Dr Prasad's Book Launch

Phyla’s Rama-Manohar-Prasad Maddipatla V (Dr Prasad) has spent almost half a century observing, studying and researching the unique characteristics of Pongamia pinnata and its prolific performance under dry land and degraded soils. Dr Prasad unveils his latest book ‘PONGAMIA - For Bio-Energy and Better Environment' along with Dr Vijay Kumar Yedla.

The new book demonstrates the phenomenal properties of Pongamia pinnata, which has been found to be one of the most sustainable and climate resilient trees.  The book also explores Pongamia’s preventive and curative properties within the context of Ayurvedic medicine. Dr. Prasad also recalls his observations from the 1970s when a handful of Indian villages with pongamia trees reaped sustainable incomes in the face of acute and chronic droughts that plagued India.  He outlines the derivatives of the tree and the potential the oil has as a source of green energy. The book fills a void in the market, revealing the authors’ deep expertise of pongamia, a tree species which could be harnessed for many purposes and has the potential to address many concerns around climate and soil degradation.

Dr Prasad is one of the world’s leading experts in dryland agricultural production systems, oilseed crops and plant-breeding. His world-leading programs for the World Bank, European Commission, and as Director of Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers across the tropics. Dr Prasad and Dr Vijay lead Phyla’s team that standardised grafting, nursery and plantation technologies and standardised large-scale nursery and plantation protocols for Elite Pongamia.