Ratikanta Maiti, PhD, DSc, was a world-renowned botanist and crop physiologist. He worked on jute and allied fibers at the former Jute Agricultural Research Institute, India, and as a plant physiologist on sorghum and pearl millet at ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). He also worked for more than 25 years as a professor and research scientist at several universities in Mexico. He was also a Research Advisor at Vibha Seeds, India, and as a Visiting Research Scientist in the Forest Science Faculty, Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Mexico. As the author of more than 40 books and about 500 research papers, he won several prestigious international awards. Dr. Maiti died in 2019. Humberto González Rodríguez, PhD, is a faculty member at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales (School of Forest Sciences), Nuevo León, México. He is currently working on water relations and plant nutrition in native woody trees and shrubs, northeastern Mexico. In addition, his research includes nutrient deposition via throughfall, stemflow, and litterfall in different forest ecosystems. He has successfully guided many theses and has handled research projects. In addition, he has published journal articles, books, and book chapters. Ch. Aruna Kumari, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Crop Physiology at Agricultural College, Jagtial, Professor Jaya Shankar Telangana State Agricultural University, India. She has research experience at varied ICAR institutes and at Vibha Seeds. She is the author of research articles and book chapters and has co-edited several books. Sameena Begum is a young researcher. She has conducted research on the combining ability, gall midge resistance, yield, and quality traits in hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) and identified two highly resistant hybrids. She has been an author of book chapters and a co-editor of several books. Dasari Rajkumar is a rice breeder who has worked as a research associate and a botanist at Vibha Seeds, Hyderabad, India, where he contributed research on physiological aspects of drought and salinity tolerance in paddy, cotton, and vegetables. He also was a senior research associate at Bio Seed Research India, Hyderabad, India. Currently he is working as rice breeder at Neo Seeds India Private Limited, Hyderabad, India. He has co-authored three books and published research papers in national and international journals.
