Pareshkumar H. Rathod

Dr. Paresh Rathod is a Senior Scientist (Soil Science) at the Navsari Gujarat Research Centre of ICAR-CIBA, serving since June 2025. He holds BSc and MSs degrees in Agriculture with specialization in Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry from Gujarat Agricultural University (now Anand Agricultural University). He has earned two PhD degrees: the first from the ITC, University of Twente, The Netherlands (2009-2012), under the EU’s Erasmus Mundus Fellowship, where his research focused on phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils and their monitoring using proximal spectral sensing, in collaboration with the LfULG, Freiberg and the Institute of Soil Science and Site Ecology, TUD, Dresden in Germany; and the second from Anand Agricultural University (2015-2020), focusing on the fate of fluopyram in soil and chilli crops.

From 2006 to 2009, he was a Research Scholar at The Volcani Center, Israel, under an Israeli Government Scholarship, contributing to an Italian-Israeli project on phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated sediments. Between 2012 and 2025, he served as Assistant Professor/Assistant Research Scientist at Anand Agricultural University, actively engaged in UG/PG teaching and research projects under AICRP on Forage Crops and AINP on Pesticide Residues & Contaminants. As Head of AINP-PRC, he led projects on pesticide residue monitoring in agricultural produce, soil, and water, and conducted supervised field trials to evaluate the persistence and residue levels of new pesticide molecules in soil & crops for label claim approvals.

His current research interests include: (i) large-scale monitoring of pesticide, antibiotic residues, and toxic elements in aquaculture systems for food safety risk assessments, and (ii) Geo-spatial assessment of brackishwater aquaculture in Gujarat using proximal and hyperspectral remote sensing techniques

• Assessment of toxic elements contamination in soil-water-plant ecosystem, with a focus on bio- & phytoremediation approaches.
• Dissipation and persistence of agrochemicals in soil-water environment
• Proximal and hyperspectral remote sensing techniques for assessment of soil properties, contamination, and soil spatial variability

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• Awarded the Israeli Government Scholarship (2006) to work as a Research Scholar at Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Israel, on an Italian-Israeli phytoremediation project.
• Recipient of the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Fellowship (2009-2012) for doctoral study at Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, The Netherlands
• Recipient of full financial grant (2023) under the NAHEP-CAAST scheme for a three-week International Research Visit to the Department of Geochemistry, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen, Denmark.

• Rathod, P. H., Müller, I., van der Meer, F. D., and de Smeth, B. (2016). Analysis of visible and near infrared spectral reflectance for assessing metals in soil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188(10): 1-16 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5568-9
• Rathod, P. H., Brackhage, C., Van der Meer, F. D. Müller, I., Noomen, M. F., Rossiter, D. G., and Dudel, G. E. (2015). Spectral changes in the leaves of barley plant due to phytoremediation of metals – results from a pot study. European Journal of Remote Sensing, 48: 283-302 https://doi.org/10.5721/EuJRS20154816
• Fine, P., Rathod, P. H., Beriozkin, A., and Hass, A., (2014). Chelant-enhanced heavy metal uptake by eucalyptus trees under controlled deficit irrigation. Science of The Total Environment, 493: 995-1005 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.085
• Rathod, P. H., Rossiter, D. G., Noomen, M. F., and van der Meer, F. D. (2013). Proximal spectral sensing to monitor phytoremediation of metal-contaminated soils. International journal of phytoremediation, 15(5): 405-426 https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2012.702805
• Fine, P., Rathod, P. H., Beriozkin, A. and Mingelgrin, U., (2013). Uptake of cadmium by hydroponically grown, mature eucalyptus camaldulensis saplings and the effect of organic ligands. International Journal of Phytoremediation, 15(6): 585-601 https://doi.org/10.1080/15226514.2012.723061

• Rathod, P. H., Shah, P. G., Parmar, K. D. and Kalasariya, R. L. (2022). The Fate of Fluopyram in the Soil-Water-Plant Ecosystem: A Review. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 260(1): 1-19 https://doi.org/10.1007/s44169-021-00001-7
• Kalasariya, R. L., Chaudhary, N. N., Patel, M. R., Chawla, S. Parmar K. D., and Rathod, P. H. (2024). Analysis, residue behaviour and risk assessment of combination product of iprovalicarb + copper oxychloride in representative fruiting vegetables, cucurbit and in soil using LC–MS/MS and ICP-MS. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 31(10): 15186-15198 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32135-1
• Anitha Vijay, Kalasariya, R. L., Rathod, P. H., Chawla, S., and Acharya, R. R. (2024). Dissipation and evaluation of different treatments on the residues of different insecticides in/on cauliflower curd. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 41(4): 385-399 https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2024.2317905