His research is centered around developing and promoting advanced cultivation techniques for both cut and loose flowers suited to various agro-climatic zones. This includes optimizing production methods for cut flowers in autonomous greenhouses and for loose flowers grown in open fields, with the goal of achieving high-quality yields. A key focus is on enabling off-season flower cultivation to ensure continuous market supply and boost farmers’ incomes. He is also actively involved in the exploration, domestication, and propagation of wild ornamental plants from the Himalayan region for their commercial use. In addition, he works on enhancing the shelf life of cut flowers using eco-friendly, bio-based approaches. To empower rural communities, quality planting materials are distributed to growers, and a range of on- and off-campus training programs are conducted to enhance skills in flower cultivation and postharvest management for improved farmer livelihoods.

Group website: https://sites.google.com/view/floriculture-lab-csir-ihbt/home

• Fellow, Indian Society of Ornamental Horticulture (ISOH), New Delhi (2024)
• Young Scientist Award in Floriculture, Agro Environmental Development Society (AEDS), UP (2024)
• Contributing as Nodal Scientist from CSIR-IHBT in CSIR-Floriculture Mission extended 1005 ha area under floricultural crops to 3500 nos. beneficiaries
• Established 300 nos. of floriculture gardens in schools and colleges through which around 35,000 students get acquainted on garden activities under CSIR Floriculture Mission
• Established 30 nos. of vertical gardening units at various public places like municipal corporations, government offices and airport etc.
• Established Himachal Pradesh’s first “Tulip Garden” at CSIR-IHBT, Palampur, HP.
• ASRB (NET), 2012

Book

Bhargava, B., Kumar, P., and Verma, V.(eds.), 2024. Ornamental Horticulture: Latest Cultivation Practices and Breeding Technologies (ISBN: 978-981-97-4027-7), Springer Publication

Research Articles

Partap, M., Chandel, A., Sharma, D., Verma, K., Parmar, P., Soni, V., Srivatsan, V. and Bhargava, B., 2025. Morphological Traits and Biochemical and Volatile Compound Composition along with Gene Expression Profiling in Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. Grown under Soil and Soil-Less Conditions. ACS Agricultural Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsagscitech.4c00349

Verma, V., Priti, Thakur, D. et al. Dual Role of Meta-topolin in Mediating In Vitro Propagation and Phytochemical Elicitation in Zephyranthes grandiflora. J Plant Growth Regul (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-025-11712-9

Katoch, M., Kapoor, P., Gupta, H., Vashishta, N., Verma, V., Bhardwaj, R., Acharya, A. and Bhargava, B., 2025. Foliar application of melatonin-capped copper nanoparticles improves stem strength and postharvest quality by regulating the lignin biosynthesis genes and physio-chemical profile in Gerbera jamesonii L. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 222, p.113415.

Verma, V., Bhargava, B. Small molecules inhibiting EPHEMERAL1 to extend flower longevity by regulating petal senescence. Plant Cell Rep 44, 19 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-024-03403-8

Kapoor, P., Mali, S., Verma, V., Katoch, M., Zinta, G. and Bhargava, B., 2024. Genome-wide characterization of melatonin biosynthetic pathway genes in carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) and their expression analysis in response to exogenous melatonin. Scientia Horticulturae, 338, p.113776.

Verma, V., Katoch, M., Kapoor, P., Misra, A. and Bhargava, B., 2024. Domestication of ornamental plants: Breeding innovations and molecular breakthroughs to bring wild into limelight. South African Journal of Botany, 175, pp.436-452.

Ujala, Sharma, D., Partap, M., Warghat, A.R., Bhargava, B. 2024. Hydroponic cultivation enhances the morpho-physiological traits and quality flower production in three cultivars (marigold scarlet red, marigold orange, and marigold yellow) of French marigold (Tagetes patula L.), Scientia Horticulturae, 327 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2023.112803

Partap, M., Verma, V., Thakur, M. and Bhargava, B. 2023. Designing of future ornamental crops: a biotechnological driven perspective. Horticulture Research, p.uhad192.

Partap, M., Sharma, D., Deekshith, H.N., Thakur, M., Verma, V. and Bhargava, B. 2023. Microgreen: A tiny plant with superfood potential. Journal of Functional Foods, 107, p.105697.

Chandel, A., Thakur, M., Rakwal, A., Chauhan, S. and Bhargava, B. 2023. Exogenous applications of gibberellic acid modulate the growth, flowering and longevity of calla lily. Heliyon, 9(5).

Maurya, A., Sharma, D., Partap, M., Kumar, R. and Bhargava, B. 2023. Microbially-assisted phytoremediation toward air pollutants: Current trends and future directions. Environmental Technology & Innovation, p.103140.

Kumar, R., Verma, V., Thakur, M., Singh, G. and Bhargava, B. 2023. A systematic review on mitigation of common indoor air pollutants using plant-based methods: a phytoremediation approach. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, pp.1-27.

Thakur, M., Verma, V., Chandel, A., Kumar, R., Sharma, T., Kumar, A., Bhardwaj, S., Kumar, R. and Bhargava, B. 2023. Lemon grass essential oil improves Gladiolus grandiflorus postharvest life by modulating water relations, microbial growth, biochemical activity, and gene expression. Scientific Reports, 13(1), p.2630.

Verma, V., Kumar, A., Partap, M., Thakur, M. and Bhargava, B. 2023. CRISPR-Cas: A robust technology for enhancing consumer-preferred commercial traits in crops. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, p.1122940.

Verma, V., Kumar, A., Priti, Seema, Thakur, M. and Bhargava, B. 2022. Meta-Topolin mediated in vitro propagation in an ornamentally important crop Iris× hollandica Tub. cv. professor Blaauw and genetic fidelity studies using SCoT markers. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC), 151(3), pp.681-694.

Thakur, M., Chandel, A., Guleria, S., Verma, V., Kumar, R., Singh, G., Rakwal, A., Sharma, D. and Bhargava, B. 2022. Synergistic effect of graphene oxide and silver nanoparticles as biostimulant improves the postharvest life of cut flower bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae L.). Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, p.1006168.

Chandel, A., Thakur, M., Singh, G., Dogra, R., Bajad, A., Soni, V. and Bhargava, B. 2023. Flower regulation in floriculture: an agronomic concept and commercial use. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 42(4), pp.2136-2161.

Kumar, A., Chauhan, S., Rattan, S., Warghat, A.R., Kumar, D. and Bhargava, B. 2022. In vitro propagation and phyto-chemical assessment of Cymbidium aloifolium (L.) Sw.: An orchid of pharma-horticultural importance. South African Journal of Botany, 144, pp.261-269.

Kumari, P., Ujala and Bhargava, B. 2021. Phytochemicals from edible flowers: Opening a new arena for healthy lifestyle. Journal of Functional Foods, 78, p.104375.

Kashyap, U., Chandel, A., Sharma, D., Bhardwaj, S. and Bhargava, B. 2021. Propagation of Jasminum parkeri: A critically endangered wild ornamental woody shrub from Western Himalaya. Agronomy, 11(2), p.331.

Bhargava, B. Malhotra, S., Chandel, A., Rakwal, A., Kashwap, R.R. and Kumar, S., 2021. Mitigation of indoor air pollutants using Areca palm potted plants in real-life settings. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, pp.8898-8906.

Nil

Post Docs

Dr Vipasha Verma (CSIR-SRA)

PhD Fellows

Ms. Ujala (DST)

Ms. Priti

Ms. Anjali Chandel

Ms. Diksha Sharma

Project Fellows

Dr Megha Katoch, Dr Payal Kapoor, Dr Aparna Misra, Dr Deekshith HN, Dr Kamlesh, Dr. Nishtha Vashishtha, Dr Ragini Bhardwaj, Dr Nitesh Kaushal, Dr Karhik, Ms. Diksha Thakur, Ms. Himanshi Gupta, Ms. Shagun Rana, Ms. Gulshan Birsanta, Ms. Deepti, Mr. Neeraj Barwal, Ms. Chhering Youdon, Mr. Rahul Bodh, Mr. Sourabh Kumar

Start-up

Mr. Nitin (Area: Tissue culture of Ornamental Plants and Nursery raising)

Alumni

Dr Ankush Bajad, Dr Gurpreet Singh, Dr Meenakshi Thakur, Dr Mahinder Partap, Dr Sukhchain Singh, Ms. Anjali Rakhwal, Ms. Mehul Thakur

Interns

Pritish, Aditya Sharma, Shivam, Mohit, Nirjala Walia, Sahil Chaudhary, Sikander Singh, Amit Kumar, Kansagra Harsh Dilip Kumar, Nidhi Jha, Vasu Patni, Yati Singh Raghuwanshi, Anushka Chaudhary, Harshit Kamboj, Jhanvi Mahajan, Vishal Kumar, Munisha Jhakhar, Manisha Saini, Davinder Singh, Abhishek Saini