Vice Chancellor's Message
"The true spirit of the University has been to recognize the reward of excellence in Education, Research and Development with a firm, fair and fatherly attitude towards its students."
Profile
Dr. M. V. Dhananjaya currently serves as the Principal Scientist in the Division of Plant Breeding at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (ICAR-IIHR), Bengaluru. With around 30 years of dedicated service in horticultural research and plant breeding, he has earned recognition as an accomplished scientist, researcher, and academic administrator.
Remarkable Contributions to the Horticulture Sector
Dr. M.V Dhananjay’s research achievements have made a lasting impact on India’s agriculture and horticulture sectors.
Key Achievements
- Developed Arka Shreyas, India’s first bottle gourd variety resistant to stem rot disease.
- Developed Arka Savi, a high-yielding rose variety.
- Introduced Arka Parimal, a specialized rose variety suitable for rose tea production.
- Developed a total of 18 new horticultural crop varieties.
- Successfully implemented research projects worth over ₹29 crore.
- Published more than 100 research papers in reputed journals
National Awards and Recognition
Dr. M.V Dhananjay’s outstanding contributions have been recognized with several prestigious national awards, including:
- Dr. M. H. Marigowda National Endowment Award (2022–23)
- Dr. Kallayya Krishnamurthy National Award (2023–24)
In addition, he has been nominated six times by the Governor to serve on expert committees responsible for evaluating honorary doctorate recommendations from various universities, reflecting his academic excellence and professional credibility.
Dr. M. V. Dhananjaya
Vice Chancellor
Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Shivamogga is the only integrated university in Karnataka established during 2013 having main campus at Iruvakki located in the midst of United Nations’ – World Heritage Centre. It has jurisdiction of seven districts viz.,Chikkamagalur, Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada, Davangere, Kodagu, Shivamogga and Udupi. As per mandate, it is imparting education in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry sciences and carrying out research, and extension activities for the benefit of regional farmers in particular and farming community in general.
The University has a vision to transform itself into the “Light house of Knowledge” by providing the best professional education and consultancy, R&D solutions, addressing key issues, confronting the sector growth and achieve excellence with quality outputs in frontier areas of Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry and allied Sciences, contract services in public and private domains at National and International level. The constituent Colleges have been accredited by ICAR for a period of five years upto March 2026.
Upto 2024, a total of 3809 students have graduated and out of which 2872 undergraduates in Agriculture (986), Horticulture (1278) and Forestry (608), and 840 students have Master’s and 97 Ph.D. degrees through its four constituent colleges spread over the jurisdiction. Further, 582 students have completed Diploma (Agriculture) from the University. So far, 114 & 14 students have secured ICAR JRF & SRF, respectively. Students & faculty have visited institutions abroad Under IDP project funded by World Bank and ICAR. Also, the University has recently started Certificate Courses in different disciplines.
Research activities have been carried out through 14 Agriculture and Horticulture Research Stations, Zonal Research Stations and Main Agril.Research Station. University has MoUs with national & international institutions for overall development of stakeholders. Obtained patent for an invention entitled Method of invitro androgenesis for production of double haploids in Chill (Capsicum annuum) (Patent number 468204), Mini Handoperated Groundnut Sheller for 20 years (Patent number 488359) and three patents have been filed. University has 1544 projects worth Rs. 196 crores funded from national/international organizations. Technologies developed in Paddy 12, Tobacco, Arecanut & Cowpea, one each. Developed 20 Farm Machineries; 98 in Crop Production/Protection, Horticulture, Fisheries & Food Sciences and Nutrition Technologies. Developed and commercialized Sahyadri Noni herbal Dip tea technology and Sahyadri Siri Coffee Leaf Beverage Instant Dip Sachet technology. So far, produced and distributed 529.12 tonnes of seeds & planting materials and 388 tonnes bio-agents, bio-fertilizers to keep ecosystem eco-friendly.
The University is linking farmers by extension services through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Extension Education Units. University is reaching around 4 lakh farmers in a year through capacity building, on-farm testing ,Demonstrations, Method Demonstrations, Vocational and Skill oriented training programmes, etc. Regularly organizes Krishi-Totagarika Mela exhibiting advances in agricultural technologies to farmers and other stakeholders. University is publishing bi-monthly Negila Miditha magazine for stakeholders.
The true spirit of the University has been proud to recognize the reward of excellence in Education, Research and development with a firm, fair and fatherly attitude towards its students. With this spirit, KSNUAHS, Shivamogga has become an island of excellence and ocean of knowledge where each student feels privileged to be part of it.
