Visiting Nepalese researcher Karuna Shrestha has gained her PhD by proving that cattle stomachs left over from the meat processing industry, can be used as a 'compost tea' to improve soil health.

The CQUniversity postgraduate tested a compost tea based on cattle stomachs, including undigested grass, and found that compost extracts will find an expanded role in agriculture, principally for disease control.

PhD graduate Karuna Shrestha

"Compost tea reduced root fungal diseases and soil aluminium toxicity and provided plant essential elements, allowing organic hydroponics," she said.

Karuna established new research tools and methodologies relating to the use of compost teas as additives for low-input agriculture. Her research outcomes have been disseminated through a number of publications in high quality refereed journals such as Bioresource Technology and she has also presented her outcomes through national and international level seminars, workshops and conferences.

She has been selected as an Editorial Board member of the international Journal of Bioremediation and Biodegradation and is currently preparing grant applications and research project proposals.

Her areas of interest are soil/plant health, biofertilisers, organic agriculture including organic hydroponics, and cropping systems, particularly applying biological science to sustainable agriculture. With her strong background in organic/biological agriculture, Karuna wishes to advance her career as a researcher.

Karuna was able to win an Endeavour Postgraduate Award (EPA), a prestigious Australian government scholarship, to pursue her PhD degree.