Kiran Bala Behura | Crop Water | Best Researcher Award

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Ms. Kiran Bala Behura | Crop Water | Best Researcher Award

College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar | India

Kiran Bala Behura is currently pursuing a PhD at the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, having previously earned a Master’s degree in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering (where she was a gold-medalist) and a Bachelor of Technology in Agricultural Engineering from OUAT. She has gained practical research experience as a research scholar at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar where she worked on seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers of Puri district, Odisha, and as a trainee at institutions including the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (Dehradun), Indian Institute of Remote Sensing/ISRO (Dehradun and Ahmedabad) and the KSCSTE-Centre for Water Resources Development & Management. Her research interests centre on remote sensing and GIS applications for evapotranspiration estimation and water-salinity intrusion in coastal aquifers, groundwater quality assessment in eastern India, and mapping of rice fallow areas for second cropping opportunities. She has authored peer-reviewed work such as “Evaluation of Actual Evapotranspiration from Rice Fields of Odisha Using Remote Sensing Based Surface Energy Balance Approach” and “Hydrogeochemical Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Salinity Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers of Eastern India.” She was awarded the Best Poster Award at the 58th ISAE Annual Convention & International Symposium in 2024 and her MSc gold medal recognises academic excellence. Through combining geospatial techniques, hydrogeochemistry and agricultural-water engineering, Behura contributes to sustainable water resource management and climate-smart agriculture in coastal and rice-dominated regions of India.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Behura, K. B., Mohanty, S., Pratim, P., & Ghosh, S. (2025, March 22). Hydrogeochemical assessment of groundwater quality and salinity intrusion in coastal aquifers of eastern India. Journal of Agricultural Engineering (India).

Behura, K. B., Raul, S. K., Paul, J. C., Mohanty, S., Jena, P. P., Dwibedi, S. K., Ghosh, S., Singh, L. K., Devi, S. R., & Singha, A. K. et al. (2025, March 4). Comprehensive analysis of methods for estimating actual paddy evapotranspiration—A review. Frontiers in Water.

Dnyaneshwar Madane | Soil and Water | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Dnyaneshwar Madane | Soil and Water | Best Researcher Award

Punjab Agricultural University | India

Dr. Dnyaneshwar Arjun Madane is an accomplished academic and researcher in Soil and Water Engineering, currently serving as an Assistant Professor at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He earned his B.Tech. and M.Tech. in Agricultural Engineering from CAET, Parbhani, and completed his Ph.D. at DBSKKV, Dapoli  with significant contributions to irrigation research. His doctoral work on drip irrigation in onion was recognized at the State Level Joint Agresco, reflecting the practical impact of his studies. With prior experience at Lovely Professional University, Punjab, he has consistently advanced research on irrigation water management, pressurized irrigation systems, protected cultivation, hydroponics, evapotranspiration, and remote sensing applications. He has authored and co-authored over 30 research papers, including 22 in Scopus and SCI-indexed journals, and his research outputs have attracted more than 51 citations with an h-index of 4. He has guided postgraduate students, contributed to climate-resilient farming, and undertaken research on rainfall distribution, crop water stress index, and water-use efficiency in different agro-climatic conditions. Recipient of the Young Scientist Award (2019), Dr. Madane continues to focus on innovative water-saving technologies, modern irrigation scheduling, and sustainable water management practices. His academic and research contributions highlight his commitment to advancing agricultural engineering for future food and water security.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar | Orcid

Featured Publications

Champaneri, D. D., Desai, K. D., Sharma, V., Madane, D. A., & More, S. J. (2024). A synoptic review of deficit irrigation methods: Sustainable water-saving strategies in vegetable cultivation. Water Supply.

Madane, D. A., Samiksha, & Kaur, G. (2024). Estimation of the crop water stress index (CWSI) of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) using sensor-based irrigation scheduling for different irrigation levels. Water Supply.

Madane, D. A., Singh, M. C., & Satpute, S. (2023). Carbon footprint status of Indian Punjab in relation to different pre- to post-harvest activities of paddy cultivation. Paddy and Water Environment.

Vijayan, V. D., Madane, D. A., & Haldar, D. (2023). Monsoon paddy crop discrimination using machine learning algorithms to multi-temporal Sentinel-1A (C-band) data in Alathur block of Palakkad district of Kerala state, India. Paddy and Water Environment.

Madane, D. A., & Waghaye, A. M. (2023). Spatio-temporal variations of rainfall using innovative trend analysis during 1951–2021 in Punjab State, India. Theoretical and Applied Climatology.