Nirodha Weeraratne

Dr Nirodha Weeraratne

Agricultural microbiology

Gulbali Institute

Biography

Dr Nirodha Weeraratne is a PostDoctoral Research Fellow at Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water, and Environment Research of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Australia.

Nirodha has over 15 years of experience in scientific research and teaching agricultural biology, applied and molecular microbiology, plant pathology and soil science, and managing multidisciplinary projects for developing innovative biological solutions for agriculture.

Her research involves harnessing soil-plant-insect-microbial interactions for sustainable management of agroecosystems. She is currently working on developing novel microbial resources for improving soil health and fertility and managing pests and diseases in broadacre cropping systems.

She is also exploring the potential of native fungi and marine macroalgae for developing beneficial chemistries, as well as applications of remote sensing and artificial intelligence for decision making in plant protection.

Research
  • Plant-soil-microbial interactions
  • Invertebrate-microbial interactions
  • Applied and molecular plant pathology
  • Microbiomes in agriculture
  • Biological solutions for sustainable agriculture
  • Digital technologies for crop protection
  • Plant biosecurity
Publications
Full publications list on CRO

Recent  Notable Publications

  • Ma L, Weeraratne N, Gurusinghe S, Aktar J, Haque KMS, Eberbach P, Gurr GG, Weston LA (2023) Dung Beetle Activity Is Soil-Type-Dependent and Modulates Pasture Growth and Associated Soil Microbiome, Agronomy, 13(2), 325. DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13020325.
  • Weeraratne N, Stodart BJ, Venturi V, Hofte M, Hua GKH, Ongena M, Savocchia S, Steel CC, Ash GJ (2020),Syringopeptin contributes to the virulence of Pseudomonas fuscovaginae, based on sypA biosynthesis mutant analysis, Phytopathology, DOI:10.1094/PHYTO-07-19-0235-R.
  • Buddhika UVA, Seneviratne G, Ekanayake EMHGS, Senanayake DMN, Igalavithane AD, Weeraratne N, Jayasekara APDA, Weerakoon WL, Indrajith A, Gunaratne HMAC, Kumara RKGK, De Silva MSDL, Kennedy IR (2016), Biofilmed Biofertilizers:  Application in Agroecosystems, In The Handbook of Microbial Bioresources. Eds: Gupta VK et al. CAB International. 9781780645216.
  • Vithanage M, Rajapaksha AU, Wijesekara H, Weerarathne N, Ok YS (2013) Effect of soil types and fertilizers on fractionation and lability of arsenic in inorganic arsenical pesticide-contaminated paddy soils in Sri Lanka under simulated environmental conditions, Environmental Earth Sciences, 1-11. DOI:10.1007/s12665-013-2486-9.
  • Seneviratne G, Weeraratne N, Buddhika UVA (2013) Diversity of plant root associated microbes: its regulation by introduced biofilms, In Plant Microbe Symbiosis. Ed: Arora NK. Springer. ISBN: 978-81-322-1286-7.