Pragya Dhakal Poudel

Dr Pragya Dhakal Poudel is a plant geneticist specialising in the integration of quantitative genetics, physiology, and genomics to address key challenges in horticultural tree crops. Her research focuses on industry-relevant traits in macadamia and passionfruit, combining large-scale field trials with advanced analytical approaches to uncover the genetic, molecular, and physiological mechanisms underpinning these traits.

Her work in macadamia rootstocks has focused on supporting the development of high-density orchard systems and underpinning the mechanisms of rootstock-mediated vigour control, with the goal of applying this knowledge to future rootstock breeding strategies. By investigating physiological traits such as stomatal density, stomatal area, and aquaporin gene expression, Dr Poudel has provided new insights into the regulation of vigour in macadamia. She employs genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic prediction (GP) to accelerate breeding progress. These approaches create opportunities to shorten selection cycles, improve prediction accuracy, and support the development of new cultivars for the industry.

In addition to field- and genetics-based approaches, her research also targets the molecular basis of trait regulation, including gene expression analysis, hormonal quantification, and RNA sequencing, to underpin trait genetics and link molecular signatures with phenotypic outcomes.

Dr Poudel works closely with the Australian macadamia and passionfruit breeding programs and contributes to the Genetics for Next Generation Orchards project, ensuring her research addresses both scientific and industry priorities. Her long-term goal is to advance genomics-assisted breeding strategies that enhance the sustainability, efficiency, and productivity of horticultural crops.