jammu

Jammu, dec 05: The Department of Botany, University of Jammu, has earned national recognition with two of its research scholars, Ms. Sweta Rajput and Mr. Masood Ahamed, winning top honours at the National Conference on FUNGI for BHARAT and the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Mycological Society of India. Held at the University of Delhi from November 20 to 22, 2025, the conference brought together leading mycologists and young researchers from across the country. The two scholars stood out for their exemplary oral and poster presentations, earning prestigious awards and bringing pride to the University.

The duo was awarded for their Oral Presentation and Best Poster Presentation, respectively.

Ms. Sweta Rajput, Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Botany, University of Jammu, has been honoured with the “Dr. M.J. Thirumalachar Memorial Merit Award for Young Researchers” for her oral presentation titled “Integrating Morphological and Phylogenetic Analyses to Unveil the Boletoid Mushroom Diversity of the North-Western Himalaya”.

Her research highlights the significance of studying specific boletoid groups of mushrooms from the North-Western Himalaya, an important biodiversity hotspot where fungal documentation remains limited. This study is being carried out under the supervision of Prof. Yash Pal Sharma, Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, and Rector, Udhampur Campus, University of Jammu and the co-supervision of Dr. Kanad Das, Director, Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Government of India.

Another student of Prof. Y. P. Sharma, Mr. Ahamed was recognized for his poster presentation titled “Expanding Indian Mycobiota: New additions to the genus Agaricus from the coniferous forests of the Jammu region.” His work highlights the discovery, documentation, and taxonomic characterization of previously unreported species of Agaricus from the biodiversity-rich coniferous landscapes of Jammu.

The University of Jammu congratulates the Department of Botany and both research scholars for bringing glory to the institution through their outstanding research contributions and national-level recognition.