editor-in-chief

Dr.(Mrs)S.N. Disanayake

Editor-in- Chief / 11th ARS
Faculty of Agriculture,
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

It is with great pleasure that I write this Foreword to the Proceedings of the 11th Annual Research Symposium (ARS) 2019 of the Faculty of Agriculture, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. It has been a real honour and privilege to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the ARS 2019. Over the past 11 years, the ARS has particularly encouraged the interactions of research students and develops linkages with more established academic community and industry to exchange research findings and envision potential solutions to current issues in the areas related to agriculture. The theme of ARS this year is “Greener Agriculture for Sustainable Environment” focusing on the attempts to introduce strategies, practices, and policies for green growth in agriculture while addressing specific environmental challenges. This year the proceedings consists of 82 research abstracts and an invited keynote address titled “The Emerging Role of Geoenvironmental Engineering: Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Pollution Control and Infrastructure Development”. The abstracts contribute to the most recent scientific knowledge in eight disciplines of agriculture namely, Agricultural Engineering, Environmental Soil Management, Agricultural Economics and Extension, Agricultural Systems Management, Animal Production and Technology, Food and Postharvest Technology, Agricultural Biology, and Crop Science. The quality of the proceedings is continued to grow and reflects the nature of researches conducted, procedures adopted, and the dedication and efforts of numerous contributors. This year an online abstract submission system was introduced to provide opportunities for students to get familiarized with a virtual environment that creates an interactive and immersive experience. Each abstract was reviewed by two reviewers other than student's supervisors. I take this opportunity to convey my sincere gratitude to Dr. B.A. Karunaratne, the Vice Chancellor of the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Dr. A.M.J.B. Adikari, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and Dr. D.M.S.H. Dissanayake, the Coordinator of 11th ARS for their valuable contributions in assembling a high-quality symposium. This proceedings would not have been possible without the enthusiastic and hard work of the department coordinators of the proceedings committee. I'm indeed grateful for their untiring efforts. The success of this proceedings is built primarily on four groups; the undergraduate students and their supervisors who authored high caliber scholarly work, the reviewers of the abstracts, the editorial board, and the publication committee. I seize this opportunity to thank all of them and express my sincere appreciation for their invaluable contribution and efforts in producing a quality proceeding. Finally, on behalf of the editorial board, I acknowledge all those who assisted in numerous ways to complete the proceedings of the 11th ARS successfully.