Suresh Kadaru

Dr. Suresh Kadaru is currently leading the medium maturity rice breeding program at IRRI. As part of Product Development and Varietal Replacement, he and his team are working on integrating genomic selection methodologies in breeding for expedited genetic gains and delivery of elite materials to NARES partners. He is very passionate about utilizing haplotypes of genes and QTLs affecting TPP traits (such as flowering) in positioning the materials into target market segments.

Prior to joining IRRI, Suresh worked 14 years for Syngenta, developing superior corn and rice hybrid seed products for farmers—using modern breeding tools, methodologies, and data analytics. He joined Syngenta as a Marker Data Analyst in Stanton, USA, and worked 6.5 years supporting North American corn breeding activities. He then relocated to India where he played a major role establishing efficient marker-assisted breeding pipelines for rice and corn in South Asia.

Suresh holds a joint patent and considerable training experience to his credit. He has received several internal awards in Syngenta for his support work on rice and corn hybrids. He also served as a member of the extended regional Seeds Product Development Leadership Team, which defines R&D strategies for corn and rice crops in the Asia-Pacific region.

Suresh obtained his PhD in Agronomy & Applied Statistics from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA; MSc in Biotechnology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India; and BSc in Agriculture from Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University, Rajendranagar, India.