Rajagopalan Krishnamurthy (born 27 March 1928) is an Indian cotton researcher. He is a prolific Indian plant breeder who introduced a myriad of cotton varieties for commercial cultivation. He served in the Department of Agriculture of Tamil Nadu for one decade and almost 28 years in Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He has released as many as 6 varieties from G. Hirsutum, two from G. Barbadense and three hybrids during his tenure in ICAR Service. All of them are prominent and accepted by the farmers as well as the textile mills at Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. He completed B. Sc.(Agri.) and M. Sc. (Agri.) in plant breeding and genetics from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. He is also the Research Director - Cotton of Rasi Seeds Pvt. Ltd. Famous varieties Suvin cotton Suvin is the Jewel in the Indian cotton crown. The king of cotton and India's pride. “Suvin” variety was released in 1979 by cross breeding Sujatha (Indian cotton variety) with St. Vincent (Sea-Island cotton variety). Suvin is the finest cotton being produced in India and has no parallel and alternative in the world today. It is the only commercially available fiber in the world with spinnability up to 240s count. The highest production of Suvin was 36,000 bales (170 kg), achieved in the year 1989-90. However, the production of Suvin has depleted steadily over the years and currently stands at 300 MT i.e. around 1250 bales. Other varieties Other varieties include b MCU-5 (VT) in 1982 LRA-5166 LRK-516 Surabhi Sujata Hybrids developed in the private sector Responsible for developing and releasing 43 cotton hybrids. Under the Bt cotton Programme, involving Bollgard-1 and Bolgard-2 genes, 14 Bt cotton hybrids have been released for the North, Central and South zones of India & Bt hybrids have been released through other cotton seed companies in the country. 3. 20 Bt cotton hybrids are at advanced stages of testing, while 6 Bt hybrids are awaiting approval for commercial release. During 2007, 9 Bt hybrids were proposed for RGGM trial all over the country. Awards and accolades Rafi Ahmed Khidwai Memorial prize, for the biennium 1966–67 for outstanding contribution in the field of Plant Breeding (December, 1973)ICAR Award for Team Research in Agriculture for the biennium 1975–76, for significant contributions to Cotton Improvement (January, 1976), The Indian Merchant Chamber Award for the year 1974, for the outstanding contribution in the field of