Prof. Siripala Subasinghe

Prof. S. Subasinghe is a distinguished Sri Lankan scholar, academic administrator, and agricultural scientist with over four decades of dedicated service in higher education, scientific research, and community development. He currently serves as a Professor in Crop Science and Head of the Department of Agriculture Technology at the Faculty of Technology, Sri Lanka Technology Campus (SLTC) in Padukka, Sri Lanka. He is also a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna.

• 1. Ph.D. in Agriculture – University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka (1998)
  2. M.Sc. in Agricultural Systems – Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand (1989)
  3. B.Sc. in Agriculture – University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka (1982)

1. Principles of Agronomy
2. Principles of Horticulture
3. Cropping Systems & Tropical Farming Systems
4. Protected Agriculture & Soilless Culture
5. Organic Agriculture
6. Medicinal Herbs & Aromatic Plants
7. Nursery Management & Plant Propagation

• Agronomy, Horticulture, & Cropping Systems: Studying crop yield optimization, intercropping dynamics, below-ground competition, crop rotations, and soil fertility.

• Medicinal & Aromatic Plants: Conservation, propagation, and agronomic management of threatened and economically important medicinal herbs (e.g., Salacia reticulata, Gymnema sylvestre, Coscinium fenestratum, Pterocarpus santalinus, and Vetiveria zizanioides).

• Plant Tissue Culture & In-Vitro Micropropagation: Development of mass propagation techniques, callus induction, organogenesis, and embryo culture for high-value timber, medicinal plants, and horticultural crops.

• Protected Agriculture & Soilless Culture: Optimization of greenhouse crop performance (e.g., Bell Pepper, Cucumber, Cabbage) through split fertilization rates, artificial light supplementation, and coir dust substrate utilization.

1. Siripala Subasinghe and Ranjith Senaratne (2000). Below-Ground Competition in a Maize/Groundnut Intercropping System as Affected by the Rooting Soil Layer. Plant Prod. Sci. 3(2): 108-111, 2000.
2. Thomas G. Reichenauer, Sunil Panamulla, Siripala Subasinghe and Bernhard Wimmer (2009). Soil amendments and cultivar selection can improve rice yield in salt influenced (tsunami affected) paddy fields in Sri Lanka. Environ Geochem Health 31:573-579.
3. P.S.Warakagoda  and  S.  Subasinghe  (2013).  In  vitro  propagation  of Pterocarpus santalinus L. (Red Sandalwood) through tissue culture. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. Vol. 41(1):53-63.
4. S.  Subasinghe, C.  S.  Hettiarachchi   and  N.Iddagoda (2016). In    vitro propagation of Cinnamon (Cinamomum verum Presl) using embryos and in vitro axillary buds. Journal of advanced Agricultural Technologies Vol. 3 (03):164-169.
5. S. Subasinghe and R. Senaratne. Effect of Groundnut genotypes on interactions in Maize- groundnut intercropping system. Bangaladesh J Agric. Res. 27(1):25-33. March 2002.

PhD Supervision

1.     Chief supervisor of PhD degree completed by Ms. PSW Warakagoda on Efficient plant regeneration and Berbarine production from callus from Coscinim fenetratum in 2016.

2.     Chief supervisor of PhD degree completed by R. Handapangoda. Early detection of Best performing Hevea Clones for different Agro-Climatic Zones of Sri Lanka.  2023

3.     Chief supervisor of PhD degree completed by Ms. S.A.P. Nelka. Development Mass Propagation Techniques and Induced Mutagenesis in selected Ornamental Plant species: Catharanthus roseus, Calatopis gigantea, Jasminum officinale and Murraya paniculate. 2025.

                  M.Phil. Supervision

1. 1.         Chief supervisor of the M.Phil degreed completed by Mr. Chandana Perera Gunasena on Identifying and Mapping Salt affected lands in Hambantota district, Sri Lanka: An Integrated GIS and Remote Sensing Approach in 2005.
   2. Chief Supervisor of the M.Phil degree completed by Ms. K. G. Ketepearachchi. Geographical Distribution and Morphological Characterization of Terminalia catappa L. in Sri Lanka. 2025.

1. Principle investigator, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy (CARP) awarded a Research Grant (12/532/402) valued Rs.1,044,600/= (Rs.1.044 Million) on the "Clonal micro-propagation of Cinnamon for two year period from Sep. 2003 -August 2005.
2.  Team Leader – Contract for Need Assessment for the Agricultural projects in the tsunami affected areas in Matara, Galle, Hambantota and Kalutara districts, valued Rs. 1.5 million, funded by Norwagian Development Fund.
3.  Principle Investigator of the Development of Agronomical package of Busy type Kotalahimbatu plantation for sustainable leaf/stem harvesting valued Rs 3.1 million funded by Department of Ayurvedic, Ministry of Indigenous Medicine, Sri Lanka for 5 year period from Feb 2007 to Feb 2012.

1. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

In-Vitro Propagation and Tissue Culture: Supervision of research on micropropagation, callus induction, alkaloid/berberine production, and seed germination of threatened medicinal species (e.g., Coscinium fenestratum, Pterocarpus santalinus, Gymnema sylvestre, Salacia reticulata, Dalbergia latifolia).
Agronomic Management and Harvesting Packages: Research on growth, yield, and active ingredient quality (e.g., essential oils in Vetiveria zizanioides) as affected by potting media, fertilizer regimes, harvest timing, and spacing.

2. Protected Agriculture and Soilless Culture

Substrate and Media Development: Supervising studies on using coir dust and alternative growing media as complete substrates for greenhouse crops.
Controlled Environment Optimization: Research on fertigation management (split application rates of Albert's fertilizer), light supplementation, and growth/yield dynamics for protected crops like Bell Pepper, Cucumber, Cabbage, and Cauliflower.

3. Floriculture, Ornamental Horticulture and Mutation Breeding

Induced Mutagenesis: Supervising research on structural and floricultural trait improvement in ornamentals using gamma irradiation.
Germplasm Characterization and Conservation: Research on exploration, morphological characterization, and propagation of under-utilized ornamental and shade trees (e.g., Terminalia catappa, Murraya paniculata, Jasminum officinale, Catharanthus roseus).

4. Environmental Agronomy, Soil Salinity and Bioenergy

GIS and Remote Sensing Applications: Mapping and identifying salt-affected agricultural soils.
Biofuels and Algae Cultivation: Microalgae growth and lipid accumulation studies (Chlorella vulgaris, Nannochloropsis) for biodiesel production.

1. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Consultancy
Propagation, commercial plantation design, and sustainable harvesting protocols for high-value medicinal crops.

2. Protected Agriculture and Soilless Systems
Greenhouse design, fertigation management, and coir dust substrate formulations.

3. Soil Rehabilitation and Salinity Management
Land recovery strategies and GIS-based mapping for salt-affected agricultural soils.

4. Community Development and Rural Agrotechnology
Need assessments, home garden initiatives, and disaster-recovery agricultural projects.

5. Plantation Crops and Bio-Energy Systems
Crop propagation for spices, rubber, and timber, alongside microalgae and biofuel plantation development.