Birth & Education: Dr Rajendra M. Gade was born on 15 June 1963 in Maharashtra. He completed his B.Sc. (Agri.) from Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola, in 1984 with First Division and obtained his M.Sc. in Plant Pathology from the same university. He earned his PhD in Plant Pathology from Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani, with First Class and Distinction (CGPA 9.11/10). He has also completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Extension Management from MANAGE, Hyderabad and I-STAT (O) from the University of California, Berkeley (USA).

Positions Held: After serving for seven years in the Department of Agriculture, Dr Gade joined Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola, as Assistant Mycologist in 1993. He was promoted as Associate Professor in 2005 and Professor of Plant Pathology in 2008. During his distinguished academic career, he has held several important administrative positions, including Associate Dean at Government College of Agriculture, Akola; Associate Dean for establishing the College of Biotechnology and College of Agriculture, Gadchiroli. In 2021, he was entrusted with the responsibility of Director of Extension Education at Dr PDKV, Akola.

Awards/Honours: He received the ICAR Best Teacher Award (2011), National Agri Award (2014), Reviewer Excellence Award (2016), and Sharda Lele Memorial Lecture Award (2022), along with several Best Paper and Presentation awards.

Fellow: Dr Gade has received Fellow of the Indian Phytopathological Society, Fellow of the Indian Society of Citriculture and Fellow of the Association of Plant Pathologists, reflecting wide professional recognition and respect for his sustained contributions to Plant pathology at the national level.

Research Areas:  His research focuses on plant disease diagnosis and management, particularly soil-borne diseases of citrus and cotton, integrated disease management, and biological control using Trichoderma and Pseudomonas.