Dr. K. Prabakar hails from Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu. He was born on September 23, 1963, and completed his schooling in Namakkal. He secured his Bachelors in Agriculture, Masters in Plant Pathology from Annamalai University, and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the prestigious Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). He began the academic career at TNAU as Assistant Professor in 1988, became Associate Professor in 2002 and was promoted as Professor in 2005. He was one of the eminent educators of Pathology at TNAU and handled courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students for 35 years. During his career, he developed expertise in post-harvest pathology and seed pathology.

The technologies he developed are popular and widely practised by Tamil Nadu farmers. He has generated funds through 105 research articles obtained from International, National, State, and Private Agencies. He obtained one International Project to train Agricultural officials in Afghanistan for Rs. 2 crore. He served as the Director (CPPS), TNAU, Coimbatore, for 3 years. He obtained a Tamil Nadu State Government Project for the management of fall armyworm in Maize for 5 Crores. He developed a technology to detect the latent infection of the mango anthracnose pathogen using paraquat.

He has also coordinated numerous training sessions for the extension functionaries and the farming communities at both the State and National levels. He conducted the 6th edition of the SICCI Agri Summit and Exhibition 2016 on June 11 and 12, 2016 at PGP College of Agricultural Sciences, Namakkal, in collaboration with the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Chennai. About 5,000 farmers participated in the summit. He served as a resource person in the monthly zonal workshop for training the extension functionaries in Virudhunagar, Karur, and Salem districts.

Dr K. Prabakar is prominent among the students as an acclaimed Pathology intellectual. He has tutored in Pathology Courses for more than 30 years. He also served as Dean i/c – PGP College of Agricultural Sciences, Namakkal and Nodal Officer (ICAR) and Warden, TNAU. He was served as Farm Manager, Deputy Warden, Coordinator, and FAO International consultant for Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for “Strengthening Seed and Plant Health Inspectorate. He has guided Six Ph.D and Eleven M.Sc.(Ag.) students and presently guiding Two Ph.D. student in the course of his tenure. He involved in the syllabus revision of UG courses as Board of Studies member. He published 4 books. Besides, he has been external examiner for various State and National level exams.

Dr. K. Prabakar is one of the most noteworthy researchers in Pathology globally. He has obtained various research projects from International, National, State, and privately funded agencies. He has risen more than Rs. 12 crore through various research grants. He was the Nodal Officer (ICAR) and Warden (TNAU for 11 months and contributed immensely to the project. He served as Co-Principal Investigator for the International Project funded by IDRC, Canada, for 4.5 crores. He obtained a national project for more than Rs. 1 crore. He was responsible for the varieties released: sunflower (CO.4): 1996; betelvine (SGM): 2: 2004, and sugarcane (CO.Si): 6: 2005.

Dr. K. Prabakar, during his successful tenure, has organised several capacity-building trainings for extension functionaries at the national and International levels. The training on post-harvest decay management: an evaluation of Biological control agents, in which he worked on the biological management of the grey mould disease of strawberries at the University of California, Riverside, USA, and Post-harvest Technology: Short Course Training on Recent Advances in the Post-Harvest Management of Fruits and Vegetables at the University of California, Davis, USA.He conducted trainings for the farmers on the management of seed-borne diseases in different crops and trainings for the department officials and scientists of State Agricultural Universities on seed health management.