Forest Fruits and Rural Futures: Biodiversity, Bioactives and Conservation Pathways

Author Biography

Dr Hemant Bagul is currently serving as an Assistant Professor at the Polytechnic in Agriculture, Waghai (Dangs), Gujarat, India. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Horticulture, an MSc, and a PhD in Fruit Science from the Aspee College of Horticulture and Forestry, Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat, and has qualified the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) National Eligibility Test (NET). During his doctoral studies, he was awarded a National Fellowship and Scholarship for Higher Education in recognition of his research in Fruit Science.Dr Nikita Patel is a Research Associate at the Kishorbhai Institute of Agriculture Sciences and Research Centre, Uka Tarsadia University, India. She completed her PhD at the C.G. Bhakta Institute of Biotechnology (CGBIBT) at the same university, where she also earned her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Biotechnology with first-class honors. With experience as a lecturer at both the Dollyben Desai Institute of Computer and Allied Science, India and CGBIBT, Dr Nikita has actively contributed to the academic community. She is also working as Faculty at the Department of Health Science, University of the People, Pasadena, USA. Dr Timur Ahlawat is the I/c Vice Chancellor and Director of Research and Post Graduate Studies at Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, India, where he has made significant contributions to the field of Agricultural Sciences. Dr Ahlawat completed his PhD in 2005 from Anand Agricultural University (AAU), India. His academic career began as a Senior Research Fellow at the Agricultural Product Process Engineering Unit in Anand; he later joined the faculty at Aspee College of Horticulture and Forestry at Navsari Agricultural University.