Dr. Mumta

Dr. Mumta Chhetri is a highly accomplished plant pathologist and molecular geneticist with over two decades of experience in agricultural research, crop improvement, plant disease resistance, and biosecurity. As a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) accredited plant pathologist and Research Fellow in Cereal Pathology at the University of Sydney, she plays a crucial role in protecting Australia's cereal crops. She leads national cereal rust tracking and assessment and oversees biosecurity-compliant disease screening at quarantine facilities in Camden and CCWF. Dr. Chhetri is a leading expert in cereal rust diseases, renowned for identifying emerging pathogen variants, fungicide-insensitive strains, and for developing robust molecular markers for rust resistance in wheat and barley. Her pivotal work underpins strategic disease management across Australia’s grains industry, ensuring early threat detection and timely alerts to safeguard crop production.

Her research has led to the identification, fine mapping, and formal designation of three novel rust resistance genes, including Yr58 and Yr72 for stripe rust, and Lr74 for leaf rust. It provides robust genotypic signatures for marker-assisted selection in wheat breeding. She has also fine-mapped multiple loci conferring resistance to crown rot disease in wheat and developed Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) markers for three loci, enabling precise selection for resistance traits. During her tenure in Bhutan, she released four high-yielding, blast disease-resistant rice varieties specifically developed for the temperate rice ecozone, significantly advancing national efforts in sustainable rice production and disease management.

Dr. Chhetri is an active member of multiple professional networks, such as the Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS), Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific, Sydney Institute of Agriculture (SIA) and has received numerous awards, including the Australian Leadership Award and the Professional & Technical Award for Technical Excellence (SOLES, 2024). Her research has been widely published in high-impact journals and presented at leading international conferences. She has also supervised numerous students and played a pivotal role in training, mentoring, and international collaborations for sustainable crop protection.