Jyothi Bhandari

Jyothi Bhandari (she/her) is a PhD candidate at Charles Darwin University (CDU), working on the project "Enhancing the Resilience of the
Northern Territory’s Rain-fed Cotton: A Comprehensive Approach to Yield Prediction and Water Management," supervised by Prof Stephen
Xu from RINA, Dr Dylan Irvine from RIEL, and Dr Edward Mwando from the Northern Territory Government.
She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Biotechnology and Chemistry, a Master of Science (Hons) in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,
and a Master of Applied Science (Agriculture) from the University of Tasmania. Before starting her PhD, Jyothi spent nearly nine years as a
consultant agronomist specializing in crop and water management in horticulture in Victoria.
Her current research, funded by the National Industry PhD Scholarship and in partnership with the Northern Territory Department of
Agriculture and Fisheries (NT DAF), aims to enhance the resilience and sustainability of rain-fed cotton cultivation in the Northern Territory.
Jyothi is passionate about ensuring the industry applicability of her research and enjoys collaborating with local cotton growers to support
the development of cotton as a key crop in the region. She is based at CDU’s Casuarina campus and is grateful for the opportunity
provided by CDU and the Northern Territory Government.