Interdisciplinary International Conference on

RESEARCH INTERVENTIONS AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS

IN PLANT SCIENCES

PG DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY, IQAC

and

Shri Pancham Khemraj Mahavidyalaya,Sawantwadi

NAAC Re-accredited with ‘A’ grade (CGPA 3.06)

ASSOCIATION OF PLANT SCIENCE RESEARCHERS (APSR),

Plantica Foundation, Dehradun,

Uttarakhand www.pgrindias.in

University of Mumbai

Diamond Jubilee Year 2020-21

S.Z.S.P. Mandal’s

26TH & 27TH March 2021

ABOUT RITAPS 2021 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Our College is celebrating Diamond Jubilee Year,

on this occasion we have organized a conference

on Research Interventions and Technological

Advancements in Plant Science (RITAPS 2021) is

an initiative towards scientific deliberation. The

conference was organized in collaboration with

University of Mumbai, Association of Plant Science

Researchers, Plantica Foundation, Dehradun.

RITAPS International Conference is a forum to

bring together business people, researchers,

scientists, academicians, and industry

professionals to discuss innovative ideas and

diverse topics on next generation of plant science

research. The RITAPS aims at bringing together

the Professors, Researchers, and scientists, Lab

Scientists to provide a forum for the dissemination

of original research results, new ideas and

practical development experiences which

concentrate on both theory and practices.

RITAPS 2021 was joined by hundreds of

participants from different regions of India.

RITAPS has become the most widescale, extensive,

spectacular event in the conference history hosted

by SPK College, Sawantwadi for its high level and

standardized organization with proper care and

following social distancing and all the mandatory

guidelines of COVID 19 Pandemic situation, given

by Government of Maharashtra after long

lockdown.

Hundreds of attendees, paper presenters, keynote

and tutorial participants, students have benefited

in many ways from this conference. More than 50

scientific papers were accepted for publication as

a book chapter. Eight Invited, Keynote and Tutorial

Speakers from diverse background of plant

science addressed to audience and shared

knowledge and rich experience of application of

innovative ideas in plant science.

CONFERENCE SCOPE

RITAPS 2021 topics include, but are not limited to, the following research and development areas/fields classified into 11 sessions

•Biodiversity and Conservation•Microbiology and Biotechnology•Medicinal and Aromatic plants•Plant Nanoscience & Technology•Phytoremediation•Plant Physiology & Biochemistry

• Industrial crops•Biofuel•Marine Botany•Mycology & Plant pathology•Allelopathy

As a result Keynote, Tutorial and Technical Sessions have been prepared inaccordance with conference scope to discuss the Challenges, Opportunities andProblems of Plant Science Research.

WELCOME AND OPENING CEREMONY

The first day of conference started with Welcomingand Opening Ceremony at the Royal Palace Hall,Sawantwadi on 26th March 2021. The Inauguralfunction was presided by Hon. H.H. ShrimantRajesaheb Khemsawant Bhonsle, President,Sindhudurg Zillah Shikshan Prasarak Mandal,Sawantwadi. Hon. H.H. Shrimant Ranisaheb Sou.Subhadadevi Bhonsle, Chairman, Sindhudurg ZillahShikshan Prasarak Mandal, Sawantwadi. Hon’ble Dr.Sanjay Jagtap, Joint Director, Higher Education,Konkan region, Panvel was guest of Honour. Hon’bleDr. Devanand Shinde, Former Vice Chancellor andProfessor, Department of Chemical Technology,BAMU, Aurangabad was Chief Guest of theconference. Dr. Anuradha Majumdar, Dean faculty ofScience, University of Mumbai and Dr. RajendraShinde, Chairman, BOS in Botany addressed toparticipants with short welcoming speeches throughonline mode (Zoom meeting).

Dr. Uttam Dethe, Convener and Head PG Departmentof Botany in his opening remarks overviewed theprogress of botany department over the audience.Prin. Dr. Bharmal Sir welcomed all the guests andparticipants and highlighted the growth, development,opportunities and challenges of SPK College .

INAUGURAL SPEECHS AND ADDRESSES

Dr. Anuradha Majumdar, was a guest of Honour

and she joined the conference virtually. In her

small speech she addressed the recent

technological innovations in plant science and use

of plant based product to fight against various

diseases. Her speech devoted to the stated

problem from the point of view of practical

experience and research.

Dr. Rajendra Shinde, focused on a large scale use

of plants for various applications such as to

mitigate climate change, agricultural practices,

herbal and cosmetic industries, food and

nanoscience. However, observations and studies

show that the use of such plant based products is

far from appropriate in most cases and basic

misconceptions are leading to erroneous results

and misleading conclusions.

Dr. Sanjay Jagtap emphasized about the

biodiversity and conservation status of the

medicinal plants and he also addresses the

impacts of medicinal plants on society. He

expanded his vie on processing of medicinal plants

and importance of sidha products

Dr. Devanand Shinde, in his chief guest address

covered the relationship of chemistry and botany.

He appealed the young researchers for new and

innovative ideas for the extraction and purification

of phytochemicals. In his small speech he

expressed on Multidisciplinary Approaches of

Plant Science

H.H. Rajesaheb in his presidential address

expresses his views on ‘sustainable development’

and what we should pursue. He addressed that we

should develop ourselves to influence our future.

So many technologies have been developed, but

we should learn to stand on our own feet and

develop ourselves with our own capacities.

KEYNOTE and INVITED TALKS

Dr. Dattatray Gaikwad,

Director, BAMU Sub-campus Osmanabad

Bioprospecting of Bio-waste as Natural PolymersIn recent years the application of natural polymers in

pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries are

tremendously increasing over the synthetic polymers.

But it is the need of time to explore the sources of

natural polymers besides these synthetic polymers. The

most of the wild and cultivated avenue and garden,

medicinal plants produces huge biomass after their

flowering and fruiting, which is considered as a bio-

waste. Thus it is need of time to convert this waste in

to best by applying various laboratory techniques for

the isolation of various natural polymers.

Entreprenuership, Start Up and Incubation : A

prologue

Dr. Mansinghraj Nimbalkar,

Coordinator, Incubation center,

Shivaji University, Kolhapur

India, which is an emerging economy, to acquire the

status of a "developed" nation, needs to create 100

million jobs. India has almost 300 million youth, but

only 100 million jobs. Therefore, the country faces a

200 million employment gap. There is only way to fill

the gap by nurturing innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The wealth is created by individuals who take risks in

terms of equity, time and /or career commitment

providing value for a product or service.

Molecular Modelling, Docking and Simulation

Computational modelling has gained an

increasingly important role in biochemical and

biomolecular sciences over the past decades. This

is related to significant developments in terms of

methodology and software, as well as the amazing

technological advances in computational

hardware, and fruitful connections across different

disciplines.

Herbalism: as Complementary or Alternative

Medicine

Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine,

medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology,

herblore, and phytotherapy. It is a traditional

medicinal or folk medicine practice based on use

of a plant’s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark or

flowers and plant extracts for medicinal purposes.

With the growing interest in health and wellness,

alternative medicines are becoming increasingly

popular worldwide.

Dr. Bajarang Kumbhar,

ImmunoAct Pvt.Ltd. SINE,IIT Bombay

Dr. Dattatray Shinkar,

Yashwantrao Bhonsle College of Pharmacy,

Sawantwadi

FELICITATION OF AWARDEES

The RITAPS 2021 conference was a platform to felicitate notable researchers in thefield of plant science. Dr. Anoop Badoni, Founder President of association of plantscience researchers (APSR) and Plantica Foundation Dehradun agreed to felicitate theexperienced as well as budding botanists by offering five Birbal Sahni Excellence PlantScience Research Awards and Five Young Plant Scientist Awards respectively. Thenominations were invited 3 months before the conference and 30 nominations werereceived under each category. The Board members of APSR, Plantica Foundationscreened the nominations and selected best five in each category. The selectedawardees were felicitate by offering Certificate of Appreciation, One Medal, OneMemento and Fellow Membership certificate of scientific society “Association of PlantScience Researchers”

Awardees of Birbal Sahni Excellence Plant Science Research Award

Dr. Govind DhulgandeSir Parashurambhau College, Pune

Dr. C. Sumathi JonesUniversity of Madras

Dr. Vinayak NaikResearch Director, KVS, Thane

Dr. Shakil ShaikhAbasaheb Marathe College, Rajapur

Awardees of Young Plant Scientist Award

Dr. Manasi PatilSGM, College, Karad

Dr. Madhuri PatilTC, College, Baramati

FELICITATION OF AWARDEES

Awardees of Young Plant Scientist Award

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Suhas KambleDahiwadi College Dahiwadi

Dr. Ganesh NikaljeR.K. Talreja College, Ulhasnagar

Dr. Deepak ShelkeAmruteshwar ACS College, Velha, Pune

Dr. Dattatray K. GaikwadDirector, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Sub-Campus, Osmanabad

AndFormer Head, Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur

Day 2 INVITED TALKS

Nagesh Daptardar

Hon. Wildlife Warden Forest Department

Sindhudurg

Environmental awareness / protection

The session comprised of speech.

Following points were discussed:

▪ Conservation of Sea turtle and their migration

▪ Types of Sea turtle and their feedings

▪ Reasons behind decrease in number of sea turtles

▪ Need of workshops related to conservation of sea

turtles

▪ Photos and video clips of survival of sea turtles

where presented.

Pteridophytes of Konkan: Conservation and

Ethnomedicinal importance

Dr. Shakil Shaikh,

Abasaheb Marathe College, Rajapur

Pteridophytes grow luxuriantly in moist tropical forests

and temperate forests and their occurrence in different

eco-geographically threatened regions from sea level

to the highest mountains are of much interest. India

has a rich and varied pteridophytic flora due to its

diversified topography, variable climatic conditions and

its geographical position with several migration-flows

of species of different phytogeographical elements

meeting in different parts of the Country.

Technical Session (Oral Presentations)

The technical session of the second day was organized to present the researchoutputs under the category of UG/PG students, research Scholars and TeachingFaculty. The presenters were given 8 minutes for presentation and 2 min fordiscussion. Researchers presented their work from basic plant science to appliedaspects of plants like nanotechnology and bioprospecting.

Technical Session (Poster Presentations)

The technical session (Poster presentations) of the second day was organized topresent the research outputs under the category of UG/PG students, researchScholars and Teaching Faculty. Researchers presented their work with attractiveposters.

Best Oral and Poster Presentation award

A panel of three judges evaluated the oral and poster session and the best paperpresentation in oral and poster under the category of UG/PG students, researchScholars and Teaching Faculty were awarded by Certificate and memento.

Best Oral Presentation Award

Best Poster Presentation Award

CLOSING CEREMONY

RITAPS 2021 Closing Ceremony was held on 27th MarchEvening. The function was presided by Prof. RajendraShintre, Sindhudurg District NAAC Coordinator. Heextended his sincere gratitude and appreciation to allthe participants, for their invaluable contributions inmaking this event a great success.

NETWORKING & SOCIAL PROGRAM

Prof. Rajendra ShintreSindhudurg District NAAC Coordinator