Raghunath Sahai Vasudeva obtained DSc from University of London, UK. He was Joint Director and Head, Division of Mycology and Pathology (1947-62), Joint Director (1951-62), Director (briefly in 1955 and 1958), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi and Agricultural Adviser to FAO in Togo (West Africa) in 1962 and in Cuba and Rome (till 1969).

Academic and Research Achievements:Vasudeva is known for his work on crop diseases, especially diseases of apple and onion, root rot disease of cotton and viral diseases of cotton, cowpea, cucurbits and tomato. Dr Vasudeva worked on diverse fields on plant virology, mycology and fungal pathology and stressed the need for ecofriendly management practices of plant diseases. He published over 200 scientific papers in Indian and International journals of repute on: physiology of parasitism, physiologic specialization, induced mutations, antibiosis, synergism, latent infection, transmission of pathogens, disease free planting materials, chemical control and botanical virus inhibitors. He also authored a number of books including a revised edition of Fungi of India (1960), which is most widely consulted by plant pathologists.

Other Contributions: Dr Vasudeva introduced potato seed certification scheme, which was highly successful. The impact on increased yield in potato crop through the use of healthy virus-free seeds, showed the role of viruses in particular and the use of healthy planting material in general. He was thus instrumental in establishing a strong section of plant virology in the Division of Plant Pathology, IARI, with thre substations located at Kalimpong in the east, Pune in the west and Shimla in the north India. His efforts also contributed to starting of a separate Central Research Institute for Potato. Dr Vasudeva served as an advisor for plant pathology by the FAO in Togo (West Africa) in 1962, where he established the Institute of Plant Pathology, and supervised-researches on the mysterious Kankope disease of coconut. He also advised Dahomey on plant pathological researches during the same period. He was an advisor to develop Plant Pathological Research Projects in Cuba. Dr Vasudeva also worked with the world Bank as consultant for brief periods.